written by D.B. Weiss, 44, and David
Benioff, 44.
Unlike the Globes or the Oscars,
the SAG Awards only honors actors.
Uniquely, it has awards for the whole
acting cast or ensemble.

Liev Schreiber

is Spy, directed and written by Paul Feig,
53, a Mount Clemens, Mich., native. Feig’s
paternal Jewish grandmother converted
to Christian Science and his father was
raised in that faith. However, Feig’s humor
is quite “Jewish,” he isn’t religious and his
wife of 21 years is Jewish. His background
defies simple description.

GLOBE TV NOMINEES
Best Actor, drama: Jeffrey Tambor, 71
(Transparent, on Amazon.) He plays a
Jewish man, with a Jewish ex-wife and
adult children, who is transitioning to
become a woman; Best Actor, comedy or
musical: Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan
on Showtime); Best Actress, drama: Eva
Green, 35 (Penny Dreadful on Showtime).
The breathtakingly beautiful Green is a
former Bond Girl (Casino Royale), born
and raised in France. Green’s mother is a
Sephardi Jew who was born in Algeria;
Best Actress, musical or comedy: Rachel
Bloom, 28 (My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on
the CW). Bloom’s series combines musi-
cal numbers with comedy — and Jamie
Lee Curtis, 57 (Scream Queens on Fox).
Supporting Actress (drama or comedy):
Judith Light, 66 (Transparent). She plays
Jeffrey Tambor’s ex-wife.
Best Musical or Comedy Series: Five
series with big Jewish connections are
nominated in this category. Casual,
on Hulu, was created and is written by
Zander Lehmann, 28. His father is direc-
tor Michael Lehmann, 57 (Heathers).
Casual stars Michaela Watkins, 44;
Mozart in the Jungle is an Amazon series
co-created by Jason Schwartzman, 35.
Lola Kirke, 25, is a series co-star; Orange
is the New Black, on Netflix, was cre-
ated by Jenji Kohan, 46; Silicon Valley,
an HBO series, was co-created by John
Altschuler, 52, and Dave Krinsky; 30;
and Transparent. It was created and is
written by Jill Soloway, 50.
Best Drama Series: Empire on Fox,
which was co-created by Danny Strong,
41. Its co-stars include Jussie Smollet, 32,
the son of a white Jewish father and an
African-American mother; and Game of
Thrones, a HBO series co-created and co-

SAG FILM NOMINEES
Sarah Silverman, 45 (I Smile Back),
is the only Jewish actor or actress to
be nominated for an individual film
acting award. Her performance as a
depressed wife and mother got reviews
much better than the film itself. Here’s
hoping it will open doors to good roles for
Silverman in great dramatic films.
Five films are nominated for the Best
Cast (whole ensemble) award. One
nominee is Spotlight, which co-stars Liev
Schreiber. Another is Trumbo, which co-
stars Michael Stuhlbarg, 47, and features,
as characters, real-life tribe members
Edward G. Robinson, Kirk Douglas,
now 99, and Otto Preminger. Jay Roach,
58, directed.

SAG TV NOMINEES
Individual acting nominees: Julianna
Margulies, 49 (The Good Wife) is up for
Lead Actress in a drama series. Jeffrey
Tambor (Transparent) is nominated for
Lead Actor performance in a comedy.
TV Ensemble Cast Nomination (com-
edy series): Three series in this category
have multiple Jewish cast members:
Transparent’s main cast includes Jeffrey
Tambor, Judith Light and Carrie
Brownstein, 41; Orange is the New Black’s
main cast includes Laura Prepon, 35,
and two Jews with somewhat exotic back-
grounds: Yael Stone, 30, and Constance
Shulman, 57. Stone, who plays Lorena
Morello, is the first Australian Jewish
actress to be a regular on an American
TV show. Her husband is also an Aussie
Jewish actor (without American credits,
yet). Shulman, who plays Yoga Jones,
was raised in Johnson City, Tenn., a very
Baptist area, as a profile of hers noted.
Shulman’s authentic Southern accent
came in handy when she co-starred in the
original stage version of Steel Magnolias.
Big Bang Theory, on CBS, whose 7-mem-
ber main cast includes three Jews: Melissa
Rauch, 35, Simon Helberg, 35, and
Mayim Bialik, 40.
TV Ensemble Cast Nomination —
drama: Odd things happen, and remark-
ably the only Jewish actor/actress in a
drama series that’s up for the ensemble
prize is Mandy Patinkin, 63. He plays
the Jewish character Saul Berenson in
Homeland, on Showtime. *

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