British success at SAG nominations

Helena Bonham Carter is nominated for her turn as Elizabeth Taylor in the BBC co-production Burton and Taylor

British stars Emma Thompson and Dame Judi Dench will compete for the best actress award at the 2014 Screen Actors Guild awards.

Fellow Briton Chiwitel Ejiofor is also nominated for best actor for 12 Years A Slave.

Their film leads the field, with nominations in four out of five possible categories.

The awards are often seen as key indicators for the Oscars and winners will be announced on 18 January.

There are five film categories and eight TV categories.

Dame Maggie nominated again

Best actress in a film sees Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) and Dame Judi (Philomena) vie with fellow Oscar winners Meryl Streep, for August: Osage County; Sandra Bullock, for Gravity; and Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine.

The best actor category sees Ejiofor shortlisted alongside Hollywood veteran Bruce Dern, in Nebraska; Tom Hanks, in Captain Phillips; Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club; and Forest Whitaker in The Butler.

The supporting actress category includes chat show superstar Oprah Winfrey, for her performance in The Butler; Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle; Osage County's Julia Roberts; Nebraska's June Squib and Lupita Nyong'o, for 12 Years A Slave.

The nomination for the best ensemble cast - the key film award of the night - is shared by 12 Years A Slave; August: Osage County; The Butler; Dallas Buyers Club; and David O Russell's American Hustle.

In the best actress in a TV drama category, Dame Maggie Smith is once again nominated for her role as the Dowager Countess in ITV's Downton Abbey.

Douglas and Damon

She faces competition from Homeland's Claire Danes; Breaking Bad's Anna Gunn; Jessica Lange in American Horror Story; and Kerry Washington in Scandal

Fellow British stars, Helena Bonham Carter and Dame Helen Mirren compete for the title of best actress in a TV movie or mini-series, for their respective roles in Burton and Taylor, and Phil Spector.

Their rivals include Holly Hunter and Elisabeth Moss in the British-backed drama Top of the Lake and Angela Bassett in Betty and Coretta.

In the best actor in a mini-series or TV movie category, Michael Douglas and Matt Damon go head to head for their roles as Liberace and his lover, in the acclaimed HBO drama Behind the Candelabra.

Joining them are Rob Lowe in Killing Kennedy; Britain's Jeremy Irons in The Hollow Crown; and Al Pacino, playing Phil Spector in the eponymous drama.

The Screen Actors Guild awards will be presented at a Los Angeles ceremony on 18 January, 2014.