Picturesque Newport Beach, California, stunning shoreline, sparkling harbors and home to the Newport Beach Film Festival, one of the nation's leading luxury lifestyle film festivals.

For 26 years, the festival has delivered an internationally curated slate of films to Southern California, along with vibrant gatherings that celebrate exceptional talent.

Newport Beach is one of my special place and it's so beautiful.

Can we just take a moment to soak this in?

We've got sunshine, we've got sea breeze, we've got champagne, and this view can't get much better than that, right?

I'm loving it.

I love the water.

I got out of the car and I was like, oh, the smell of the water is so wonderful.

It feels like Paradise.

I can't even lie.

It's beautiful.

I was just on a yacht.

It's nice.

Fancy.

Thanks so much for having me.

Newport Beach Film Festival.

It's an honor.

The Newport Beach film festival.

Very exciting.

Welcome to the 26th Annual Honors here at the beautiful Balboa Bay resort, a day dedicated to showcasing the film industry's best and brightest while introducing Variety's ten Actors to Watch.

Over the years since we've been doing ten actors to watch, we've spotlighted more than 35 actors who have gone on to be nominated or win Academy Awards, from Brie Larson to Mahershala Ali to Timothee Chalamet.

And there is so much great talent this year.

I'm going to start with an actor who stole the biggest movie of the year with one line.

When Milly Alcock showed up on screen at the end of Superman as a drunk, foul mouthed Supergirl.

It was a true star is born moment.

What?

Dude, why did you move the door?

I didn't move the door.

Where is my dog?

Please welcome Milly Alcock.

Next, we have an actor who's been performing since a young age.

Even fans of her work on Henry Danger likely aren't prepared for her beautiful work in the upcoming song Sung Blue.

It is such a special film.

She is such a special performer.

Please welcome Ella Anderson.

We really have to call him lightning.

It's kind of weird.

He makes okay.

Our next honoree, you've likely seen Miles Caton.

He's blazed onto screens earlier this year as the star of Ryan Coogler Sinners, the musical prodigy whose talent is so undeniable it attracts supernatural attention.

And did I mention this is his first acting role ever?

Please welcome Miles Caton.

You didn't tell me I had Charlie Patton's guitar this whole time.

Oh, God.

In your hands, Lord.

Now let's see if you can play, like, right here.

Yeah.

Right now.

Come on.

All right, come on.

Watch this.

So I kind of cheated with our next actor to watch, because I've actually been watching him for some time.

He's won so many awards for his work on stage, and now he's breaking into films with a stunning turn opposite Willem Dafoe in the upcoming late fame.

I can't wait to see what's next.

Please welcome Edmund Donovan.

I don't know when you last read the book yourself, but it's as if the poems were written yesterday.

They're modern.

They're moving.

They're scathing.

They they just slap you across the face with their style and their relevancy.

They're timeless.

A year ago, our next actor had never professionally acted on a TV show or in a movie.

And just in the last year, she starred in a very pivotal role.

I won't give away spoilers, but you should watch Presumed Innocent and then landed the lead role in Paul Thomas Anderson's latest classic, One Battle After Another.

Please welcome Chase Infiniti.

Woo!

I don't want to be your babysitter.

I don't want to worry if you wrapped your car around a telephone pole.

Well, I didn't wrap up.

I didn't ask for this.

That's just how the cards were rolled out for me.

I want to introduce an actor who has already made a name for herself in Norwegian cinema.

Please join me in welcoming Inga, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas Our next actor is starring in a wonderful film opposite Cillian Murphy in Steve, a timely, unflinching look at a school for troubled boys.

Please welcome Jay Lycurgo What are you saying?

You can't force contact me.

I'm your son.

Shut up and listen.

It's over.

Do we have another actor making their movie debut?

And it's a big one.

The film is Nouvelle Vague, and they not only work with the great Richard Linklater, and they play the lead role in the movie, but they just happen to be playing filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard.

Please welcome Guillaume Marbeck Patricia.

Patricia.

Patricia.

Our next actor feels like a throwback to the old studio days, when actors were truly triple threats.

