Zoe Saldaña Hails ‘Emilia Pérez’ as the ‘Little Movie That Could’ in Critics’ Choice Speech: ‘I Hope We Can All Be Curious and Open-Hearted’

variety.com:

Zoe Saldaña continued to cement her Oscar frontrunner status by winning best supporting actress honors at the 2025 Critics’ Choice Awards for her performance in Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez.” She stars in the musical crime drama as Rita Mora Castro, an exasperated lawyer who agrees to help a drug lord undergo gender reassignment surgery. “My husband went to the bathroom!” Saldaña began before pulling out a written speech and thanking the Critics’ Choice Association and her fellow nominees. “I appreciate the role of a critic.

I do. I sometimes read the reviews and internalize it, especially the helpful feedback like, ‘Her crying is distracting.’ ‘She’s in too many franchises.’ Or, my personal favorite, she’s too blue,” getting some laughs for her nod to the “Avatar” franchise. “To think that ‘Emilia Pérez’ is the little movie that could and has resonated with so many people has been an experience worth having,” Saldaña continued, highlighting director Jacques Audiard for “believing” in her. “To the entire cast and crew, the talented artists and designers and musicians, I share this with you.” After thanks to Netflix’s film team and her own family, Saldaña concluded: “My wish for the impact of this film on audiences and our world is that I hope we can all be curious and open-hearted towards each other.

You never know when you have the opportunity to be a hero in someone else’s story. Our world is too big and too beautiful to be any other way.