When Zoe Saldaña heard her name called at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards, she turned in the usual direction for her winner's kiss.
But one of the chairs next to her was empty!
Zoe's husband Marco Perego Saldaña should know by now that, if his wife's award is still to be doled out these days, he should stay put. But alas her spouse of 11 years had gone to the bathroom, which we all know because the Best Supporting Actress winner for Emilia Pérez told everybody.
However, he had returned to his seat by the time she got to the stage and was there to hear her drop an F-bomb. (But not at him!)
"My husband's back from the bathroom," Zoe informed the audience at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb. 7. Then, in a higher emotional register, "He really went to the bathroom!" Followed by what sounded like a slight scold in Italian.
But then the 46-year-old, who's also nominated for an Oscar for her role as a lawyer aiding a reformed drug cartel boss in the Spanish-language musical from France, pulled out her speech (she said her publicist told her it would be "tacky" if she gave it to producers ahead of time to put in the Teleprompter) and got down to business. (See all the winners at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards.)
To her fellow nominees, including Ariana Grande and Danielle Deadwyler, "the films this year and the work you've all done, it's breath-taking, I will forever be proud to be among you. Thank you to all of you—I can't see you, but you f--king rock." (That part was bleeped.) "I love you."
"Whenever you receive a negative criticism for a role or a film, everyone always says, 'Don't read the reviews,'" she continued, a nod to this honor coming from the critics. "Then when you get the positive feedback, everyone says, 'Did you read the reviews?' But I appreciate the role of a critic, I do."
"I sometimes read the reviews and I internalize it," the actress said, "especially the really insightful and helpful feedback like, 'Her crying is really distracting.' 'She's in too many franchises.' Or my personal favorite, 'She's too blue.'"
The Avatar star continued, "So I will listen to you all tonight and I will accept this with pride...To think that Emilia Pérez has been the little movie that could and has resonated with so many people, has been an experience with having."
Her role was "the challenge of a lifetime," she added, thanking director Jacques Audiard.
She thanked everyone involved, including Netflix, "for believing this was a story that needed to be told."
And Marco wasn't in the dog house at all.
"Thank you to my family, especially my incredible husband and my nephew who was with me tonight," she added. "You made me me, so thank you. And to my boys, my greatest adventure and my toughest critics, I love you." She and Marco share three sons.
"My wish for the impact of this film on audiences and our world," Zoe concluded, "is that I hope we can all be curious and open-hearted towards each other, because you never know when you'll have the opportunity to be a hero in someone else's story. So our world is too big and too beautiful to be any other way, so stay curious, stay kind and stay blue—not too blue."
Emilia Pérez is also nominated for a field-leading 13 Oscars, has received mixed reviews, though they've been overwhelmingly positive toward Zoe's performance.)
See who else went home a winner from the 2025 Critics Choice Awards:
Best Picture
A Complete Unknown
WINNER: Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
The Substance
Wicked
Best Actor - Film
WINNER: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig – Queer
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Hugh Grant – Heretic
Best Actress - Film
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Mikey Madison – Anora
WINNER: Demi Moore – The Substance
Best Supporting Actor - Film
Yura Borisov – Anora
WINNER: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II
Best Supporting Actress - Film
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
WINNER: Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
Best Comedy Film
TIED WINNERS: A Real Pain
TIED WINNERS: Deadpool & Wolverine
Hit Man
My Old Ass
Saturday Night
Thelma
Best Young Actor/Actress
Alyla Browne – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Elliott Heffernan – Blitz
WINNER: Maisy Stella – My Old Ass
Izaac Wang – Didi
Alisha Weir – Abigail
Zoe Ziegler – Janet Planet
Best Acting Ensemble
Anora
WINNER: Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked
Best Song
“Beautiful That Way” – The Last Showgirl – Miley Cyrus
“Compress / Repress” – Challengers – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
WINNER: “El Mal” – Emilia Pérez – Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Camille