He can sing, he can dance, he can act.

So it's only fitting that in the new musical film kiss of the Spider Woman, he actually plays a golden era movie star.

Please welcome Tonatiuh I can't be alone.

I can't be here.

Save me Lord.

Take me away.

Our final actor began her career as a journalist, so it's no surprise we have a real affinity for her.

Later this year, you're going to get to see her in a very special film called Rental Family.

It is a big crowd pleaser and I am warning you now you will cry.

Bring tissues.

Please welcome Mari Yamamoto.

Were you in an underground Tokyo fighter club?

Yeah, I wish, I mean angry housewife.

This is our 2025 class of Variety's ten Actors to Watch.

Just getting the opportunity to be in a room with Paul Thomas Anderson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn.

Benicio del Toro.

Like, it's insane to think.

And I took every single moment and I treated it like a masterclass.

I really wanted to make sure that I observed and I learned, and I was there every second of the way to watch what makes the greats great.

I feel like once I reached a certain point in my music career, I would venture off into different things.

So I feel like I eventually would, you know, get into acting.

I grew up like the family clown and stuff, but not like this.

Yeah, I'll tell you a story, a quick one.

We were shooting my close up on a very emotional scene, and you won't remember this because this is the norm for you.

But we were on a tiny Japanese balcony about this wide, and I was here, the camera was here, and Brendon was behind the camera, and he wanted to be there for me so badly that he was leaning out.

He's a massive guy in Japan on a tiny balcony.

He's just leaning out so much to put my his face as close as he can to me, and he's worried about that.

But I'm worried about the Oscar winner falling from the balcony, so it's a bit hard to focus, but it's just a story that tells you how he is as a person and an actor that you know he will do anything to catch you if you fall, he will always be there for you.

So I. Now I'm crying, but, I learned that that's how I want.

I want to be as a person and as an actor.

So thank you, Brendan Fraser.

Doing this movie has opened the door for me to do so many different things.

I'm not confined to one genre or to one style of creativity.

I'm an artist, period, and I just feel like to be able to express that in different ways.

Couldn't ask for anything else.

Well, I've been working for ten years, but it feels like I'm like the light is suddenly on me and it's just like, oh my gosh, honestly, it's a little surreal.

I'm not gonna lie.

There's not one one pinpointed thing I would love to do just to to continue to create and to continue to push myself in ways and and try new, challenging work.

I think that that more than a pinpointed thing.

That's what I would say.

Variety's ten Actors to Watch is a remarkable collection of gifted young artists sharing the spotlight with those honored today the groundbreaker, the champions, the visionaries and the icons.

Our next honoree is known for his roles as Will Byers in the hit Netflix show Stranger Things.

Why do you keep lying to Mike?

I'm not lying.

You're not.

You're friends with Angela and Stacy, and you come to parties here.

I have been to a party for mom's work.

That's not what you imply.

I just I don't think Mike's gonna like that.

You're lying to him, and he doesn't deserve that.

And when he finds out, he's going to be mad.

Any time I'm doing anything really involved in the acting world, I just, I feel like alive again.

Like, I truly, whenever I'm, whenever I'm down or struggling or having trouble with anything like the work and the the the roles and the scripts that I get to read, like it's like reviving anytime I get to to do it and try a new role, or put on a new outfit, or speak with a new director or read a new script, it's it's like becoming alive.

Our first breakout recipient today.

Please welcome to the stage, Tessa Thompson.

I'm not stupid.

I know you're not stupid.

You're so clever, aren't you?

So brave.

Perhaps I should burn it off after all.

My dad's a musician, and he had a studio just off of Hollywood Boulevard.

So when we walked to the market or to the library, we'd walk on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, essentially.

And one of the days when we were walking, a friend of his was casting a music video, and we went in just to say hello, and I ended up being in that music video.

It would be many years until I would act again in front of a camera.

I think it made me very interested from a very young age in storytelling and all the various ways that we can do that.

And this movie is the first film that comes out that my production company made, and that I get to really sink my teeth into producing.

