LOS ANGELES — Helen Mirren of "The Queen" and Forest Whitaker of "The Last King of Scotland" won Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday as best lead players, their latest prizes on the road to the Academy Awards.

The road-trip romp "Little Miss Sunshine" won the prize for best film ensemble, the guild's equivalent of a best-picture award.

Solidifying their positions as Oscar favorites, Mirren won for playing British monarch Elizabeth II and Whitaker for starring as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson won supporting-acting honors as soulful singers in "Dreamgirls," also reinforcing their Oscar-front-runners status.

Murphy, who built his career as a fast-talking comic player, began with a thank-you speech more appropriate for a serious thespian — but his sober demeanor proved a gag.

"What a tremendous honor to be recognized by one's peers. I've been acting for some 25 years now and this is a tremendous honor," said Murphy, talking in a British accent.

"No, I'm sorry," said Murphy, cracking up in laughter. "I feel goofy up here, 'cause I don't be winning stuff."

The ensemble win for "Little Miss Sunshine" could give the film a best picture boost at the Oscars. But academy voters tend to favor heavy drama such as fellow nominees "Babel" and "The Departed."

The guild category has never been a reliable forecast for how the top Oscar might play out. In the 11 years since the guild added the ensemble honor, only five winners have gone on to receive the best-picture Oscar, including 2005's "Crash."

Past guild ensemble winners include "Sideways," "Gosford Park," "Apollo 13" and "The Birdcage," none of which won the best-picture Oscar.

The guild's individual acting winners often line up with eventual Oscars, however. Three of the four guild winners for 2005 — Philip Seymour Hoffman of "Capote," Reese Witherspoon of "Walk the Line" and Rachel Weisz of "The Constant Gardener" — all went on to receive Oscars, while all four guild acting winners for 2004 won at the Oscars.

Whitaker, Mirren, Murphy and Hudson have dominated Hollywood's acting honors this awards season, all four also taking home Golden Globes.

Mirren was diplomatic backstage when asked if she wants the Oscar.

"I'm not going there right now," said Mirren, who also won the guild's prize for best actress in a TV movie or miniseries as the current queen's namesake in "Elizabeth I." But it's been the most incredible year for me, ever. That's been amazing at this end of my life."

Mirren's "Elizabeth I" co-star Jeremy Irons won the guild's prize for best actor in a TV movie or miniseries.

Other TV winners were America Ferrera of "Ugly Betty" and Alec Baldwin of "30 Rock" as performers in comedy series, and Chandra Wilson of "Grey's Anatomy" and Hugh Laurie of "House" as performers in dramatic shows. TV ensemble prizes went to "Grey's Anatomy" for drama and "The Office" for comedy.