Robert De Niro quipped that he "wasn’t expecting" ‘The Irishman’ to win just one gong at the 2020 Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday night (12.01.20).
The crime drama – which was directed by Martin Scorsese and also stars the likes of Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel and Sebastian Manascalco – received a total of 14 nominations, and only ended up scooping Best Ensemble at the star-studded ceremony held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.
Whilst on stage collecting the accolade, the Hollywood legend laughed: "Thank you, thank you very much, I wasn’t expecting it, frankly, at this point, but it’s great, we’re all very happy and appreciative."
The movie had been shortlisted for Best Picture, which went to ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, whilst De Niro lost in the Best Actor category to ‘Joker’ star Joaquin Phoenix.
The three-and-a-half hours long Netflix picture was also nominated for prizes including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Visual Effects.
Pacino added that the cast and crew were "really grateful and thankful for the Critics’ Choice Ensemble work that we did in this film, ‘The Irishman’."
The ‘Godfather’ legend, then gave a shout-out to the movie’s director.
He added: "Last but not least, [Martin Scorsese], ‘for putting together this cast and sort of helping us out and bringing us along."
The likes of ‘Knives Out, ‘Little Women’, ‘Bombshell’, ‘Marriage Story’, ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ and ‘Parasite’ lost out to the Best Ensemble prize.
Meanwhile, Renée Zellweger won Best Actress for her outstanding performance as Judy Garland in ‘Judy’, Brad Pitt won Best Supporting Actor for ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, and ‘Big Little Lies’ star Laura Dern won Best Supporting Actress for ‘Marriage Story’.
Elsewhere, Eddie Murphy won the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Sam Mendes and Bong Joon Ho tied for Best Actor for ‘1917’ and ‘Parasite’ respectively, Quentin Tarantino went home with Best Original Screenplay for ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, and Greta Gerwig’s ‘Little Women’ won Best Adapted Screenplay for her take on the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott.
Meanwhile, Ted Danson presented his ‘Good Place’ co-star star Kristen Bell with the #SeeHer Award, which promotes authentic portrayals of women in media.
Previous recipients have included Viola Davis, Gal Gadot, and Claire Foy.
The TV categories also saw Stellan Skarsgård pick up Best Supporting Actor for ‘Chernobyl’, Jeremy Strong won Best Actor in a Drama Series for ‘Succession’ and Bill Hader was named Best Actor in a Comedy Series for ‘Barry’.
An abridged list of the winners is as follows:
BEST PICTURE
‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’
BEST ACTOR
Joaquin Phoenix – ‘Joker’
BEST ACTRESS
Renée Zellweger – ‘Judy’
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brad Pitt – ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Laura Dern – ‘Marriage Story’
BEST DIRECTOR
Bong Joon Ho – ‘Parasite’
Sam Mendes – ‘1917’
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Quentin Tarantino – ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Greta Gerwig – ‘Little Women’
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
‘The Irishman’
#SEEHER AWARD – Kristen Bell