Amy Madigan Wins Actor Award, Dedicates Honor to 'Union People'
amy madigan won her first Actor Award on Sunday, taking the trophy for best supporting actress for her turn as Aunt Gladys in the horror film Weapons. The win matters because it has introduced fresh momentum into the Oscar race and amplified attention on Madigan’s unexpected, viral performance.
Amy Madigan’s Actor Award at the Shrine Auditorium
Madigan, 75, received the supporting actress trophy at the 32nd annual Actor Awards, which took place at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday night with Kristen Bell as host. The award marked her first Actor Award victory and her first nomination and win from the guild committee.
Her role in Weapons and the field she beat
The award recognized Madigan’s portrayal of the unhinged Aunt Gladys in Zach Cregger’s original horror film Weapons. She prevailed over fellow nominees Teyana Taylor for One Battle After Another, Odessa A’Zion for Marty Supreme, Ariana Grande for Wicked: For Good and Wunmi Mosaku for Sinners. Madigan was the only member of the Weapons cast nominated at this year’s Actor Awards, and Ariana Grande did not attend the ceremony because she was rehearsing for an upcoming tour.
Onstage remarks: longevity, Chicago roots and union solidarity
Onstage, Madigan began by saying, "It’s such an honor to be here. I’ve been doing this a long ass time, " as she accepted the honor. She described herself as a proud member who comes from Chicago and called herself a union person, adding, "We’re all union people, and I don’t care what somebody says. They’re not going to bust us, ever. " Madigan also acknowledged that she had never before been nominated by the guild committee and reflected, with a mixture of nerves and humor, on the moment as overwhelming and joyful.
Oscar buzz, past nominations and awards history
The Actor Award win has shifted the supporting-actress conversation ahead of the Academy Award voting; the victory was described as shaking up a race that previously seemed to favor Teyana Taylor. Madigan is also an Oscar nominee for best supporting actress on March 15, marking her second Academy Award nomination; her first was for her performance as the fiery Sunny in Twice in a Lifetime, some 40 years earlier. She has also received nominations from the Golden Globe Awards and the Critics Choice Awards. In a November interview about the awards buzz, she said, "I haven’t done this in a while, so it feels like a new experience for me, but I know what it is very well, " adding that it can be "a little daunting at times. "
Performance demands, viral fame and talk of a prequel
Madigan’s Aunt Gladys turned into a viral sensation after the summer horror hit, and in a recent industry podcast episode she discussed finding that viral fame after years of ups and downs. The film earned strong critical approval, noted in coverage as a 93 percent critics rating, and fans have since expressed interest in a prequel focused on Aunt Gladys. Madigan said that director Zach Cregger "has a map of what he would like to do, " while cautioning that until plans are real they remain hypothetical; she added that revisiting Gladys "would be such a blast" and that she is excited by the possibility.
Physicality on screen and cast acknowledgments
Madigan said she did almost all of the physical work herself, using a stunt double only for the very last scene in the physically demanding movie. "I did all that running and all that ridiculous stuff, " she said, adding that she was relieved not to have slipped or crashed during the sequences and that she was proud of that. She also gave shout-outs to fellow Weapons cast members Julia Garner and Josh Brolin and to the children on set, joking that she had "terrorize[d]" the little ones but had let them take their swings at her performance. Coverage of her rise and recognition described Madigan’s achievements as scarily rare, with writers noting a deeper look into the statistics behind those accomplishments.
