Kieran Culkin missed out on receiving his big win at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday (16 February).
The 42-year-old actor won Best Supporting Actor for his role in A Real Pain at the 78th annual ceremony in London. But Culkin was noticeably absent from the event, so his co-star Jesse Eisenberg — who wrote and directed their movie — accepted the award on his behalf.
During the speech, he took a moment to explain why Culkin couldn’t attend the ceremony.
“We spoke this morning. He's in New York with a family member who's quite sick,” Eisenberg said. “And he is so devoted as a family dad that he tried to drop out of my movie two weeks before we started shooting because he didn't want to leave his kids.”
Eisenberg went on to gush about his friend, calling Culkin “real.” He also said that the Succession alum’s devotion to his family was “admirable” and “beautiful.”
“He's one of these lucky people who's brilliantly talented, but who, for some random luck of the cosmos, has his priorities in order,” Eisenberg continued. “So I'm so honored to accept this for him.”
Culkin is the father of a five-year-old daughter, Kinsey, and a three-year-old son, Wilder, who he shares with his wife, Jazz Charton.
Earlier in his speech, Eisenberg – who won the Bafta for Best Screenplay – quipped about Culkin’s numerous awards throughout his career.
“I know I just won an award, but this is also like the fifth award I've accepted on Kieran’s behalf,” he said. “It confirms what I always thought, we have a similar life, but his is about 27 percent better than mine.”
Along with the Bafta, Culkin has won two awards for his role in A Real Pain: a Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture.
Culkin is also nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which will take place February 23.
He also is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The Oscars ceremony will be held on March 2.
On Sunday, Hollywood actors – including Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande, and Zoe Saldaña – made their way to the Royal Festival Hall for the Baftas, which honored the best in film.
This year’s show was again presented by Doctor Who actor David Tennant. Take That performed their hit “Greatest Day,” which is featured in the multi-nominated film Anora. Hollywood legend and Wicked star Jeff Goldblum also performed a touching piano piece during the In Memoriam segment.
Conclave, a political thriller surrounding the choosing of a new pope, won the top prize, Best Film, while The Brutalist won in directing and acting categories.
Emilia Pérez — the controversial Spanish-language musical released by Netflix from French director Jacques Audiard — was once considered a frontrunner this awards season, but the film has faced intense scrutiny following its wide release, as well as for resurfaced racist tweets shared by its star, Spanish actor Karla Sofía Gascón.
While Emilia Pérez did miss out on nine of the 11 Bafta awards for which it was nominated, the film emerged victorious in both the international film and Best Supporting Actress categories, with Saldaña winning the latter category over her co-star Selena Gomez.
