Catherine O’Hara left Hollywood in tears at the 2026 Actor Awards as her posthumous win for The Studio was accepted by co-star Seth Rogen.
The actor stepped up to accept the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series on behalf of the late star, calling it a ‘very sad honor.’
Rogen delivered a heartfelt tribute to O’Hara, describing her as a performer who commanded respect and admiration from her peers, while the SAG-AFTRA audience rose to their feet in a standing ovation.
‘I know she would have been humbled to receive this award from her fellow performers, who she admired so much,’ he said, his voice breaking as the camera panned to a tearful Kathryn Hahn.
The emotional moment continued as attendees like Jenna Ortega – who starred alongside O’Hara in Beetlejuice and was nominated in the same category – dabbed at their eyes during the speech.
O’Hara, who passed away in late January at the age of 71 from a pulmonary embolism caused by rectal cancer, delivered her final brilliant performance in The Studio, bringing her signature wit and charm to character Patty Leigh.
Catherine O’Hara left Hollywood in tears at the 2026 Actor Awards as her posthumous win for The Studio was accepted by co-star Seth Rogen; (O’Hara pictured in 2019)
Rogen stepped up to accept the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series on behalf of the late star, calling it a ‘very sad honor’
Rogen continued, ‘I, obviously, have been reflecting on the time I was fortunate enough to spend with her and working with her, and something that I’ve just been marveling at over the last few weeks was really her ability to be generous and kind and gracious, while never, ever minimizing her own talents and her own ability to contribute to the work that we were doing.
‘She knew she could destroy, and she wanted to destroy every day on set.’
He marveled at O’Hara’s control over her craft, revealing how she meticulously reshaped her scenes.
‘And I haven’t said this to the other actors, because I didn’t want them to get ideas, but pretty much every evening before she had a shooting day on our show, she would email me and [co-creator/EP] Evan [Goldberg] an email that always was pretty similar, and it said, “Hello, I hope you’ll consider the following.” And then there would be a completely rewritten version of the scene she was in.’
Rogen added, ‘And literally, 100% of the time, it made not just her character better, but it made the scene better and the entire show better as a whole.
‘And she really showed that you can be a genius and be kind, and one of those things does not have to come at the expense of the other in any way, shape or form.’
Concluding the moving tribute, he urged the audience to share O’Hara’s work with anyone who hadn’t yet experienced it.
‘So I guess I’ll just leave you with this. If you have people in your lives that don’t know her work, if they’re kids in your lives, or just people who are out of touch or stupid or something, just show them O’Hara dancing to Harry Belafonte and Beetlejuice, show them O’Hara hurting her knee in Best in Show and doing that amazing thing where she hobbles around, and tell the people, as they are laughing, that that’s Catherine O’Hara, and we were lucky that we got to live in a world where she so generously shared her talents with us.’
‘I know she would have been humbled to receive this award from her fellow performers, who she admired so much,’ he said, his voice breaking as the camera panned to a tearful Kathryn Hahn
Sarah Paulson became emotional during the speech
The emotional moment continued as attendees like Jenna Ortega – who starred alongside O’Hara in Beetlejuice and was nominated in the same category – dabbed at their eyes during the speech
Rose Byrne fought back tears
O’Hara made history as the first woman in the Screen Actors Guild to earn an individual trophy posthumously.
She had also been honored as an ensemble member in The Studio and previously won in the category for the final season of Schitt’s Creek.
The Studio racked up five Actor Award nominations this year, taking home three wins, including the prize for Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Series.
Earlier in the evening, Rogen also scored the award for Best Actor for his role in the comedy.
Rogen had already paid tribute to O’Hara back in January on Instagram.
The star called it a ‘true honour’ to have worked with her.
He added, ‘This is just devastating. We’re all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it.’
Fellow cast members shared their own heartfelt memories.
Chase Sui Wonders described O’Hara as someone who ‘radiated goodness and light,’ while Hahn said her late co-star ‘inspired me at every single turn, as an artist and a human.’
Ike Barinholtz echoed the sentiment, admitting he was ‘so profoundly sad she’s somewhere else now’ but also ‘so incredibly grateful I got to spend the time I did with her.’
Actor Awards 2026 winners
FILM
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
Frankenstein (Netflix)
Hamnet (Focus Features)
Marty Supreme (A24)
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros)
Sinners (Warner Bros) – WINNER
Michael B. Jordan led Sinners to two of the biggest wins of the night
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet – WINNER
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
Chase Infinity – One Battle After Another
Emma Stone – Bugonia
Jessie Buckley was recognized for her work in Hamnet
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners – WINNER
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Miles Caton – Sinners
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another – WINNER
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
Amy Madigan – Weapons – WINNER
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Amy Madigan was honored for her work in thriller Weapons
OUTSTANDING STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
F1 (Apple Original Films)
Frankenstein (Netflix)
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount) – WINNER
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros)
Sinners (Warner Bros)
TELEVISION
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
Landman (Paramount+)
The Pitt (HBO Max) – WINNER
Severance (Apple TV)
The White Lotus (HBO)
Noah Wyle and The Pitt were massive winners on the television drama side
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sterling K. Brown – Paradise
Billy Crudup – The Morning Show
Walton Goggins – The White Lotus
Gary Oldman – Slow Horses
Noah Wyle – The Pitt – WINNER
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Britt Lower – Severance
Parker Posey – The White Lotus
Keri Russell – The Diplomat – WINNER
Rhea Seehorn – Pluribus
Aimee Lou Wood – The White Lotus
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
The Bear (FX/Hulu)
Hacks (HBO Max)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
The Studio (Apple TV) – WINNER
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ike Barinholtz – The Studio
Adam Brody – Nobody Wants This
Ted Danson – Inside Man
Seth Rogen – The Studio – WINNER
Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building
Seth Rogen’s The Studio swept the television comedy portion
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Kathryn Hahn – The Studio
Catherine O’Hara – The Studio – WINNER
Jenna Ortega – Wednesday
Jean Smart – Hacks
Kristen Wiig – Palm Royale
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Jason Bateman – Black Rabbit
Owen Cooper – Adolescence – WINNER
Stephen Graham – Adolescence
Charlie Hunnam – Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Matthew Rhys – The Beast In Me
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Claire Danes – The Beast In Me
Erin Doherty – Adolescence
Sarah Snook – All Her Fault
Christine Tremarco – Adolescence
Michelle Williams – Dying For Sex – WINNER
OUTSTANDING STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A TELEVISION SERIES
Andor (Disney+)
Landman (Paramount+)
The Last of Us (HBO) – WINNER
Squid Game (Netflix)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.