Catherine Ohara honored in tearful SAG Actor Awards night as Seth Rogen accepts posthumous win
catherine ohara was the focus of an emotional night at the SAG Actor Awards, where Seth Rogen accepted the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for the late star of The Studio and the show received an early posthumous recognition.
Seth Rogen accepts Actor Award and calls it “a very sad honor”
Seth Rogen accepted the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for The Studio’s late star on Sunday, calling the moment “a very sad honor” as the SAG-AFTRA crowd rose to its feet and applauded during the Netflix-streamed ceremony. Rogen dedicated a moving speech to the actress and said, “I know she would have been honored to receive this award from her fellow performers, who[m] I know she respected so much. ” The camera panned to a teary-eyed Kathryn Hahn as Rogen spoke.
Catherine Ohara remembered with clips and a posthumous milestone
O’Hara was remembered with a montage that included clips from Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek and a line from The Studio: “When it all comes together, and you make a good movie, it’s good forever. ” Earlier in the night, The Studio brought O’Hara the first-ever SAG-AFTRA posthumous award for outstanding female actress in a comedy series.
Rogen’s memories: rewrites, kindness and on-set “destruction”
Rogen recounted working with O’Hara and marveled at her ability to be “generous and kind and gracious, while never, ever minimizing her own talents. ” He said she “knew she could destroy, and she wanted to destroy every day on set. ” Rogen described emails she sent to him and co-creator/EP Evan Goldberg before shooting days that began, “Hello, I hope you’ll consider the following, ” and included completely rewritten versions of her scenes. “100% of the time, it made not just her character better, but it made the scene better and the entire show better as a whole, ” he said, adding, “she really showed that you can be a genius and be kind. ”
Audience reaction and fellow nominees among the mourners
The ceremony cut to attendees in tears, including Jenna Ortega — the Wednesday star who had been nominated against O’Hara in the same category and who co-starred with her in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — shown wiping tears away. Rogen concluded his tribute by urging people to show O’Hara’s work to others, citing moments like her dancing to Harry Belafonte in Beetlejuice and the Best in Show scene where she hurt her knee and hobbles around.
In Memoriam opened with James Van Der Beek and a clip of Eric Dane
The SAG Actor Awards 2026 In Memoriam segment began with a photo of James Van Der Beek, who died on Feb. 11 at age 48 following a battle with cancer. A clip of Eric Dane saying “Don’t waste one single minute” also played; Dane tragically passed away on Feb. 19 at 53, less than a year after announcing he was diagnosed with ALS.
Other notable tributes and Sarah Paulson’s introduction
Rob Reiner, Diane Keaton, Gene Hackman, Val Kilmer and Robert Redford were among the other big names honored. The presentation noted that Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were murdered and found dead at their Brentwood home on Dec. 14; Reiner was 78 and his wife was 70. Diane Keaton died from pneumonia on Oct. 11 at age 79. Additional names included Michelle Trachtenberg, Peter Greene, Graham Greene, Robert Carradine, Brigitte Bardot, James Ransone, Michael Madsen, Loni Anderson, George Wendt, Jonathan Joss, Loretta Swit, Diane Ladd, Julian McMahon and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
Sarah Paulson introduced the In Memoriam montage with a speech that said, “Actors make up a family of souls bonded by a challenging pursuit, by valuing our creative spirit and often brought close by our mutual support and affection. ” She added, “I am proud to be in the family of actors in this room and all over the world, ” and called the late performers “true giants” who were “teachers, ” “co-workers, ” “inspirations” and “friends, ” concluding, “All of us have been lifted by them. ”
Death details and immediate fallout
One account describes O’Hara’s death as occurring in late January; another gives a specific date of Jan. 30 in Los Angeles. The actress was 71. Her death has been described as from a pulmonary embolism with rectal cancer as the underlying cause. The two-time Emmy-winning actress was mourned by co-stars across series like The Studio and The Last of Us, and The Studio withdrew from Apple TV press day following her death.
The awards ceremony continues to post winners and tributes from the night; further scheduled events on the awards calendar were not detailed in the provided context.
