10 Memorable Moments at the Movies for Grownups Awards with AARP 2026

Director Guillermo del Toro Joked About Being Twins With His Young ‘Frankenstein’ Star Jacob Elordi

“Jacob and I are going to star in a remake of Twins this year,” joked del Toro, 61, about the 28-year-old star who played the titular monster and presented him with the best director award. “When I was younger my kids used to say that your job is not hard at all. You say action…everybody does everything else. But you know, I think that the directing is a little bit like the force of gravity. You don’t have to explain it.” The director made a passionate plea for grownups to remain present in movies: “It's the most urgent moment to talk about things that matter, to be willing to step forward. I think I qualify. I'm over 60.”

Delroy Lindo accepts best supporting actor for "Sinners."

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‘Sinners’ Director Ryan Coogler Honors His Neighbor Delroy Lindo

“One of the best decisions that I made when casting Sinners was to get my neighbor Delroy Lindo to play Slim,” said the film’s writer and director Ryan Coogler, who presented the best supporting actor award along with costar Wunmi Mosaku. Lindo, 73, thanked his neighbor back. “It’s my belief that audiences many years into the future will be talking about Sinners,” he said. “They’ll be talking about Ryan Coogler, not only in terms of the enjoyment that audiences have gotten from the film, but the impact that this film has on cinematic culture.”

Laura Dern accepts best actress for "Is This Thing On?"

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Laura Dern Reminisced About Attending the Awards With Her Late Mother, Diane Ladd

Laura Dern, 58, accepting the prize for best actress for her role in Is This Thing On?, took a moment to mention her mother, actor Diane Ladd, who died in late 2025. “The last time I was here you were honoring my mother. You all cared so much about film,” she said. “If we are lucky and blessed enough to be a part of this industry, (it) is an extraordinary gift not to be wasted.” Dern shouted out old friends like fellow honorees Adam Sandler and George Clooney, and thanked AARP “for honoring the people who dedicate their lives to their craft in so many ways.”

George Clooney accepts best actor for "Jay Kelly."

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George Clooney Brought His Trademark Wit to the Spotlight

George Clooney, 64, accepted the best actor award with his usual brand of self-effacing humor. “I have to say, you know, Movies For Grownups just means, you know, old people,” the star joshed. “And I realize now that the only way I was going to win anything is that Timothy Chalamet is too goddamn young. So put that in your pipe, Timothy.” Clooney asked Hamnet star Paul Mescal in the audience how old he was, heard “29,” and said, “When I was 29 years old and I heard somebody died when they were 64, I’d be like, ‘They lived a good life. They did all right.’ Yeah. And now it’s like, what are you talking about?” At age 64, as presenter Noah Wyle said, Clooney has “completed another journey of artistic reinvention, creating yet another unforgettable character,” in Jay Kelly.

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Adam Sandler Wasn't Afraid to Poke a Little Fun at His Own Aging

It was only a question how quickly Sandler, 59, receiving a warm tribute from presenter and friend Henry Winkler, 80, would start making people laugh. It was instantly. “The Fonz is in the house!” called out Sandler, stepping up to accept his award for Career Achievement. “People say, ‘Sandman, I think the AARP award means that you’re old now,’” and launched into a list, in his trademark comedic voice, of 10 ways he knew he might actually be old, including sounding “like a semi-truck driving over a family of lobsters” when he sits down. The crowd was in stitches. Sandler thanked his wife for “staying with me even though no part of my body is where it used to be. Thank you to my two gorgeous children for not laughing every time I walk down the hallway shirtless.” And finally, the multi-hyphenate promised there is much more to come: “May I say to everyone in this room, I don’t know how much time I have left. Sixty years, 70, 80 tops. Maybe 90 if I start working out and taking creatine. And I promise to every one of you here tonight I will make at least 50 more movies before I am dead, and at least 25 of them will be good.”

Kathy Bates Thanked Her Mother for Inspiring “Matty” Matlock

At 77, the show's oldest winner of the night delivered a touching and heartfelt speech. The Matlock star spoke of the importance of playing older roles on screen, “because when we aren’t reflected in those stories, we all start to feel unseen and invisible.” Bates revealed that her character Madeline “Matty” Matlock is inspired by her own mother, Bertye Bates. “She's the engine that drives my Matty,” Bates said. “She wanted to be a lawyer and she would have been a damn good one.” Bates added that she hoped she made her mother’s dreams come true. “I wouldn’t be as confident as I am to stand before you tonight and accept this lovely award without her strength to move through a life she might not have chosen for herself, but dedicated to raising her three daughters who loved her deeply.”

Noah Wyle accepts best TV actor for "The Pitt."

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George Clooney Proposed Noah Wyle as AARP's first “Sexiest Man Still Alive”

Clooney appeared on stage again with a novel idea. “By the way, AARP, just a thought for your magazine: Once a year you do sexiest man still alive,” he said, presenting the award for best actor to The Pitt actor Wyle, 54 (The Pitt also won best TV series or limited series). “I just want that out there. As an idea I would nominate Noah Wyle as the first guy.” (AARP’s Movies for Grownups Hottest Actors Over 50 list debuted in August 2025, and Clooney and Wyle both did, in fact, make the list.)

In his acceptance speech, Wyle looked back on the time the two actors starred together on the medical drama ER: “I learned a lot of what I practice on the set of The Pitt in terms of professionalism from this man right here,” he said. “This has been the second time lightning has struck in my life. And I don’t know that it will strike again. But I’m very conscious of being present and clear eyed for all of this.”

Paul Mescal, Jessie Buckley, and Chloé Zhao accept best Movie for Grownups from Sharon Stone for "Hamnet."

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Sharon Stone Brought Tears to Everyone's Eyes About ‘Hamnet’

Director Chloé Zhao's drama about the death of the son of Agnes Hathaway and William Shakespeare brought presenter Sharon Stone, who lost her own mother in March of 2025, to tears. “In a room where we are all old enough to have loved and to have lost or to be losing, it hits with an impact that is indescribable and inexplicable,” she said. “These losses do not just simply disappear, they move into us. They become a piece of us. They become a part of us.”

Zhao, who called Stone “iconic,” accepted the award alongside the film’s stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal. She thanked her “big-hearted and incredibly talented cast … and the whole village of Hamnet. We did this together.” She went on to address grief, which in the film inspires Shakespeare to write Hamlet. “What is grief but love persevering? Making Hamnet reminded us that grief is inevitable, part of life and yet the more we can allow ourselves to feel the depth of our grief, the greater our capacity to love and to have compassion grows.”