The 38th edition of the Santa Barbara Film Festival took place from February 8 to 18, offering movie screenings and celebrity tributes.

Receiving variously named awards for their performances and participating in conversations were Angela Bassett for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever directed by Ryan Coogler, Cate Blanchett for TÁR written and directed by Todd Field, Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Brendan Fraser for The Whale by Darren Aronovsky, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson for The Banshees of Inisherin written and directed by Martin McDonagh.

During a signature evening at the Arlington Theater, eight actors were interviewed individually. Then, they sat on the stage together and answered questions.

Austin Butler, who portrayed Elvis Presley in Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann, mentioned his shyness: “I was a very introverted kid. I would go to a restaurant with my mom, I would whisper what I wanted and she would order it for me. Then, I stumbled into being on set. Suddenly, something sparked in me, this feeling as though I had found my tribe.”

On the challenges of playing the legendary singer Elvis Presley, Austin Butler said: “It was walking that tightrope of wanting to find his humanity as much as I possibly could, but not losing his physical mannerisms and those sorts of things that give you the essence of Elvis.” And his goal: “I wanted to do justice to this man, to his family, and to the fans around the world who love him.”

Kerry Condon, who played Colin Farrell’s sister in The Banshees of Inisherin, confessed how she felt as the only woman in a set full of men: “I’m quite tomboyish. So, at first I wasn’t aware of that. But it was a bit lonely because, as a girl, you can’t hang out with the fellows. You can’t have a laugh in the same way. But I didn’t mind because there’s strength in solitude. That was great to learn.”

Jeremy Pope, who played a queer Black man facing homophobia at a Marines boot camp in The Inspection, based on the real-life experience of director Elegance Bratton, revealed: “This movie changed me in a very real way.  It started bringing up some ugly and honest truths about myself that I hadn’t dealt with. It was a healing process.”

Nina Hoss, who played a violinist married to the orchestra conductor in Tár, detailed how she found her character: “Sharon was a bit of a mystery to me because she is a very accomplished musician, in a powerful position, but she’s a woman who loses the partner of her life. When we started working on the Fifth Symphony by Gustav Mahler, an incredible piece that takes you through all the emotions you could possibly have in life, I learned about his wife Alma, and I thought: ‘Who is this woman who wants to be with a genius?’ That’s Sharon.”

Danielle Deadwyler, who played Mamie Till, mother of the murdered 14-year-old boy in Till, directed by Chinoye Chukwu, was glad that the movie served its purpose to educate audiences about the Emmett Till story. “That’s the beauty of award season. It has given us the opportunity to share the goals, the intentions of our film.  Mamie wanted to continue to spread the joy of Emmett, to talk about what happened. So, that’s nothing but a win in every sense of the word.”

Ke Huy Quan, who played Michelle Yeoh’s husband in Everything Everywhere All at Once, explained: “I grew up in a culture where I had to internalize my feelings and hide the struggles. So, I never shared it with anybody. When I was offered this role, I knew immediately what I had to do. I had to be honest with myself and open up, pull my entire life into this character who is not afraid to be vulnerable, to be perceived as weak.”

Stephanie Hsu, who played Michelle Yeoh’s daughter, praised the working environment created by “incredible filmmakers” Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, writer-directors of Everything Everywhere All at Once. “The Daniels surround themselves with strong-headed women, myself included. We brought an inherent knowing of a very specific mother-daughter relationship, as first generation immigrants, complicated, beautiful, messy, with love so deep.”

Jeremy Strong, who played the director’s father in the autobiographical Armageddon Time, written and directed by James Gray, stated: “D.H. Lawrence said that the work of every true artist is the salvation of every other and I always find it to be true. So it’s incredible to be here being honored with these remarkable actors doing truly virtuosic work.”

Regarding what celebrities they would like to be married to in a movie, Butler replied Marlon Brando, Quan chose Tom Cruise, Condon mentioned James Gandolfini, Hoss said that she couldn’t betray her wife Cate Blanchett, and Pope and Hsu both selected Deadwyler.

At the end, these talented actors were handed the Virtuosos Award by Jane Lynch.