Daniel Day-Lewis honors Heath Ledger during Screen Actors Guild awards

BY AMY DILUNA and JOE NEUMAIER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Sunday, January 27th 2008, 11:55 PM

In a highly emotionally speech, Daniel Day-Lewis dedicated his Best Actor win for “There Will Be Blood” to the late Heath Ledger at Sunday night’s Screen Actors Guild Awards.

“For as long as I can remember, the thing that gave me a sense of wonderment and renewal ... has always been the work of other actors. Heath Ledger gave that to me,” said Day-Lewis.

The Oscar front-runner — his shoulders stooped, his unkempt hair slicked back to reveal a dangling earring in each lobe — seemed distracted by the homily he was clearly struggling through.

With that moving moment, and the glamorous red-carpet fashion show that preceded the TV broadcast, the SAG Awards stepped up to the plate as its TBS/TNT-broadcast show — a tradition for 14 years — finally became a full-fledged Oscar runnerup thanks to the strike-hobbled awards season.

Julie Christie won Best Actress for the Alzheimer’s drama “Away From Her.” Her win, like Day-Lewis’, now makes her a front-runner for an Oscar on Feb. 24.

Best Ensemble — SAG’s equivalent of Best Picture — went to the Coen brothers’ crime thriller “No Country for Old Men.”

With the win, “No Country” now seemingly becomes the one to beat for best picture, though its main Oscar nemesis, “There Will Be Blood,” wasn’t nominated for a SAG Award.

Javier Bardem, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for “No Country for Old Men,” also got within close range of an Oscar, while acting legend Ruby Dee — a surprise Best Supporting Actress winner for “American Gangster” — gained ground for her work in the crime drama.

Taking place in the Shrine Auditorium, the Academy Awards’ former home, the SAG show — which, unlike the Golden Globes was granted a waiver by the striking Writers’ Guild — represents the tastes of what is the largest voting bloc in the Academy Awards, the actors.

James Gandolfini won Best Actor in a Dramatic Series for “The Sopranos,” noting that the awards show was the troupe’s last official event together as a cast. His onscreen wife, Edie Falco, nabbed Best Actress in a Dramatic Series. The “Sopranos” cast also scored Best Ensemble in a Drama Series.

Tina Fey got Best Female in a Comedy Series for “30 Rock,” while her co-star Alec Baldwin won Best Actor in a comedy for the same show. The cast of “The Office” picked up the award for Best Ensemble in a Comedy.

Fashion designers can also thank the writers strike, which KOd the usual Golden Globes glamour parade. Last night, stars like Eva Longoria Parker, Christina Applegate, Vanessa Williams and Debra Messing sizzled — but Angelina Jolie’s appearance is bound to create the most morning-after buzz. Her floaty gown and amped-up cleavage will do little to curb speculation that the actress is pregnant.

adiluna@nydailynews.com