And and this is an industry that I, you know, I've worked in for such a long time.

So to get to, to to break new ground and to tell stories is just really such an honor.

It really and truly.

You know, I bet when you look in the mirror, you see this rough and tumble.

Old school cowboy doesn't take orders.

Goes his own way, A lone wolf.

Has grown up in Ireland.

And I wanted to be an actress so badly.

And I left at 16 with no money in the dark.

Got on a train.

25 years later, here I am.

So my whole career has been literally a dream come true.

I love being an actress.

Thank you so much.

I'm really grateful.

Thank you.

The population must always be kept in balance.

I said sit down.

It makes me feel like.

A young woman.

Are you young?

This award reflects the heart of my mission to foster cultural understanding and bring people together through the power of the arts.

And I'm grateful to have been a bridge between different cultures and be able to support talented creators and their dreams.

Movie time is over.

We really got to talk.

He's your friend.

Sailed many years with you, right?

Friendship is a beautiful thing.

I'll give you one minute to cut off his head.

I'm very proud to be here.

To be able to say something I've wanted to say for 50 years.

Which is?

I could have been Luke Skywalker.

I auditioned for the role.

Thank God this amazing man created an immortal role.

And you were spared me screwing it up.

I am your spaniel and Demetrius.

The more you beat me, I will fawn on you.

Oh, so Helena is a bottom.

My plastic surgeon says I can't do any activities where balls fly at my nose.

Well, there goes your social life.

When I think about why I have always been obsessed with acting and wanting to be an actor, it's that the things that drew me in had these big energy bursts that were about how people are dealing with what is happening to their heart.

I just wanted to be involved with expressing what it's like to be alive and to be sensitive, and that that led me to comedy.

I think it only led me to comedy, because that seemed, at the time, the only place that was appropriate for emotional intensity.

I'm so grateful to be an actor, and I want you to know that I thank you from the center of my truest and happiest and fiercest heart.

Thank you so much.

I think my creative output can be compared to appetite in general.

You know, just some days you wake up and you really feel the need for something fresh or something, you know, like a hearty stew or whatever.

And I, as a creative person, I try to follow my appetites, appropriately rather than say like, no, I'm not someone that does that.

There's an openness to what I do that I pair with, respect for my skill set.

And it does lead me to many different places.

And that's that's what I hope for, not to be unfocused and not to be, greedy with what I get to do, but to just be a part of as much as interest me as possible.

And a lot of times that requires learning on the job.

But I'm I'm into that.

With this film, you will laugh a lot, but we'll show the reality of our times, the truth of our times.

Thank you very much.

And for our first icon, we award a true legend.

Walk until there's only one of you left.

Maintain a speed of three miles per hour.

If you fall below the speed, you get a warning.

If you can't make speed in 10s, you get an additional warning.

Three warnings.

You get your ticket.

Math can be hard, but it can't lie.

So.

Take another one of those two because Chuck-O you are good.

You have art in you.

I am your father.

Believe in yourself.

Work hard.

Never give up and anything's possible.

Or kick back.

Relax and aim low.

You'll never be disappointed.

As much as an actor likes a good entrance, you also are a dignified exit.

And a few years ago, I thought.

Well, I've reached a plateau.

You know, I'm not a spring chicken anymore, so I didn't say I'm retired.

And I always thought, well, I'll do voiceover, but I don't care about being on camera anymore.

And once that feeling came over me out of nowhere, I was sort of in demand again.

And and it is great.

I mean, the older you get, the more appreciative you are.

Personally, I want to thank some of my friends and mentors Lynn Cresswell, my two kids, Aria and Daniel.

Thank you all so much.

Every year on my birthday, she would make a new portrait of us together.

Like same.

Same background and same position.

Charting.

Like how we aged and how we grew.

She would fill my room with secret notes.

It would take me weeks to find them all.

No wonder my daughter hates me.

Yeah, I feel very lucky that I get to do this every day for a living.

It's very surreal, so I feel very blessed and grateful.

So thank you.

Diane Lane has been nominated for an Oscar, three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes.

