The rags-to-riches suspense drama "Slumdog Millionaire' topped off a big weekend Sunday night with a win for Best Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles -- the equivalent of a Best Picture trophy.

On Saturday, the film captured Best Picture at the Producers Guild of America Awards. With the wins, "Slumdog" finds itself moving forward with a better chance at capturing the Best Picture Oscar since several Academy members are also guild members.

A shocked Meryl Streep won Best Actress for playing a nun suspicious of a priest's behavior with a young boy in "Doubt." The legendary actress was just nominated last week for her record-extending 15th Oscar nomination.

"Can I just say there is no such thing as the best actress, there is no such thing as the greatest living actress," Streep said.

Sean Penn took the Best Actor trophy for playing the nation's first openly gay elected city official in "Milk."

"As actors, we don't play gay, straight. We don't play any of these kinds (of roles). We play human beings, and this movie is something that all of us involved are so proud of," Penn said. "This is a story about equal rights for all human beings."

Kate Winslet won Best Supporting Actress for a woman with a past as a Nazi war criminal in "The Reader," and Heath Ledger's sociopathic reinvention of Batman bad guy the Joker in "The Dark Knight" has earned him the Best Supporting Actor honor.

His co-star, Gary Oldman, accepted the prize on behalf of the late actor and admitted that he was becoming emotional thinking about Ledger as he stepped to the podium.

The win puts the late actor a step closer to becoming just the second performer to win a posthumous Academy Award.

Oscar buzz has been flying over Ledger's performance since before his death just over a year ago from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

With the SAG win, Ledger now looks like a virtual lock to receive the supporting-actor Oscar on Feb. 22. "The Dark Knight" also won for Best Stunt Esemble prior to the ceremony's broadcast.

On the television side, "30 Rock" took all the top honors, including Best Emsemble. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin were named Best Female Actor and Actress, respectively.

In the drama category, "Mad Men" won for Best Ensemble. Sally Field won for Best Female Actor for "Brothers and Sisters" and Hugh Laurie took Best Actor for "House."

Laurie said that he expected his competitor from "Boston Legal" to win.

"I actually had $100 on James Spader," Laurie quipped. "This is just not my night."

Legendary actor James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader and Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee for "The Great White Hope," was also presented with SAG's Life Achievement Award at the ceremony.

"I want to thank you for all the work that you do," Jones said.

Following up with a quote from the Book of Genesis on how God breathed life into man, Jones added, "I don't mean to embarrass anybody by comparing the actor to God, but once we've taken the role, we have a similar responsibility to breathe life into that role, and only the actor can do that."