See more gowns from the Screen Actors Guild Awards red carpet on the slideshow.

FORBES: The Red Carpet Report: Screen Actors Guild Awards 2012

Acting award nominations closely followed the lead of the Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes, handed out in January.

CNN: 'Avatar,' 'Hurt Locker' lead in Oscar nods

"Argo, " a thriller centered on the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, last month landed the best film award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Golden Globes.

CNN: Stars flock to London for Bafta ceremony

"Just because she likes rainbow sherbet doesn't mean she has to dress like one, " Joan Rivers said of actress Hailee Steinfeld's dress after the Screen Actors Guild awards in January.

CNN: Getting dressed for the Oscars

Argo has emerged as the best picture favourite at the Academy Awards, after scooping the top prize at the Baftas and Golden Globes, in addition to awards from the Directors Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild and the Producers Guild of America.

BBC: Argo and Zero Dark Thirty scoop Writers Guild awards

"Given that several musicians at the recent Grammy Awards reported receiving requests NOT to talk about the war during the telecast, I think the Screen Actors Guild is justified in being concerned, " Tom Cole, arts editor of US National Public Radio, told BBC News Online.

BBC: Martin Sheen: 'President' under fire