ACTORS GUILD HONORS PERFORMANCES : WINNERS MOTION PICTURES.

Byline: Janet Weeks Daily News Staff Writer

When actors honor themselves, they apparently believe no one should hog the limelight.

At the third annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday, statuettes were democratically passed around to actors in five films and eight TV shows, with no single production getting anything close to a sweep.

Best lead actor awards went to Geoffrey Rush, who played piano prodigy David Helfgott in the Australian film ``Shine,'' and Frances McDormand, who played a pregnant police chief in the dark comedy ``Fargo.''

Although both films were made outside the major studio system, the awards weren't the indies sweep some had predicted. MGM's ``The Birdcage'' won best cast for a film and Cuba Gooding Jr. won best supporting actor for Sony's ``Jerry Maguire.'' Lauren Bacall won best supporting actress for another Sony film, Barbra Streisand's ``The Mirror Has Two Faces.''

Nathan Lane, who accepted on behalf of ``The Birdcage'' cast, noted the studio wins, saying, ``What a wonderful surprise. This is the year of the independent film so I didn't think we had a chance.''

The cast of top-rated ``Seinfeld'' and the medical drama ``ER,'' both part of NBC's powerhouse Thursday night lineup, won best comedy and drama series awards. ``Seinfeld'' co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who was noticeably pregnant, also won for best female lead. ``Seinfeld'' was the only production to win multiple honors.

A typically swanky Hollywood affair held at the Shrine Auditorium, the show suffered in the emotion department as many of the winners were not present. Both Bacall and Gooding were absent (reportedly working out of the country) as was ``The Birdcage'' star Robin Williams and Alan Rickman, who won best TV movie actor for HBO's ``Rasputin.''

In a jab at the no-shows, Jerry Seinfeld quipped: ``I think people who do not show up should forfeit the award to the people who got dressed up and came down here.''

Seinfeld provided the few moments of comic relief in an evening in which most recipients effusively thanked the 86,000 guild members who voted on the awards. Instead, Seinfeld spoofed Dennis Hopper, who opened the show with the words: ``My name is Dennis Hopper and I am an actor.'' Seinfeld said, ``My name is Jerry Seinfeld and I am a bad actor, but I think I have proven convincingly that you can do very well in this business if you surround yourself with talented people.''

NBC comedy counterpart John Lithgow picked up a best lead actor in a comedy series award for ``3rd Rock from the Sun.'' Lithgow has also won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and an American Comedy Award for his portrayal of an alien posing as a university professor. Lithgow thanked ``Seinfeld's'' Michael Richards, saying ``I am shamelessly imitating him about 50 percent of the time.''

Rush, who also won a Golden Globe and is now considered a shoe-in for an Oscar next month, said he talked to the real Helfgott and told him: ``He has my permission wholeheartedly to get up and (imitate) me at parties.''

The lifetime achievement award went to Angela Lansbury, who has had a 54-year career in show business. Lansbury said the 1990s are a good decade for over-40 actresses.

``I feel galvanized to keep going and strike out for new goals. A career is a work in progress and you might say I am in development.''

Other winners included Gillian Anderson for the ``X-Files'' and Dennis Franz for ``NYPD Blue.''

ACTOR: Geoffrey Rush, ``Shine''

ACTRESS: Frances McDormand, ``Fargo''

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Cuba Gooding Jr., ``Jerry Maguire''

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Lauren Bacall, ``The Mirror Has Two Faces''

CAST PERFORMANCE: Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest, Hank Azaria, Christine Baranski and Dan Futterman in ``The Birdcage''

Television

ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE OR MINISERIES: Alan Rickman, ``Rasputin''

ACTRESS IN A TV MOVIE OR MINISERIES: Kathy Bates, ``The Late Shift''

ACTOR IN A DRAMA: Dennis Franz, ``NYPD Blue''

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA: Gillian Anderson, ``The X-Files''

ACTOR IN A COMEDY: John Lithgow, ``3rd Rock from the Sun''

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, ``Seinfeld''

ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES: George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Laura Innes, Eriq LaSalle, Julianna Marguilies, Gloria Reuben, Sherry Stringfield and Noah Wyle in ``ER''

ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY: Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards and Jerry Seinfeld in ``Seinfeld''

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Angela Lansbury

?13Associated Press

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Photo: (1) Geoffrey Rush and Frances McDormand show off their Screen Actors Guild best film actor and actress awards at Saturday's presentation.

(2) John Lithgow

Named best TV comedy actor

Associated Press

Box: WINNERS (see text)