A positive end to a difficult year: Michael Douglas gets nominated for Screen Actor's Guild Award for Behind The Candelabra

PUBLISHED: 11:12 EST, 11 December 2013 | UPDATED: 12:16 EST, 11 December 2013

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He's had a more than difficult year after his separation from wife Catherine Zeta Jones and his battle with cancer.

But it seems Michael Douglas' 2013 will end on a more positive note, after it was revealed on Wednesday that he has received a Screen Actor's Guild award nomination for his role in TV move Behind The Candelabra.

Douglas won critical acclaim worldwide for his role as Liberace in the HBO project, with Matt Damon starring as the later singer's lover Scott Thorson.

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Success: Michael Douglas has earned a Screen Actor's Guild award nomination for his role as Liberace in Behind The Candelabra

Spot the difference: Douglas in the TV movie (left) and the man himself

However, the 69-year-old actor has strong competition in the Male Actor, TV Movie or Miniseries category.

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Douglas will face off against co-star Matt, as well as Jeremy Irons for The Hollow Crown, Rob Lowe for Killing Kennedy and Al Pacino for Phil Spector.

The actor has already won an Emmy award for his portrayal of Liberace, which he said recently was the 'candle on top of the cake after his tough few years.

Competition: Douglas' co-star Matt Damon, who played Liberace's lover Scott Thorson in the TV movie, also received a nomination in the same category

Matt Damon plays Scott Thorson in Liberace movie Behind the...

He told GQ magazine: 'It's been a couple of tough years here and this has been sort of the candle on top of the cake, I guess.'

Douglas can also take more satisfaction that the success of the movie comes after several studios turned down the chance to distribute it on the big screen.

It was then picked up by HBO, who made an extraordinary amount of money through the worldwide success of the project.

Working on it: This year also saw Michael split from wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, but the actor is said to be keen for a reconciliation

Douglas added: 'I'm actually taking a sort of joy, a revengeful joy, in the fact that all the studios turned it down.

'To me it was just a reflection of how constipated and conservative the studios have become.'

The SAG Awards will be handed out in Los Angeles on January 18th and shown live on U.S. television networks TNT and TBS.

THE SCREEN ACTOR'S GUILD AWARDS 2014 - FULL LIST OF NOMINATIONS

FILM -

Male Actor, Lead

Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Forest Whitaker, Lee Daniels' The Butler

Male Actor, Supporting

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl, Rush
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Female Actor, Lead

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Female Actor, Supporting

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels' The Butler

Cast in a Motion Picture

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
Lee Daniels' The Butler

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

All Is Lost
Fast & Furious 6

Lone Survivor
Rush
The Wolverine

TELEVISION -

Male Actor, TV Movie or Miniseries

Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra

Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
Jeremy Irons, The Hollow Crown
Rob Lowe, Killing Kennedy
Al Pacino, Phil Spector

Female Actor, TV Movie or Miniseries

Angela Bassett, Betty & Coretta
Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor
Holly Hunter, Top of the Lake
Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake

Male Actor, Drama Series

Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Female Actor, Drama Series

Claire Danes, Homeland
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Kerry Washington, Scandal

Male Actor, Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Female Actor, Comedy Series

Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Ensemble, Comedy

30 Rock
Arrested Development

The Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Veep

Ensemble, Drama

Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad

Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
Homeland
The Walking Dead