DEEP South drama “The Help” cleaned up with four nominations Wednesday for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, among them nods for Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer.

    The adaptation of the best-selling novel was also nominated for best ensemble cast, along with silent film “The Artist,” wedding comedy “Bridesmaids,” family drama “The Descendants” and romantic fantasy “Midnight in Paris.”

    The nominations are among the first major honors on the long road to the Feb. 26 Academy Awards. The SAG list of contenders and Golden Globe nominees that will be announced Thursday help sort out favorites from outsiders for Oscar voters, whose nominations come out Jan. 24.

    Davis is up for best actress and Spencer for supporting actress as black maids who agree to share stories of their tough lives with an aspiring white writer at the start of the civil-rights movement in 1960s Mississippi. Chastain was also nominated for supporting actress as Spencer’s lonely, needy new boss.

    “The Artist” ran second with three nominations, including a best-actor honor for Jean Dujardin as a silent star falling from grace amid the advent of talking pictures and supporting actress for Berenice Bejo, who plays a rising sound-era movie star.

    Along with Davis, best-actress contenders are Glenn Close as a woman disguising herself as a male butler in 19th-century Ireland in “Albert Nobbs,” Meryl Streep as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady,” Tilda Swinton as a grief-stricken woman coping with her son’s horrible deeds in “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” and Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn.”

    Joining Dujardin in the best-actor category are Demian Bichir as a hard-working illegal immigrant father in “A Better Life,” George Clooney as a neglectful dad tending his two daughters in “The Descendants,” Leonardo DiCaprio as FBI boss J. Edgar Hoover in “J. Edgar,” and Brad Pitt as Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane in “Moneyball.”

    “Albert Nobbs” star Close was a double nominee, picking up a best-actress honor for a TV drama series for “Damages.” Close’s co-star Janet McTeer was nominated for supporting actress as a cross-dressing laborer in “Albert Nobbs.”

    Overlooked for best actor was Gary Oldman, whose performance in espionage saga “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” has been billed by critics as one of the best of his career.

    Also snubbed was Michael Fassbender for his daring role in the sex-addict drama “Shame” and Ryan Gosling for two acclaimed performances in the action tale “Drive” and the political drama “The Ides of March.”

    Several Oscar best-picture prospects will sit out the SAG ceremony, including Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse” and Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” but those are epic tales whose impact comes more from their scope than their performances.

    Another Oscar potential that missed out at SAG was David Fincher’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” which features a blistering break-out performance by Rooney Mara.

    “Bridesmaids” was a rare mainstream comedy that has earned critical respect. Along with its ensemble nomination, the film earned a supporting-actress slot for Melissa McCarthy as a crude but caring guest at the wedding.

    The 18th annual SAG Awards will be presented Jan. 29.

    (SD-Agencies)