Straight from the sunny shores of Southern California.

Welcome to the ninth Annual Newport Beach Film Festival, UK and Ireland honors night right here in London, England.

We'll get to meet icons from the world of British film and television.

And of course, Variety's ten Brits to Watch for 2026.

Join us for this incredible evening.

We produce extraordinary actors and you see a lot of young UK actors going over and starring in big American films, having American accents, and also because we just produce them good.

It's great to be in London.

My mum's here.

My sisters are here.

My brother's here.

So it's really cool, man.

Just to be honored on home turf.

I feel really blessed to be doing what I do for a living.

And it's just it's a real.

It's a dream.

It's surreal.

I'm just looking forward to meeting a bunch of absolute greats.

And, you know, it's it's going to be a very fun night.

We are here, of course, to welcome you all to the ninth Newport Beach Film Festival.

UK and Irish HONOURS welcome.

PBS has gone through so much this year.

We are so proud to have public broadcast with us, Southern California.

So thank you very, very much.

Tonight we're going to recognize many standout actors with a well known record of excellence.

But just as importantly, we are going to recognize the actors we'll be watching in the years ahead.

Our ten Brits and Irish to watch have become a standout part of our program, and it's always fun to see so many of our alumni classes starting the careers.

And then only a few years later, going and collecting their medals on the global stage, such as at the BAFTAs and the Oscars.

On to our first category.

We start with a real doozy.

It is the Icon Award.

The Icon Award is reserved for a rare kind of career, one that reshapes the landscape that came before it.

Jennifer Saunders.

Hey, we've got a getaway.

We've got to go now.

When this is actually over.

Yeah.

Will you please just remind me To go back for the boots that I just saw in westwood window .

Much as I'd like to hang around, some of us have got a bright and sparkling future to attend to.

Kindly see these retrograde geeks off the premises.

10,000 pounds.

What?

Oh, all this goes online for everyone to see.

Kimberley.

I just spoke to my agent.

And she says actually, being an icon, you can accept smaller and smaller parts and still maintain your dignity.

I don't know, is that true?

But I want all the young people, all the lovely young actors out here today.

You know, just keep going.

Because actually, when you get to my age, you care less and less about anything and you get more and more rewards just for standing up.

Sometimes it's it's it's lovely to be here and thank you.

Newport Beach Film Festival.

I shall, I shall enjoy the status.

Thank you.

Wow.

What do I love?

I love doing less.

I think that comes with age.

I love.

I love getting offered nice little parts in things because you can do what you love doing, but you don't have to be there the whole time.

And I love my little puppy that I just got.

I love my children, my grandchildren.

I mean, just life.

You know, I like having more time for life.

We now move swiftly on to the Spotlight Award.

One of the things Newport Beach Film Festival does beautifully is recognized talent in motion, honoring an artist at a turning point in their journey.

And our first recipient is a perfect embodiment for this award.

I'm free.

Free from all of it.

My way.

Not yours and not theirs.

You plus him.

Boom!

I got a team.

When was the last time you won a race?

Sunday.

Daytona.

Oh.

I'm sorry.

I meant formula one.

Oh.

I'm sorry.

Then same as you.

Wow.

This is beautiful.

Who would have thought, man.

Highest grossing sports movie of all time.

I mean, it's incredible.

And all they have to do is go and get a kid from Peckham.

I'm really blessed to be here today.

I'm here with my mom and my family.

So.

Yeah, this is an incredible honor.

Thank you so much.

And I still care, but I'm looking forward to not caring.

Jennifer.

It's time now for Variety's Ten to Watch.

You see, it's not just us who've been keeping a beady eye on the emerging talent across the UK and Ireland, but the wise star spotters at variety too It's just amazing to be able to be recognized by variety.

I'm, you know, really excited to kind of show the world what I have to offer.

I'm deeply flattered and honored that I'm on this list.

I mean, amongst people that I very much admire and I love their work.

