The 20 Best- and Worst-Dressed Celebs at the 2026 Actor Awards

The Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette star may have been taking some inspiration from the woman she’s portraying, in this minimalist, ’90s-coded gown—at least, from the waist up. The shape below that point is pure Balenciaga. And while the style suits her and the skirt is interesting, that “waist” sits so low that it distorts her body. It’s dramatic, but it comes off a bit drab to us.

It’s the first Actor Awards red carpet for this first-time nominee for Female Actor in a Lead Role and she did not come quietly. The One Battle After Another star dazzled in a sparkly, bodycon gown with a fun shape. We can’t say we’re totally in love with the color, but that gorgeous headpiece and those stunning earrings complete the look so well that our quibble almost sounds silly to us.

READ MORE ABOUT CHASE’S LOOK HERE

The Marty Supreme star and Female Actor in a Supporting Role star made her big curls a major part of her style during the film’s campaign and might even have helped to kickstart a long overdue big hair trend—but as much as we love to see her piling those locks up on the red carpet, we can’t say we’re loving a dress that also looks like a pile of hair.

READ MORE ABOUT ODESSA’S LOOK HERE

The star of The White Lotus looked drop-dead gorgeous in this slinky, glamorous, and delicately pretty cheongsam-inspired gown. The beading design is lovely, and she looks great working that high collar and accentuated shoulder. The icy grays and silvers brought the glam level way up and the corseting in the back provided the ultimate walking-away touch.

We know we should be supportive, but we’re feeling a little disappointed. The Hamnet star and Best Female Actor in a Leading Role winner has had a dicey red carpet history, but one thing she always had going for her was a sort of artsy punk aesthetic that suited her well. Unfortunately, awards season tends to ask nominees to tamp down on their uniqueness, and while this is an undeniably lovely Prestige Actress sort of gown, it’s also one of the least interesting things we’ve seen her wear.

The Frankenstein star has a tendency to live up to her name when it comes to her red carpet style, opting for a kind of gothic horror romance vibe, which suits her and tends to work well with the kinds of projects she promotes most often. We love this for being slinky and sparkly, in a deep shade of red that looks great on her. We don’t love the overly tricky, lopsided skirt, and we can’t say we’re feeling that lace trim on the bustline. Still, it’s dramatic, and she looks gorgeous.

The Song Sung Blue star and Female Actor in a Leading Role nominee is another one who sometimes seems to be tamping down on her wilder style preferences through awards season, opting for straight-up old-school glamour instead of the more boho styles she likes. Fortunately for her, she looks amazing in these Old Hollywood styles. This dramatic gown and cape looks like it could have walked the red carpet at the 1944 Oscars. Just flawless screen-siren style.

The first thing that came to mind when we saw the Pluribus star and Female Actor in a Drama Series nominee in this dress (which looks like some sort of kitchen tool) was, “Amazing what they can do with upholstery fabric these days.” We actually like the look, just for being odd and unexpected on a night when conventionality tends to dominate. The shape and construction are amazing. We just don’t like that insanely thick and heavy-looking textile, no matter how well it’s utilized.

Pure class, pure style, and not a single thread out of place. The Sinners star and Male Actor in a Leading Role winner never fails to bring it, never looks anything less than flawless on the red carpet. This is how it’s done.

It’s a little rare to see someone working a floral pattern at a major awards show, and it’s even rarer to see a black-backed one, which is why we found The Studio star’s sparkly gown so appealing. But as taken as we were by the beading and the colors, we really loved how her hairstyle mimicked the bustline of the dress. A really well-styled look with the perfect necklace.

Okay, Ethan. We’re getting off the bus at this stop. We’ve been very supportive of his boho/countrified style preferences throughout awards season and he’s the only man who could get us to give the okay to a bolo tie on a red carpet, but wearing this vest without the accompanying jacket just looks like he should have a little dancing monkey and a music box to go with it. Put the whole outfit on next time, Ethan.

Credit where it’s due: There was probably a lot of pressure on the Bridgerton star to show up in something floaty and romantic or elegant and elaborate, like a ballgown. Instead, she opted to go her own way. We can respect that, and we love that she opted for pants, but we really can’t sign off on that top, which looks like some sort of deep sea creature. We might like it more if it were shaped differently, but the proportions come off really odd to us. If nothing else, it’s a very effective way of saying, “I’m not a hugger.”

A confession: We kind of loathe lavender as a color. So maybe it’s not fair of us to say that we recoiled when we saw the what the Bugonia star and Female Actor in a Leading Role nominee chose to wear for the night. In our defense, we got over our initial dislike rather quickly—first, because the color looks great on her, and second, because this really is a gorgeously simple gown. The slouchy, slightly big jacket suits her perfectly and takes the look somewhere that feels specific to her. Can’t say we’re loving the yoga class hair though.

READ MORE ABOUT EMMA’S LOOK HERE

It took his Heated Rivalry star’s style team a little while to figure out, but bless their hearts, they’ve finally settled on a style for him that can be best summed up as “just let the curls and the cheekbones do most of the work.” He doesn’t need trendy looks or complicated ones. He needs a suit fitted so sharply, you could get a paper cut from it, no shirt, and a well-deployed chain. He looks amazing.

It’s giving “Official First Lady portrait, 1975.” And while we think she could do herself a favor by embracing more up-to-the-minute chic looks, we can’t deny that we smiled when we saw the White Lotus star and Female Actor in a Drama Series swan about on the red carpet in this fun throwback look. To be fair, as much as we’re willing to accept this Miss Piggy gown, we figure either the feather cuffs or the bow has to go.

At first glance, when we saw this from far away, we thought we might have given it a pass, even though we hate when someone tries to pass off a nightgown as a dress. But it’s not the Wednesday star’s fault that she tends to look so great in these boudoir styles, so we were willing to judge it on the merits. Unfortunately, those merits include artfully placed tears and a frayed and torn skirt. Sexy with an undertone of violence is always gonna be a no for us.

READ MORE ABOUT JENNA’S LOOK HERE

This is pure “in it to win it” style: cocky, swaggering, a little louche but just formal enough so that it comes off like he’s respecting the venue. The Marty Supreme star and Male Actor in a Leading Role nominee spent the last year stunting on the red carpet in a bunch of showy, theme-based looks centered around the film, but he’s been taking a much more grown-up—if less interesting—approach during awards season. We don’t mind the laid-back styling and lack of a tie, but we’d have liked an inch or two taken off the pants hem.

We’ve got to give the Marty Supreme star credit. For her first Actor Awards in 25 years, she opted to show up in the kind of dress no one would ever expect her to wear: dark and lacy, with a plunge and a mermaid hem. None of these elements appear in her style rotation with any frequency. We’re surprised by how great this looks on her, but that’s partly due to her looking great in black and partly due to those gorgeous earrings. We don’t actually like the proportions or the shape of it.