Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Quentin Tarantino big winners at Critics’ Choice Awards
Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood was named best picture.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s prolific awards season continued after Fleabag won big at the Critics’ Choice Awards while Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood was named best picture.
With less than a month to go until the Oscars, Tarantino’s love letter to 1960s Los Angeles received a timely boost as it was named the year’s best film ahead of rivals including The Irishman, 1917 and Marriage Story.
The best director prize was shared between Parasite’s Bong Joon Ho and 1917’s Sir Sam Mendes after Broadcast Film Critics Association voters could not split them.
Joaquin Phoenix took home best actor for his portrayal of a tortured loner in Joker while Renee Zellweger won best actress for playing Judy Garland in biopic Judy.
Brad Pitt won best supporting actor for playing an ageing stuntman in Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood and Laura Dern won supporting actress for playing a ruthless divorce lawyer in Marriage Story.
The Irishman stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino took to the stage together to accept the best acting ensemble gong.
Tarantino also won best screenplay for Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood. Eddie Murphy, who received a lifetime achievement award, was celebrating again when his Dolemite Is My Name won best comedy film.
Elsewhere, Toy Story 4 won best animated feature
In the TV categories, Waller-Bridge won best actress in a comedy series for Fleabag and had the star-studded audience inside the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica in fits of laughter after admitting her surprise at receiving so much critical adulation for writing a character “who literally looks into the camera and says ‘f*** me up the arse’”.
She added: “Thank you for getting behind that.”
Waller-Bridge, who has also won Emmys and Golden Globes for Fleabag’s lauded second season, described working on the show as “the best experience I’ll probably ever have”.
Taking to the stage for a second time after Fleabag won best comedy series, Waller-Bridge thanked Jennifer Lopez for influencing the Priest’s character.
The singer’s 2002 hit Jenny From The Block is the character’s favourite song, Waller-Bridge revealed.
Waller-Bridge’s co-star Andrew Scott – who plays the Priest – won best supporting actor in a comedy series.
Best drama was won by Succession while best supporting actor in a limited series or movie made for television went to Chernobyl’s Stellan Skarsgard
Bill Hader won best actor in a comedy series for Barry and Jharrel Jerome took home the award for best actor in a limited series or movie made for television for When They See Us.
Toni Collette won best supporting actress in a limited series or movie made for television for Unbelievable while best actress went to Michelle Williams for Fosse/Verdon.
Netflix’s When They See Us was named best limited series ahead of HBO and Sky’s Chernobyl. Show creator Ava DuVernay thanked the streaming giant for letting “a black woman do her thing”.
Regina King won best actress in a drama series for Watchmen, winning ahead of The Crown’s Olivia Colman and Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer.
There was more disappointment for British stars in the male category, where Succession’s Jeremy Strong beat Game Of Thrones’s Kit Harington and The Crown’s Tobias Menzies.
King’s Watchmen co-star Jean Smart won best supporting actress in a TV drama while the male equivalent went to Billy Crudup for The Morning Show.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie was named best movie made for TV.
Alex Borstein of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel won best supporting actress in a comedy series.
The prize for best foreign language film was awarded to South Korean dark comedy Parasite and Avengers: Endgame won best action film.
The event, hosted by actor Taye Diggs, is one of the final major awards shows before the Oscars.