Her résumé is so diverse that she recently appeared in the miniseries feud, Capote Versus the Swans as Slim Keith, and as Riley's mom in Inside Out two, the most successful animated film in history.

And by the way, that play she did with Meryl Streep was The Cherry Orchard on Broadway when she was only 12 years old.

I only wanted to help.

I liked you from the start.

Someone you've promised to cherish.

Till death do you part.

Says I never loved you.

You should kill you instantly.

Your brother, your husband.

I know.

It's academia.

She's free to present any view.

I pushed back and she accused me of being bullying and belittling.

So I reached out to my colleagues, including the dean.

I wasn't going to let her just hijack my class.

I started out in the theater in New York City.

I was so young.

I didn't have my front teeth, but it was better than daycare, and that was kind of the mentality of it.

I fell uphill, and my whole life I just, I still feel like it's better than daycare.

This work continues to inform my heart, and I hope it's a two way street as much as it has given to me.

Well, I can never play any age other than the one I am in the sense of.

We are always pretending we have life experiences we don't have.

But until AI replaces me, this is what you get.

And I'm getting more and more comfortable with that.

And I'm getting more and more, excited about each stage of life.

I wouldn't go back for anything.

I'm really loving this window of time that is called now.

I need to go.

I have to go.

Have anyone else?

I need to know that I have done one thing, right with my life.

These government men, they beat, you Nice talking to you, Bob.

Anyway, about that duck.

You want me to get rid of him still, Why?

What do you need me for?

We need a token white guy.

The great Brendan Fraser All I ever wanted to be was a working actor.

Because an actor without a job is like a painting in a steamer trunk.

The craft doesn't exist in a vacuum.

Otherwise, who's going to see you?

Here's a secret weapon.

Have courage.

Open that box.

Proudly display yourself as the work of art that you are.

Always stand your ground and always keep learning.

You'll never get better at this job without asking for help, which is also an act of courage.

It seems that my intention just to share a few words of gratitude this afternoon, straight into inspirational advice territory, so I'll take the good advice from an icon of my very own, who told me, if ever I am fortunate enough to be at a podium in an acceptance speech, to be good.

Be brief and be seated.

Thank you.

Actors want to work.

Actors work no matter what.

And the very fortunate ones.

Maybe we're still around doing this.

And?

And I love that.

I'm still being asked and invited to do work that I care about.

You gaslighted me?

You're a villain.

Don't you ever talk to your mother like that?

Rule number one.

Never take your eye off your opponent.

I totally, totally hate you.

I just don't know what I'm supposed to be.

You know, and then I had this terrible thought.

Acting has been a passion of mine since I was three years old, and I've been incredibly fortunate to be a working actor for over 30 years.

I've had the great privilege of working with some of the actors that inspired me to become an actor, and I just want to say thank you for this Trailblazer Award.

I think it means creating a path that wasn't there before, but certainly there are many in many ingenious and brave artists whose pioneering journeys have guided my way, so I can only hope to pay it forward, and that my visibility in directing Eleanor the Great will encourage other women to pursue their dreams of directing, and will help to shine a spotlight on the importance of women in film.

So thank you very much.

I love the industry so much.

I built such strong relationships, growing with other creatives in all areas and being able to continuously collaborate, you know, with the same people.

The family that I have, you know, made for myself within this industry is the thing that I love the most about it after three decades.

Thank you, everybody, for joining us today as we have celebrated the exceptional artists who have paved the way in the name of cinema.

Newcomer or icon?

Novice or legend?

These are the artists who bring us the films that truly move us, and the stories that touch our hearts.

Thank you for joining us for the 26th annual Newport Beach Film Festival Honors.

Hi.

I'm very happy to be here in Newport Beach.

Hi.

Sorry.

I've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to work on a variety of.

No pun intended.

Hi.

You look awesome.

Okay.

Thank you.

I can do lots of things with this, I think.

Oh, get your mind out of the gutter.

It is too, too early for that.

It's so beautiful here.

It's like the opening of Gilligan's Island.

Ooh.

Has a happier ending.