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Catherine O’Hara was posthumously honored Sunday at the Actor Awards, winning best actress in a comedy series for her role in “The Studio.”
The Apple TV show, co-created by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, is a wild satire of modern Hollywood. O’Hara starred as Patty Leigh, a former Hollywood studio head, alongside Seth Rogen’s aspiring mogul Matt Remnick.
O’Hara, best known for her performances in the Christmas classic “Home Alone,” the mockumentary “Best in Show” and the cult sitcom “Schitt’s Creek,” deceased in January from a blood clot in his lungs following rectal cancer, according to his death certificate. She was 71 years old.
An emotional Rogen accepted the award on her behalf, telling the audience of Hollywood stars, “I know she would have been honored to receive the award from other artists.”
“Obviously, you know, I thought about the time I had the chance to spend with her, to work with her,” he said. “What has really amazed me over the last few weeks is really her ability to be generous, kind and gracious without ever belittling her own talents.”
“She knew she could destroy and she wanted to destroy every day on set,” Rogen said.
He shared an anecdote about how O’Hara would often email him and Goldberg the day before filming, telling both showrunners, “Hello, I hope you’ll consider the following.”
“…and then there would be a completely rewritten version of the scene she was in,” Rogen said. “It made the scene and the show as a whole better.”
Kathryn Hahn, who plays studio PR specialist Maya Mason on “The Studio,” appeared to break down in tears as Rogen spoke. Hahn was also nominated in this category.
“She showed that you can be a genius and you can be kind and one of those things doesn’t have to come at the expense of the other,” Rogen said.
Moments later, “The Studio” won for best ensemble in a comedy series.
The Actor Awards, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, were broadcast live on Netflix. Kristen Bell hosted for a second year.