I feel very grateful to be lovely list of people that I'm alongside and, nice to get get dressed up and come into central London and have a bit of a fancy time.

Let's move on to our Breakout Awards.

This category recognizes a group of creative professionals who have taken unique steps to deepen or expand their talents in exceptional ways.

Mummy Dad come here, you won’t believe what this snake is doing.

How do you get a man like that?

I have an aptitude for devotion.

I guess it was kind of weird.

I knew from a very early age that I was obsessed with this thing called storytelling.

The idea that someone can pretend to be someone and make me believe it.

And so that's, I think, probably the thing that I've been chasing since eight years old.

That feeling of trying to accomplish that.

Again and again and again and get better and better and better.

So, yeah, I, I kind of I got hooked from a very early age.

I guess that means you're not my best friend.

You gotta head out.

What?

Best friend?

Yeah.

I think you should just take a break from.

This film Luker.

It's been the most special, special film.

I feel so proud to be a part of it.

And thank you so much.

Thanks for having me byeee.

Everybody.

Stay calm.

Because this man, ladies and gentlemen, is Tommy Shelby.

Only one of you is to just speak to us because you're not alone, Charlie.

How about you, Steve?

Let's talk about you.

So many of us have a teacher or mentor.

They haven't given up on us.

And I want to say thank you to all the teachers and mentors that haven't given up on me.

Thank you.

It's not about the immediate success of what we're trying to do.

It's like the longevity of a career that can last until, you know, you're old and gray, you know?

So I'm just trying to do my best, trying to be present.

And I do believe, like, what's meant to be is meant to be.

So whatever is the next job, you go for it.

And you, you give it everything.

Grandfather, how long must we stay until we win France to our side?

Or were you hanged?

Is there a third choice?

I'm honestly just a kid with a pretty crazy imagination who worked out a way to get paid to use it, and I hope I'm allowed to use it forever.

Thank you.

I had an unorthodox way of getting into acting.

I just loved films, like I watched a lot of films.

Then this opportunity just suddenly arose and I had a chance to be in a film.

And it was more the sense of like being part of something and getting paid to use my imagination, which was as a kid, all I did every day was do that.

And yeah, so that's kind of how I got into it at the start.

It's time for our second light bulb moment in the form of our final spotlight light.

Please welcome Wunmi Wosaku he been doing in Chicago.

Are you back here in front of me?

Two arms, two legs.

Two eyes.

And a brain that work.

How?

You know I ain't pray and work every root.

My grandmama taught me to keep you and that crazy brother.

You're safe every day since you've been gone.

In a world that can seem so divided and overwhelming.

Stories, connectors.

They remind us that we are more alike than we are different.

If this is what the spotlight can do, illuminate stories that matter and bring people together, then I am so honored to stand in it tonight.

Thank you so much.

There's something about being an actor.

You sometimes feel really powerless because all you can do is audition.

So when someone casts me, that's the opportunity.

Without it, there wouldn't be the representation without the people making those decisions.

So I feel really grateful for those people and the people who came before me, who were cast before me, because it made me a little bit more visible, just a little bit more possible for me.

Yeah.

It's time now for the Artists of Distinction Awards.

Now, this category recognizes artists whose work have made a huge impact on the UK and Ireland entertainment industry.

Our first honoree in this group is an artist whose work has become woven into the fabric of British film, television and theater.

Shirley Henderson.

I wouldn't expect you to know me.

Who would ever talk about ugly, miserable, moping, moaning Myrtle?

That was an hour ago.

It was just having dinner.

This is going to change everything.

And she decided to kill herself in our garden, right when we're trying to sell the house.

I mean, who does that?

Who goes and kills himself in someone else's garden?

Why couldn't you just have killed herself in her own garden?

She's never garden.

My mum and dad never took me to see plays.

And we never went to the cinema very often.

But what we did do is we used to watch all the old films on television.

