{"id":400782,"date":"2026-01-11T09:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T09:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/400782\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T09:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T09:22:13","slug":"sydney-sweeney-kate-hudson-dwayne-johnson-and-adam-sandler-light-up-varietys-inaugural-actors-on-actors-bash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/400782\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney Sweeney, Kate Hudson, Dwayne Johnson and Adam Sandler Light Up Variety\u2019s Inaugural \u2018Actors on Actors\u2019 Bash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of the biggest names in Hollywood weren\u2019t afraid to act up on Friday night.<\/p>\n

Ahead of this year\u2019s Golden Globe awards, Variety held an invite-only celebration marking the 23rd season of its \u201cActors on Actors\u201d series. At the hallowed Polo Lounge inside the Beverly Hills Hotel, industry players and many of the year\u2019s most celebrated stars and filmmakers came to toast the franchise that pairs notable thespians for uncensored conversations about the craft.<\/p>\n

More from Variety<\/p>\n

Sydney Sweeney, Kate Hudson, Teyana Taylor, Dwayne Johnson, Adam Sandler, Jesse Plemons, Ethan Hawke, Tonatiuh, Connor Storrie, Odessa A\u2019zion, Kumail Nanjiani and many more showed to the event hosted by Variety\u2019s co-president and co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh and Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne.<\/p>\n

\"Dwayne<\/p>\n

Dwayne Johnson and Kate Hudson at the Variety & Golden Globes Pre-Golden Globes Party, Presented by Morgan Stanley at The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel on January 09, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner\/Variety via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\"Sydney<\/p>\n

Sydney Sweeney at the Variety & Golden Globes Pre-Golden Globes Party, Presented by Morgan Stanley at The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel on January 09, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by JC Olivera\/Variety via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Season 23 was exceptional. For the first time, Leonardo DiCaprio allowed a fellow A-lister in Jennifer Lawrence to quiz him about his process. Julia Roberts let the world know how long and meaningful her friendship was with Sean Penn, while discussing her most indelible turn since \u201cErin Brockovich,\u201d in Luca Guadagnino\u2019s \u201cAfter the Hunt.\u201d Kate Hudson shared with Jeremy Allen White the small devotions that helped her achieve the most compelling dramatic performance of her career in \u201cSong Sung Blue.\u201d These moments and many more proved worthy of a fabulous pre-Globes bash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s tremendous value in \u2018Actors on Actors\u2019 because of how intimate it is,\u201d said, Hoehne, who was seen chatting with Johnson and Adrien Brody two days prior to her organization\u2019s big Sunday telecast. \u201cYou find out who they are, what they love, how they work. So many of the pairings are unexpected, but it\u2019s always rewarding.”<\/p>\n

As tuna tartare cones and mini grilled cheese circulated on passed plates, Hudson and her power manager Jason Weinberg delighted the crowd. Eva Victor, the breakout writer-director-star of \u201cSorry, Baby,\u201d met the town\u2019s obsession Storrie (of \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d fame). Sweeney cut a glamorous figure in a shimmering black dress as Sandler (\u201cJay Kelly\u201d) took a victory lap for what many have called a career-defining role. Billionaire Kevin Ulrich, who sold MGM to Amazon, gave a best-dressed effort in a killer double-breasted heather grey suit from J. Crew (the iconic apparel company he acquired in 2020).<\/p>\n

\"Adam<\/p>\n

Adam Sandler at Variety & Golden Globes Pre-Golden Globes Party, Presented by Morgan Stanley at The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel on January 09, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Earl Gibson III\/Penske Media via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\"Adrien<\/p>\n

Adrien Brody, Caroline Scheufele and Odessa A’zion at the Variety & Golden Globes Pre-Golden Globes Party, Presented by Morgan Stanley at The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel on January 09, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by JC Olivera\/Variety via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\"Teyana<\/p>\n

Teyana Taylor at the Variety & Golden Globes Pre-Golden Globes Party, Presented by Morgan Stanley at The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel on January 09, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by JC Olivera\/Variety via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\"Hikari,<\/p>\n

Hikari, Ethan Hawke and Odessa A’zion at the Variety & Golden Globes Pre-Golden Globes Party, Presented by Morgan Stanley at The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel on January 09, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner\/Variety via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\"Tonatiuh<\/p>\n

Tonatiuh and Jesse Plemons at the Variety & Golden Globes Pre-Golden Globes Party, Presented by Morgan Stanley at The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel on January 09, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner\/Variety via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Variety\u2019s co-president and publisher Dea Lawrence held court alongside associate publisher Donna Pennestri, with film luminaries like Sony Pictures Classics heads Tom Bernard and Michael Barker. Co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton mixed with \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d breakout star A\u2019zion and powerhouse young star Kathryn Newton (Searchlight\u2019s \u201cReady or Not 2: Here I Come\u201d).<\/p>\n

The industry was represented by Sue Kroll, head of marketing for Amazon MGM; Eldridge Industries chair Todd Boehly; Management 360 partner Beau Swayze; Weinberg; fashion entrepreneur Natalie Bond Bloomingdale; and the Prada-clad communications whiz Ashley Hansen, partner at Forward Global (formerly of Archewell, Universal and Annapurna ). Guests received a gift bag marking the anticipated opening of the Aman Beverly Hills.<\/p>\n

Setoodeh , another dressed in Prada, spent his night at the door greeting actors (the point of the evening, after all).<\/p>\n

\u201cWith \u2018Actors on Actors\u2019 we try to curate the best portfolio of awards season, and the franchise has become a phenomenon online. This year was our biggest ever, in partnership with CNN, and that\u2019s something to celebrate in addition to this incredible work on screen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best of Variety<\/p>\n

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some of the biggest names in Hollywood weren\u2019t afraid to act up on Friday night. Ahead of this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[166957,16763,7964,193418,2356,236,4224,88,2934,92133,25488,95483,1535,7105,71027],"class_list":["post-400782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-actors-on-actors","tag-adam-sandler","tag-beverly-hills","tag-beverly-hills-hotel","tag-california","tag-celebrities","tag-dwayne-johnson","tag-entertainment","tag-getty-images","tag-golden-globe-awards","tag-kate-hudson","tag-michael-buckner","tag-morgan-stanley","tag-sydney-sweeney","tag-variety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}