It looks like all that buzz surrounding Jennifer Aniston's performance in Cake is not for nothing because this morning the actress found herself on the short list of Outstanding Lead Actress contenders for the SAG Awards. It is a huge deal for Aniston just to be nominated after years of floundering in the rom-com zone. Now her name is being spoken among the likes of Julianne Moore, Reese Witherspoon, Rosamund Pike and Felicity Jones, all fellow SAG nominees this year.

This time around Aniston embraced a totally different kind of character and tackled the role of chronic pain sufferer Claire Bennett with a real openness that has won her rave reviews since Cake first previewed in early September. In fact, it was the overwhelmingly positive response to it that prompted producers to rush to get it out this year, making it eligible for this current awards cycle rather than risking it getting lost at the beginning of next year's films.

No one is likely more surprised by this nomination than Aniston herself. In recent weeks she has gotten a bit giddy just thinking about the fact that people were mentioning that Cake could be award-worthy. The actual nomination probably means almost as much as taking home the trophy would for the woman who, at least up until now, has been best known for her role as Rachel Green on Friends.

Are you anxious to check out Cake when it finally hits theaters? Can you imagine Aniston giving the kind of performance that could possibly beat out Witherspoon in Wild or Moore in Still Alice? Do you think she could ever have a realistic chance of actually taking home the SAG Award for Outstanding Lead Actress?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

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