You can take the boy out of Succession but you can’t always take Succession out of the boy.
At the 2025 Oscars, Best Supporting Actor winner Kieran Culkin didn’t just make another pregnancy pact with wife Jazz Charton. The A Real Pain star also paid tribute to his erstwhile TV sibling Jeremy Strong, a fellow nominee in that category for his haunting turn as Donald Trump mentor Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. (See all of the winners from the 97th Academy Awards.)
Though in signature Roman Roy fashion, most of Culkin’s compliment had to be bleeped.
“He’s right, by the way, Jeremy, you’re amazing in The Apprentice,” the 42-year-old said, referring to what presenter Robert Downey Jr. said about Strong’s performance. “I love your work. It’s f–king great.”
None of which made it into the ABC broadcast as Culkin righted the ship just a little too late. But Strong heard him.
In oops mode, Culkin added, “I’m not supposed to single anyone out, it’s favoritism, but you were great.”
In true Kendall Roy fashion, Strong flashed a tiny smile (no teeth), possibly indicating he was moved, but did not laugh (Downey, who worked with him in 2014’s The Judge, called Strong “the most serious actor on earth” in his intro) as Culkin launched into his now signature, charmingly-tripping-over-himself manner of accepting a major award.
“And I’ve already lost whatever speech I prepared,” he continued. “Twenty seconds or whatever. I have no idea how I got here, I’ve just been acting my whole life. It’s just been part of what I do. So I felt like this was never my trajectory, but however I got here, I know that Emily Gerson Saines, my manager of 30 years, is—because of you, thank you for being there, I lean on you for everything, so, please don’t go anywhere, I’d be completely lost without you, I love you.
Culkin also thanked A Real Pain‘s writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg for making the movie that scored him his first Oscar nomination and win. “You’re a genius,” he said. “I would never say that to your face, I’m never saying it again, so soak it up.”
In addition to Strong, Culkin bested Anora‘s Yura Borisov, The Brutalist‘s Guy Pearce and A Complete Unknown‘s Edward Norton.
See all the 2025 Oscar winners:
Best Picture
WINNER: Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
WINNER: Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance
Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
WINNER: Zoé Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
Best Actor in a Leading Role
WINNER: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov – Anora
WINNER: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Best Directing
WINNER: Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Mike Marino, Dave Presto and Crystal Jurado – A Different Man
Julia Floch Carbonel & Simon Livet – Emilia Pérez
Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton & David White – Nosferatu
WINNER: Pierre-Olivier Persin – The Substance
Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, Laura Blount – Wicked
Best Live Action Short
A Lien
WINNER: I’m Not a Robot
Anuja
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Best International Feature Film
WINNER: I’m Still Here
The Girl with the Needle
Emilia Pérez
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Flow
Best Film Editing
WINNER: Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
Best Costume Design
Arianne Phillips – A Complete Unknown
Lisy Christy – Conclave
Janty Yates – Gladiator II
Linda Muir – Nosferatu
WINNER: Paul Tazewell – Wicked
Best Original Screenplay
WINNER: Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Tim Fehlbaum & Moritz Binder – September 5
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Best Adapted Screenplay
Jay Cocks & James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
WINNER: Peter Straughan – Conclave
Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Nicolas Livecchi – Emilia Pérez
Joslyn Barnes & RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar – Sing Sing
Best Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
WINNER: Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked
Best Sound
A Complete Unknown
WINNER: Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Best Production Design
Judy Becker – The Brutalist
Suzie Davies & Roberta Federico – Conclave
Zsuzsanna Sipos, Shane Vieau & Patrice Vermette – Dune: Part Two
Beatrice Brentnerova, Paul Ghirardani & Craig Lanthorp – Nosferatu
WINNER: Nathan Crawley – Wicked
Best Original Song
WINNER: “El Mal” written by Clement Ducol, Camille & Jacques Audiard, performed by Zoé Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascon – Emilia Pérez
“The Journey” written by Diane Warren, performed by H.E.R. – The Six Triple Eight
“Like a Bird” written by Adrian Quesada and Abraham Alexander- Sing Sing
“Mi Camino” written by Clement Ducol & Camille, performed by Selena Gomez & Edgar Ramirez – Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late” written by written by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Bernie Taupin, and Andrew Watt, performed by Elton John – Elton John: Never Too Late
Best Original Score
WINNER: The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Best Cinematography
WINNER: Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two
Paul Guilhaume – Emilia Pérez
Edward Lachman – Maria
Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
Best Animated Feature Film
WINNER: Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Best Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men
WINNER: In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!
Best Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
WINNER: No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane
Best Documentary Short Film
I Am Ready, Warden
Death By Numbers
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
WINNER: The Only Girl in the Orchestra