There was saying, these are great movie actors.

Look at them, they're improvising.

They're making this stuff up.

It's really fun.

That's sexy.

And a seed was planted in my head that night, and I got a feeling that I wanted to reach out and find.

What is that film thing?

What is it they're doing.

And I've been so lucky.

I've been able to find my way in and play and be part of this amazing business.

And, I'm not pregnant, but I'm very breathless.

I just never know from one minute to the next what is going to happen.

And with that comes, sometimes it's not comfortable, but sometimes it's just lovely.

You get little surprises, like, like this comes up.

You know, I could never have imagined this, so, so, I don't know, you just live for the moment.

Really.

From early breakout roles to commanding performances on the world's biggest stages, Jack O'Connell has built a body of work that consistently challenges both audiences and himself.

Prisoners talk about doing time on the road.

There is no time.

The clock stopped moving.

The minute we were sentenced.

How about you tell me what happened?

Any man can't save his own kids.

Don't deserve to live.

This feels great.

Newport Beach film festival.

Thank you very much.

I really am blown away by the amount of talented individuals in this room.

And, to be in and amongst it is is great.

Sam Claflin has built a body of work defined by charisma, range and an instinct for complex leading men.

What do you make of this?

Count of Monte Cristo.

I like him.

I've been doing some checking on you.

Who is this Count?

How can someone with us to fortune be anonymous?

You know what I want better than I do.

What you want is hardly relevant.

I feel like I know you from a long time ago.

But I must be wrong.

Who are you referring to?

This is a real honor.

Truly an honor to be recognized for a job that doesn't feel like work.

Sometimes it really is surreal.

It's surreal.

I've never been someone who has had much self-belief, much confidence within myself.

So really, I feel like this belongs to a whole host of people who have had the belief in me when I haven't had that.

Yeah, it takes a village and I'm just I feel very grateful to be a resident in this one.

So thank you very much.

When I look back at my back catalog of work, I do sort of stand proud or prouder now, I think, because I see the growth.

And I think when you look back at anything, no matter what job you're in, with your first day, to your current day, I think you can see that there has been an education and a growth, not only as an actor, but as a person.

You know, I do feel that there is a sort of slight responsibility being an artist of distinction.

I need to keep going and keep trying to tell stories and build characters, build worlds.

And I just feel lucky to be doing a job that I love doing.

Our next honoree is an actor whose career has quietly shaped the landscape of British film, television and theater for decades, with a rare ability to disappear entirely into character.

Timothy Spall has built a body of work that is as expansive as it is deeply human, earning him a place among the most respected performers of his generation.

Hold out your arm, master.

Thank you.

Master!

The other arm worm tail.

I'm still making your nice little pictures, Mr.

Turner.

You'd make a fine subject for you to paint.

Oh, is that so?

I shall congitate upon it.

You'll never know.

Be queen.

You're going to bring them down the Rochester house.

Where?

Two lions.

And, please, 800 miles away.

Don't you start.

It's just so good to get awards, isn't it?

I mean, these things are called plays because all this stuff, this honesty comes out of playing.

Remaining a child.

Remaining a fool.

Being dedicated and serious, but also completely ridiculous and prepared to make a complete of yourself, get it wrong, and be 40 foot tall on the screen, giving work and getting terrible reviews and sometimes getting awards.

And.

I still to this day never know what's coming around the corner.

It could be nothing.

Or it could be something completely, extraordinarily exciting and terrifying, I don't know.

And that that is one of the one of the insecurities being an actor, because it could all stop.

But one of the joys of it, because you never know what human being you want.

You're going to ask you to try and play next and make it believable.

You just don't know.

And I never, I never take any of it for granted.

I always assume that, well, you got away with that one.

Sophie Turner became a global star.

Through her Emmy nominated performance as Sansa Stark in the cultural phenomenon Game of Thrones, anchoring one of television's most iconic series with strength, intelligence and emotional depth.

