Rose Byrne to Receive Breakthrough Performance Honor from Palm Springs International Film Awards for ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’
The Palm Springs International Film Awards has announced that Rose Byrne is the recipient of the Breakthrough Performance Award for her critically praised performance in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. The Film Awards will take place on January 3, 2026, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with the festival running January 2-12, 2026. The event will be presented by Kering and sponsored by Entertainment Tonight.
“Rose Byrne delivers a fearless and electrifying performance in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” said Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “Her portrayal of Linda—a mother unraveling under pressure—grounds this bold, unsettling film with raw emotion which lingers long after the credits. We are honored to present her with the Breakthrough Performance Award, recognizing a performance of remarkable depth and distinction.”
With her life crashing down around her, Linda (Rose Byrne) attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist. The cast includes Conan O’Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Lark White, Ivy Wolk, Daniel Zolghadri, Delaney Quinn, with Christian Slater and A$AP Rocky. The A24 film is directed and written by Mary Bronstein. Byrne won the Silver Bear for Best Lead Performance at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. She’s also received Best Actress from the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Best Lead Performance from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and nominations from the Critics’ Choice Awards, Film Independent Spirit Awards, Golden Globes, and Gotham Awards.
Rose Byrne is an Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actress from Sydney, Australia. Byrne can currently be seen starring in Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You for which she garnered the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival. Upcoming, Byrne is set to star in Stephanie Laing’s TOW. Previously on television, Byrne starred in Damages opposite Glenn Close for which she garnered two Golden Globe nominations and one Emmy nomination for her portrayal. Her additional television credits include Physical, Platonic and Mrs. America. It was recently announced that Byrne is set to star in Peacock series The Good Daughter. Previous film credits include: Juliet, Naked; Peter Rabbit; Instant Family; Spy; The Place Beyond the Pines; Bridesmaids; Insidious; Get Him to the Greek; 28 Weeks Later; Bridesmaids; Marie Antionette; Troy; The Goddess of 1967 for which she garnered the Volpi Cup at the 2000 Venice Film Festival and Two Hands.
Byrne joins this year’s previously announced honorees Michael B. Jordan (Icon Award), Leonardo DiCaprio (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor), Ethan Hawke (Career Achievement Award), Kate Hudson (Icon Award), Adam Sandler (Chairman’s Award), Amanda Seyfried (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress), Frankenstein director Guillermo del Toro and actors Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth (Visionary Award), Hamnet director Chloé Zhao as well as actors Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal (Vanguard Award) and Sentimental Value cast members Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning (International Star Award).
Past actress winners of the Breakthrough Performance Award include last year’s recipient Mikey Madison (Anora), along with Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers), Danielle Deadwyler (Till), Mary J. Blige (Mudbound), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), Andra Day (The United States v Billie Holiday), Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls), Brie Larson (Room), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl). In the years they were honored, Cotillard, Hudson, Larson, Madison, