Now for Oscars as Julie and Daniel are honoured

British stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Julie Christie both became front-runners for Oscars today after they were honoured by the Screen Actors Guild - one of the few Hollywood awards gatherings this season not hit by the writers' strike.

Day-Lewis won the best actor award for his performance as an early 20th century oil baron in There Will Be Blood, while Christie was named best actress for her portrayal as a woman with Alzheimer's in Away From Her.

Overall the Coen brothers' No Country For Old Men picked up the most accolades, taking the award for best ensemble cast, while Javier Bardem won the best supporting actor award for his performance as a cold-blooded killer. No Country also won the Directors Guild Award on Saturday and has eight nominations for an Oscar next month.

Day-Lewis, 50, dedicated his award to 28-year-old Heath Ledger who was found dead in his New York apartment last week. The actor, who won an Oscar in 1990 for My Left Foot, said he had never met Ledger but paid tribute to him, saying: "In Brokeback Mountain, he was unique, he was perfect. That scene in the trailer at the end of the film is as moving as anything I think I've ever seen."

He said later that Ledger's death has weighed heavily on his mind. "That's all I have been thinking about the last few days," he said.

Unlike the Golden Globes, which was replaced by a brief press conference because of the writers' strike, the ceremony in Los Angeles went ahead with a full turn-out of stars - including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who is said to be pregnant with twins, Tom Cruise, Eva Longoria and Cate Blanchett - because the Screen Actors Guild has given full support to the striking writers, who allowed the event to go ahead without a picket. The awards are voted for by actors.

Christie, 66, who won an Oscar in 1966 for Darling, said: "It's lovely to receive an award from your own union, especially at a time when we are being so forcefully reminded how important unions are."

While No Country For Old Men received the top honours, the film's ending has been controversial with critics. Actor and cast member Josh Brolin said: "The Coen brothers are freaky little people and we did a freaky little movie, whether you liked the ending or not."

Best supporting actress award went to 83-year-old Ruby Dee for her role in Ridley Scott's American Gangster.

In an emotional finish to The Sopranos, which ended last summer after a 10-year run, the series swept the board in the TV awards, taking the trophy for best cast in a TV drama and the best actor and actress awards for James Gandolfini and Edie Falco.