Exclusive Photos: Behind the Scenes at AARP’s Movies for Grownups Awards

Jodie Foster, Jane Seymour and Harrison Ford gathered to celebrate the award show for grownups

Nancy Kerr, Alison Maxwell and Caitlin Rossmann,

Updated February 11, 2025

AARP

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Published February 08, 2025

/ Updated February 11, 2025

Jacques Audiard and Zoe Saldana share a moment in the photo booth during AARP's Movies For Grownups Awards. “No other director has demanded so much of me in the best possible way," Saldana said about working with Audiard.

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Spirits were high at AARP’s annual Movies for Grownups awards. Actors, directors, writers and producers of all ages hugged, fist-bumped and high-fived as they celebrated the best of movies and TV. Here’s an exclusive look at what went on behind the scenes on the red carpet and at a special AARP photo booth.

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Jodie Foster

Foster, 62, who nabbed the best actress in a TV role for True Detective: Night Country, said she celebrates her 60s as her “most contented” period. “It doesn’t mean that things are great because there’s been a lot of tragedy in the last year, a lot of tough heartbreaks and worries and anxiety,” she explained to us on the red carpet. “But somehow, I feel like I finally have the little armchair Buddhism that allows me to take it all in and not take it personally.”

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Peter Sarsgaard

Sarsgaard, 53, who was awarded best supporting actor for his role in September 5, and attended the event with his wife, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, reminisced on the red carpet about how his work philosophy has changed over the years. “At the very beginning, you’re just trying to work. But then, when I had enough savings to be able to choose what I wanted to do, I started being interested in stories that contributed to society in some way, even if it was a comedy…. I’ve mostly made films for grownups. My daughter, who’s here tonight, I don’t think, has ever seen a single movie I’ve done. So, she’s not grownup enough yet.”

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Harrison Ford

The A Complete Unknown crew didn’t want to start photos in the AARP portrait booth without one person: Harrison Ford. The Shrinking and 1923 actor, who presented the award for best picture to James Mangold and Boyd Holbrook, bellowed, “I’m coming!” to the requests to join in the fun. (Mangold reminded Harrison, 82, he’d see him for Super Bowl Sunday, too!)

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Joan Chen

The best supporting actress for her role in Didi said that after a drought of good roles in her 30s, more exciting projects are on the horizon. “Things are better, and I think [AARP] has something to do with it,” she said. Chen, 63, noted on the red carpet that it is important to “promote the completeness — the fullness, the beauty, the horror — the entire experience of being 50 and over.”

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Jane Seymour

Seymour, 73, a close friend of Christopher Reeve, presented the best documentary award to the creators of Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. “We really had a great love between us, from the time we met, when we made Somewhere in Time, until he died,” she told AARP on the red carpet. The actress called Reeve’s response to the horse-riding accident that left him a quadriplegic inspirational. “He could have so easily just thought about himself, but he just said, wait a minute, what about the people I left behind in the rehab centers, whose family and insurance companies have deserted them? Those are the people I’m going to champion. I’m not going to accept that there is no cure for spinal regeneration.”

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Jeff Goldblum

Wicked’s magical wizard hummed “You Make Me Feel So Young” while posing for pics for AARP. “I’m 72, and I feel at the height of my powers,” he shared. “I’m getting opportunities. (My wife) Emily and I have two boys, seven and nine, that are absolutely thrilling. My life is, somehow, blossoming and expanding — my musical life is better than ever, my acting life is better than ever, and I’m enjoying it more than ever.”

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Demi Moore and John Stamos

Stamos, 61, caught up with Moore, 62, his one-time General Hospital castmate, after presenting her with the Best Actress award for her role in The Substance. After posing for pics in AARP’s photo booth, Stamos jokingly nudged her, “Let’s win some more awards.”

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Adrien Brody

Brody, 52, took home the award for best actor for his work in The Brutalist. While accepting the award on stage, he became visibly teary-eyed as he thanked his parents and grandparents for allowing him to be a grownup. “They gave me space to forge a creative path without judgment,” he said.

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Sean Penn

Multitalented actor/director Penn, 64, donned yet another hat: producer of September 5, the film that chronicled the Munich Olympics massacre of 1972. While presenting the best supporting actor to September 5’s Peter Sarsgaard, 53, Penn noted he was “grateful that AARP has allowed me to join in recognizing” his friend.

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Colman Domingo

Domingo, 55, who was honored for best ensemble for the touching prison drama Sing Sing, and nominated for back-to-back best actor Oscars, said that as he ages, life only gets better. “I’ve been working for over 34 years, and to have sort of these moments in my 50s is extraordinary,” he said at the photo booth. “I want to quote my friend, Bevy Smith, who says, ‘It gets greater later.’ And it’s the truth. It really does.”

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Hiroyuki Sanada

After a 40-year prestigious career in Japan, Sanada, 64, has newfound recognition in America with the blockbuster Shōgun, as an actor and now producer. “I put everything into Shogun,” Sanada said on the red carpet. The actor was acknowledged as AARP’s best actor in a TV movie/limited series. “I just keep trying to find the first experience. Forever. We are forever students.”

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Zoe Saldaña

Saldaña, a supporting actress Oscar nominee for her role in Emilia Perez, presented her director, Jacques Audiard, with the best director award. “No other project, no other director has demanded so much of me in the best possible way," she said. "What makes working with Jacques so exciting is that he is completely unaware of the rules. A film can be a musical and a melodrama at the same time, a film’s narrative can be both extremely specific and universal. Jacques expects the same boundlessness from his collaborators, which is both thrilling and terrifying, and he encouraged me to add my own life experience to my character."

Stream the AARP’s Movies for Grownups Awards show on PBS Great Performances and the PBS Video app until May 31.

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Nancy Kerr is a senior writer and editor of features content for AARP. Previously, she was the editor of special projects for USA Today; a senior editor for the USA Weekend magazine; an assistant managing editor of digital content at The Washington Post and the director of women’s programming at America Online.

Alison Maxwell is an executive editor of features at AARP. Prior to joining the organization, she spent 20 years at USA Today, most recently as managing editor of the Life section.

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