Casting Society Announces Artios Awards Winners: Highlights from ‘Sinners,’ ‘Zootopia 2,’ Jay Kelly, and More

Sinners, Jay Kelly, and Zootopia 2 Shine at 41st Annual Artios Awards

The 41st annual Artios Awards, hosted by the Casting Society, celebrated outstanding achievements in casting across film and television during ceremonies in Los Angeles, New York City, and London. Notably, Warner Bros’ Sinners led the Oscar nominations this year with a historic 16 nods, including Best Picture, and earned the Artios award for Big Budget Feature Drama.

Netflix’s Jay Kelly, featuring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, garnered accolades for Big Budget Feature Comedy, while Walt Disney Animation’s Zootopia 2, the highest-grossing animated film of all time, won in the Animated Feature category.

Other significant winners ahead of the upcoming Academy Awards include films such as Sentimental Value, Rental Family, The Fisherman, and Sorry, Baby, underscoring a competitive awards season.

In television, the top honors reflected familiar names from the Emmy Awards, with Hacks, Severance, and RuPaul’s Drag Race among the top recipients. The live theater category saw Buena Vista Social Club and Maybe Happy Ending share the title for Broadway Musical, with English and The Importance of Being Earnest recognized in their respective categories.

During the event, the Lynn Stalmaster Award for Career Achievement was given to Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television. "What I love about casting is that it taught me how to really see people — not just the person who walks into the room but who they could become," she stated, emphasizing the art and advocacy inherent in casting.

The event saw What We Do in the Shadows star Harvey Guillén as the host in Los Angeles, with others like Jeff Hiller and Jessica Gunning leading ceremonies in New York and London, respectively.

Winners of the 2026 Artios Awards

FEATURE FILM

• BIG BUDGET FEATURE COMEDY
  Jay Kelly
  Douglas Aibel, Nina Gold, Associate Casting Director: Matthew Glasner, Location Casting Directors: Francesco Vedovati, Barbara Giordani

• BIG BUDGET FEATURE DRAMA
  Sinners
  Francine Maisler, Associate Casting Directors: Molly Rose, Amber Wakefield, Location Casting Director: Meagan Lewis

• ANIMATED FEATURE
  Zootopia 2
  Grace C. Kim

• STUDIO OR INDEPENDENT FEATURE COMEDY
  Rental Family
  Kei Kawamura

• FEATURE: STUDIO OR INDEPENDENT: DRAMA
  Sentimental Value
  Avy Kaufman

• FEATURE: INTERNATIONAL
  The Fisherman
  Mawuko Kuadzi

• FEATURE: LOW BUDGET: COMEDY OR DRAMA
  Sorry, Baby
  Jessica Kelly, Location Casting Directors: Lisa Lobel, Angela Peri, Location Associate Casting Director: Melissa Morris

TV, COMMERCIALS, SHORT FILM & SHORT FORM SERIES

• FILM, FIRST RELEASED FOR TELEVISION OR STREAMING
  Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy
  Lucy Bevan, Olivia Grant, Associate Casting Director: Lucy Downes

• TELEVISION SERIES: COMEDY
  Hacks (Season 4)
  Linda Lowy

• TELEVISION SERIES: DRAMA
  Severance (Season 2)
  Rachel Tenner, Associate Casting Director: Rick Messina, Location Casting Director: Bess Fifer

• TELEVISION PILOT AND FIRST SEASON: COMEDY
  The Studio
  Melissa Kostenbauder, Francine Maisler, Associate Casting Director: Jesse Haddock

• TELEVISION PILOT AND FIRST SEASON: DRAMA
  The Pitt
  Cathy Sandrich Gelfond, Associate Casting Director: Seth Caskey

• LIMITED SERIES
  Adolescence
  Shaheen Baig

• REALITY SERIES: COMPETITION
  RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 17)
  Goloka Bolte, Michelle Redwine, Adam Cook

• REALITY SERIES: STRUCTURED & UNSTRUCTURED
  Queer Eye (Season 9)
  Pamela Vallarelli, Jessica Jorgensen, Natalie Pino

• LIVE ACTION CHILDREN & FAMILY SERIES
  XO, Kitty (Season 2)
  Lyndsey Baldasare, David H. Rapaport, Associate Casting Director: Claire Yenson, Location Casting Director: Su Kim

• ANIMATED PROGRAM FOR TELEVISION
  Big Mouth (Season 8)
  Julie Ashton

• INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION SERIES
  Other People’s Money (Season 1)
  Alexandra Montag

• SHORT FORM SERIES
  Die Hart (Season 3)
  Chrissy Fiorilli-Ellington, Associate Casting Director: Jane Flowers, Location Casting Director: Tara Feldstein Bennett

• SHORT FILM
  Ado
  Ally Beans

• COMMERCIALS
  Listening Is a Form of Love
  Angela Mickey, Associate Casting Director: Aika Greenidge

THEATER

• BROADWAY: COMEDY OR DRAMA
  English
  Stephen Kopel, Associate Casting Director: Sujotta Pace

• BROADWAY: MUSICAL
  (TIE)
  Buena Vista Social Club
  Xavier Rubiano, Tara Rubin, Associate Casting Director: Frankie Ramirez
  Maybe Happy Ending
  Craig Burns, Associate Casting Director: Jimmy Larkin

• NEW YORK THEATER: COMEDY OR DRAMA
  Sh¡T. Meet. Fan
  Bernard Telsey, Will Cantler, Destiny Lilly

• NEW YORK THEATER: MUSICAL
  The Jonathan Larson Project
  Rachel Hoffman, Associate Casting Director: Charlie Hano

• LONDON THEATRE
  The Importance Of Being Earnest
  Alastair Coomer

• LOS ANGELES THEATER
  Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends
  Tara Rubin, Xavier Rubiano, Peter Van Dam, Associate Casting Director: Louis DiPaolo

• REGIONAL THEATER
  Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
  Lauren Port, Patrick Goodwin

• THEATER TOURS
  Parade
  Craig Burns

• SPECIAL THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE
  The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
  Geoff Josselson