Tony & Emmy Winner Bryan Cranston to Be Honored at Palm Springs Film Fest

The 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival(PSIFF) will present Bryan Cranston with the Spotlight Award, Actor at its annualAwards Gala. The Gala will also present awards to previously announced honorees Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Michael Fassbender, Brie Larson, Rooney Mara, Tom McCarthy, Saoirse Ronan and Alicia Vikander. The Awards Gala will be hosted by Mary Hart on Saturday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 1-11.

"Whether on film, television or Broadway, Bryan Cranston is an outstanding actor who delivers an extraordinary and memorable performance with each character he takes on," said Film FestivalChairman Harold Matzner. "In Trumbo, Cranston brings his amazing talent to his portrayal of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. For this brilliant performance, worthy of the awards recognition it has been receiving, it is an honor to present Bryan Cranston with the 2016 Spotlight Award, Actor."

Past recipients of the Spotlight Award include J.K. Simmons, Julia Roberts, Jessica Chastain, Amy Adams and Helen Hunt. All recipients received Academy Award® nominations in the year they were honored, with Simmons receiving the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Rooney Mara will receive the Spotlight Award, Actress at this year's Awards Gala.

Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo's acclaimed career comes to a crushing halt in the late 1940s when he and other Hollywood figures are blacklisted for their political beliefs. Directed by Jay Roach, Trumborecounts how Dalton used words and wit to win two Academy Awards and expose the absurdity and injustice under the blacklist, which entangled everyone from gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) to John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger. The film also stars Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Louis C.K., David James Elliott, Elle Fanning, John Goodman, Diane Lane, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alan Tudyk and Mirren.

For his role in Trumbo, Cranston has received a Golden Globe nomination, two SAG Award nominations and two Critics' Choice Movie Awards nominations. His film credits include Argo, Kung Fu Panda 3,Infiltrator, Godzilla, Total Recall, Rock of Ages, Drive, Contagion, Little Miss Sunshine, Seeing Other People, Saving Private Ryan and That Thing You Do!. Cranston has won four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards for his portrayal of Walter White on AMC's "Breaking Bad." He will next star as President Lyndon B. Johnson in the HBO film adaptation of All The Way for which he won a 2014 Tony Award. He is currently in production on the independent film Wakefield and will then begin production on John Hamburg's Why Him opposite James Franco.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

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