Depp takes Screen Actors' Award

Johnny Depp was a surprise lead actor winner at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles for Pirates of the Caribbean, while Charlize Theron took the best-actress honour for the serial-killer drama Monster.

Depp, who did not attend the awards, won for his role as jittery buccaneer Captain Jack Sparrow in the summer blockbuster, beating Sean Penn, who had been considered the favourite for Mystic River.

Theron won for her portrayal of executed murderer Aileen Wuornos, a role for which the actress gained 30lbs and obscured her cover-girl beauty behind false teeth, dark contact lenses and a splotchy complexion.

“I’m so honoured and proud to be an actor, ’cause God knows, I don’t know what else to do,” said Theron, a native of South Africa.

She thanked her fellow cast members and director Patty Jenkins, along with “my angel and my date tonight, my mom, who put me on the plane with a one-way ticket to Hollywood when I was 19 years old. Thank you for being so brave and letting me go to make my dreams come true”.

The supporting acting awards went to Tim Robbins for Mystic River and Renee Zellweger for director Anthony Minghella’s American civil war saga, Cold Mountain.

The ensemble acting award, the guild’s equivalent of a best-picture prize, went to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the front-runner to win the top honour at next Sunday’s Oscars.

Among the guild’s TV awards, Sex and the City won for comedy-acting ensemble on the same night the series ended its six-year run. The cast won the same prize two years ago, while star Sarah Jessica Parker won the comedy-actress honour in 2001.

“You guys have been incredibly generous to us over the course of the show,” said co-star Kristin Davis, who accepted the award with cast mates Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon.

“And so many of you have come to act with us. We’ve had more good-looking men on our show…We will all miss you so much.”

Other comedy TV honours went to Megan Mullally for Will & Grace and Tony Shalhoub for Monk.

Kiefer Sutherland of 24 and Frances Conroy of Six Feet Under won for best dramatic actor and actress. Six Feet Under also was honoured for best acting ensemble in a drama.

Angels in America earned Meryl Streep and Al Pacino the acting awards for a TV movie or miniseries.

Guild nominees were chosen by 4,200 randomly selected union members. The union’s full membership of 98,000 was eligible to vote for winners.

The guild presented its lifetime achievement award to 91-year-old Karl Malden, an Academy Award winner as supporting actor for A Streetcar Named Desire.