“Harper and Will Go West” – Will & Harper – Kristen Wiig
“Kiss the Sky” – The Wild Robot – Maren Morris
“Mi Camino” – Emilia Pérez – Selena Gomez
Best Drama Series
The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)
The Diplomat (Netflix)
Evil (Paramount+)
Industry (HBO | Max)
Interview with the Vampire (AMC)
The Old Man (FX)
WINNER: Shogun (FX / Hulu)
Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Best Actor in a Drama Series
Jeff Bridges – The Old Man (FX)
Ncuti Gatwa – Doctor Who (Disney+)
Eddie Redmayne – The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)
WINNER: Hiroyuki Sanada – Shogun (FX / Hulu)
Rufus Sewell – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Antony Starr – The Boys (Prime Video)
Best Actress in a Drama Series
Caitriona Balfe – Outlander (Starz)
WINNER: Kathy Bates – Matlock (CBS)
Shanola Hampton – Found (NBC)
Keira Knightley – Black Doves (Netflix)
Keri Russell – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Anna Sawai – Shogun (FX / Hulu)
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
WINNER: Tadanobu Asano – Shogun (FX / Hulu)
Michael Emerson – Evil (Paramount+)
Mark-Paul Gosselaar – Found (NBC)
Takehiro Hira – Shogun (FX / Hulu)
John Lithgow – The Old Man (FX)
Sam Reid – Interview with the Vampire (AMC)
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
WINNER: Moeka Hoshi – Shogun (FX / Hulu)
Allison Janney – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Nicole Kidman – Special Ops: Lioness (Paramount+)
Skye P. Marshall – Matlock (CBS)
Anna Sawai – Pachinko (Apple TV+)
Fiona Shaw – Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)
Best Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
English Teacher (FX)
WINNER: Hacks (HBO | Max)
Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Somebody Somewhere (HBO | Max)
St. Denis Medical (NBC)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Brian Jordan Alvarez – English Teacher (FX)
WINNER: Adam Brody – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
David Alan Grier – St. Denis Medical (NBC)
Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Kayvan Novak – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristen Bell – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Natasia Demetriou – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Bridget Everett – Somebody Somewhere (HBO | Max)
WINNER: Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO | Max)
Kristen Wiig – Palm Royale (Apple TV+)
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Paul W. Downs – Hacks (HBO | Max)
Asher Grodman – Ghosts (CBS)
Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Brandon Scott Jones – Ghosts (CBS)
WINNER: Michael Urie – Shrinking (Apple TV+)
Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Liza Colón-Zayas – The Bear (FX / Hulu)
WINNER: Hannah Einbinder – Hacks (HBO | Max)
Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Stephanie Koenig – English Teacher (FX)
Patti LuPone – Agatha All Along (Disney+)
Annie Potts – Young Sheldon (CBS)
Best Limited Series
WINNER: Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Masters of the Air (Apple TV+)
Mr Bates vs the Post Office (PBS)
The Penguin (HBO | Max)
Ripley (Netflix)
Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made For Television
WINNER: Colin Farrell – The Penguin (HBO | Max)
Richard Gadd – Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Tom Hollander – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)
Kevin Kline – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Ewan McGregor – A Gentleman in Moscow (Paramount+)
Andrew Scott – Ripley (Netflix)
Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television
Cate Blanchett – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Jodie Foster – True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)
Jessica Lange – The Great Lillian Hall (HBO | Max)
WINNER: Cristin Milioti – The Penguin (HBO | Max)
Phoebe-Rae Taylor – Out of My Mind (Disney+)
Naomi Watts – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television
Robert Downey Jr. – The Sympathizer (HBO | Max)
Hugh Grant – The Regime (HBO | Max)
Ron Cephas Jones – Genius: MLK/X (National Geographic)
Logan Lerman – We Were the Lucky Ones (Hulu)
WINNER: Liev Schreiber – The Perfect Couple (Netflix)
Treat Williams – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made For Television
Dakota Fanning – Ripley (Netflix)
Leila George – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Betty Gilpin – Three Women (Starz)
WINNER: Jessica Gunning – Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Deirdre O'Connell – The Penguin (HBO | Max)
Kali Reis – True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)