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February 7, 2025 at 10:08pm EST
The 2025 Critics Choice Awards was a much quieter award show than usual with many nominees opting to skip the event.
That’s right, folks. As with any award show, there were some no-shows. We’re not totally that surprised given that a) that always happens and b) the show — which was postponed from its original January air date — comes so soon after the Los Angeles wildfires.
But just because we’re not surprised, that doesn’t mean we aren’t disappointed. (And a tad bit confused!)
Why exactly did these nominees skip out on the highly-anticipated award show and an opportunity to get all glammed up? We can’t say for certain, but we can say they were missed. Because is it really a party without Kiera Knightley and Kristen Wiig? And we would have loved to hear an acceptance speech from Jean Smart.
For some people, they likely stayed home in an attempt to keep the spotlight away from their recent controversy. For others, they may have assumed they weren’t going to win and decided to stay in because they, like Liev Schrieber, thought they wouldn’t win. Thankfully for Schrieber, his family talked him into going and he was there to celebrate his Best Supporting Actor win for his performance in The Perfect Couple.
To find out what other nominees chose not to attend the 2025 Critics Choice Awards, keep scrolling!
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Karla Sofía Gascón
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images
Karla Sofía Gascón is keeping a low profile after her resurfaced racist, Islamophobic tweets sparked major backlash. Though she was nominated for Best Actress for her role in Emilia Pérez, Gascón did not attend the Critics Choice Awards and is instead expected to be in (or on her way to) Europe, attending the Goya Awards in Spain on Saturday where Emilia Pérez is nominated for Best European Film.
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Keira Knightley
Image Credit: JC Olivera/GG2025/Penske Media
Despite her Best Actress nomination, Black Doves star Keira Knightley did not attend the Critics Choice Awards.
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Anna Sawai
Image Credit: JC Olivera/GG2025/Penske Media
Anna Sawai was nominated for Best Actress for her performance in Shōgun but was not in attendance.
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Quinta Brunson
Image Credit: Phillip Faraone/WWD via Getty Images
Abbott Elementary creator and Best Actress nominee Quinta Bronson did not go to the award show.
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Natasia Demetriou
Image Credit: Priscilla Grant/Everett Collection
What We Do in the Shadows’ lead actress Natasia Demetriou also skipped out on the Critics Choice Awards ceremony.
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Kristen Wiig
Image Credit: Michael Buckner
Kristen Wiig had multiple nominations at the 2025 Critic Choice Awards but did not attend. The Saturday Night Live alum’s song “Harper and Will Go West” from Will & Harper was nominated for best song, and she was nominated for her lead actress performance in Palm Royale.
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Cate Blanchett
Image Credit: Tommaso Boddi/GG2025/Penske Media
Cate Blanchett’s performance in Disclaimer earned her a nomination for Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television, but she decided to skip the show.
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Jessica Lange
Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/ Variety
Jessica Lange did not attend the 2025 Critics Choice Awards despite being nominated for Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for her performance in The Great Lillian Hall.
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Tadanobu Asano
Image Credit: Dan Doperalski/GG2025/Penske Media
Tadanobu Asano, who was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Shōgun, was not in the audience.
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Timothée Chalamet
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety
Timothée Chalamet was nominated for Best Actor for his performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, but the actor did not appear at the Critics Choice Awards.
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Jean Smart
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/GG2025/Penske Media
Jean Smart was unable to claim her Best Actress award for Hacks because she is reportedly filming another project. The award-winning actress has been vocal about how networks should donate profits from award shows to people impacted by the LA wildfires.
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Daniel Craig
Image Credit: John Nacion/Variety
Daniel Craig was not in attendance when he was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Queer.
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Hugh Grant
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety
Hugh Grant also had two nominations: Best Actor for Heretic and Bes Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for The Regime. Nevertheless, the double nominee was not in attendance.
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Jeff Bridges
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety
Jeff Bridges was nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his staring role in The Old Man, but he did not go to the Critics Choice Awards.
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Kayvan Novak
Image Credit: Elyse Jankowski/Variety
Kayvan Novak’s performance in What We Do in the Shadows secured him a Best Actor nomination, but he did not attend the 2025 Critics Choice Awards.
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Steve Martin & Martin Short
Image Credit: Earl Gibson III/GG2025/Penske Media
Neither Steve Martin nor Martin Short attended the Critics Choice Awards where they were both nominated for Best Actor for their co-starring roles in Only Murders in the Building.
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Richard Gadd
Image Credit: Chad Salvador/Variety
Richard Gadd was nominated for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for his performance in Baby Reindeer, but he did not go to the ceremony.
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Kevin Kline
Image Credit: JA/Everett Collection
Like with the 2025 Golden Globes actor Kevin Kline did not attend the Critics Choice Awards despite being nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television for his role in Disclaimer.
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Kieran Culkin
Image Credit: John Nacion
Kieran Culkin was reportedly filming another project at the time of the Critics Choice Awards and was thus unable to accept his Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in A Real Pain.
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Alyla Browne
Image Credit: Jesse Grant/Variety
Alyla Browne was nominated in the Best Young Actor/Actress category, but the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga star did not attend the ceremony.
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Yura Borisov
Image Credit: Earl Gibson III/GG2025/Penske Media
Yura Borisov was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Anora but did not attend the 2025 Critics Choice Awards.
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Edward Norton
Image Credit: Priscilla Grant/Everett Collection
Edward Norton snagged a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in A Complete Unknown, but, like Chalamet, was not in attendance.
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Guy Pearce
Image Credit: Earl Gibson III/GG2025/Penske Media
The Brutalist’s Guy Pearce did not attend the Critics Choice Awards where he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
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Denzel Washington
Image Credit: JC Olivera/Variety
Like most of his Best Supporting Actor peers, Gladiator II’s Denzel Washington sat out the 2025 Critics Choice Awards.
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English (US) ·