4th November, 2019
British-Nigerian singer and actress Cynthia Erivo won Breakout Actress for Harriet at the 23rd annual Hollywood Film Awards on Sunday night.
Charlize Theron and films including “Avengers: Endgame” were also honoured at the ceremony which took place at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. Rob Riggle served as host.
Theron was awarded the Career Achievement Award, which was presented by her Bombshell co-star Nicole Kidman.
“I think every actor always longs for longevity,” Theron said onstage. “We try to stay in this game for a long time and the fact that I’ve been able to do that, not only for this long but on my own terms, and make the stuff that really matters to me, that means a lot.”
Erivo born as Cynthia Chinasaokwu O. Erivo on 8 January 1987 in Stockwell, London to Nigerian parents is a versatile actress, singer, and songwriter. She is known for her performance as Celie in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and was one of nine recipients of the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Erivo’s film roles include the 2018 heist film Widows, the 2018 thriller Bad Times at the El Royale, and the 2019 biopic Harriet, in which she portrayed Harriet Tubman.
She attended La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls’ School. Erivo began a music psychology degree at the University of East London; however, a year into her degree, she applied to, and subsequently trained at, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
At Hollywood Film Awards on Sunday, the Avengers: Endgame won the Hollywood Blockbuster Award which was presented by star Mark Ruffalo and given to Marvel head Kevin Feige and producer Victoria Alonso.
Ruffalo, who portrays The Hulk in the Marvel films, defended superhero movies in the wake of filmmaker Martin Scorsese questioning their cinematic value.
“What really speaks to people about these movies, I think is the heart and humanity of characters, that’s what makes Avengers: Endgame so powerful to witness — these characters that care about and reckon with the world around them…to watch them struggle and survive and sometimes even say goodbye. That’s what make it cinema,” the actor said.
Antonio Banderas won the Hollywood Actor Award for his role in Pain and Glory; Renee Zellweger won the Hollywood Actress Award for Judy; Al Pacino won Hollywood Supporting Actor for The Irishman; Laura Dern won Hollywood Supporting Actress for Marriage Story; James Mangold won the Hollywood Director Award for Ford v Ferrari; Olivia Wilde won Breakthrough Director for Booksmart; Taron Egerton won Breakout Actor for Rocketman; and Shia LaBeouf won Breakthrough Screenwriter for Honey Boy.
“I want to thank the police officer who arrested me in Georgia for changing my life. I want to thank my therapist and my sponsor for saving my life,” LaBeouf said onstage after being presented the award by Robert Downey Jr.
–UPI