Fearless, versatile and commanding on screen, she remains one of Britain's most compelling contemporary talents.

I want you to come live with me.

Stay with me and you'll have nothing to fear.

I'm hungry all the time.

The things I have lost.

Every performance I've given, every part I've played.

Has been the end result of a very particular dance with more artists of distinction than I can count.

So to every single person that's danced the dance with me over the past 17 years, I'm old.

This distinction is as much yours as it is mine.

Thank you everyone.

Well, well, well, we've reached the final award and it's the big one.

It's the outstanding contribution to Global Entertainment Award.

So this award celebrates and recognizes the people who have made huge impacts in the entertainment industry, and whose work could arguably be considered modern cornerstones of our culture.

And there is no one more deserving than this year's recipient.

Neal Street Productions.

Here to tell us more about.

The very deserving recipient is someone who's just gone from playing one of England's most significant playwrights as William Shakespeare in the mesmerizing Hamlet to one of our most celebrated songwriters as Paul McCartney in the exciting new four film biopic.

Please welcome Paul Mescal.

So it's an honor to be standing here tonight to present the final award of the evening.

The company we're celebrating has shaped so much of the work and many of the creative lives that we admire in this industry.

They have impacted us not only with their body of work, but also with their process.

I know from a personal standpoint what that process feels like, what it feels like to be inside and around Neal Street Productions.

I know the investment they place at the center of this creative process.

I've seen the respect and space they give to writers.

I know the love they give to actors, and I can feel firsthand the ambition they have for the production that they are involved in, whether that's on screen or on stage.

Please welcome my friends to the stage.

And.

Firstly, to the Newport Beach Film Festival.

I think it's fantastic that you shine a spotlight on British and Irish talent in a way that nobody else really does.

So thank you, Gary, Gregg.

And also a big thank you to variety and and PBS for for your partnership.

I also want to thank these guys on the stage.

We're quite a small company, as you can see now there are a few more people who couldn't be here but Harriet, Lola, Julie, Millie who are just the best.

And I wanted to give a special shout out to my partner in crime, Sam Mendes, who I think almost uniquely takes more pleasure in the success of others and in lifting up other directors, many, many people over the years and and me.

And so I just wanted to say a public thank you because normally I'm just rude to him But thank you, Sam.

We were schoolchildren in Oxford and he was at a boys school.

I was at a girls school.

We actually met at, in a village hall.

Disco.

Yeah.

And we just became friends.

And I was probably only about 13, I think 12 or 13.

And he was 15 or something.

And then we actually also went to university together.

So we've sort of, we've sort of stayed together since we were children.

Woohoo!

With any production company that is, identity is bound up with the people, and the people are the company and the people behind me, many of whom have been working with us all together, for a long time.

Success doesn't necessarily always mean get bigger.

Success can mean refine what you do.

Perfect what you do.

We believe small is beautiful, and we'd all rather make a great two hour piece of art, a jewel, something that we can be proud of for the rest of our lives.

Then 20 hours of acceptable content.

Find someone you love.

Hold on to them, particularly if they're good at their job and they're all good at their job.

Until next year.

Thank you so much for attending Newport Beach Film Festival honors UK and Ireland 2026.

Well, there we have it.

The end of an incredible evening.

Huge congratulations to all of our winners on the night.

We hope you've enjoyed watching this as much as we've enjoyed being here from all of us.

A very good night to you all.

What was it like for Brad Pitt to work with you on F1?

Now this is a guy like this is a question that I adore.

I actually told my mom that I'm going to call her bonkers and she was like, no, I'm quirky.

Like, just tell everyone I'm quirky.

It's my stool, my stool chair.

It's good.

I'm going to read the text exchange that took place between me and Pippa.

Me?

What are you saying this evening?

Pippa, I'm going to be driving home.

I said, what are you saying?

Not.

Where are you staying, you daft old bat?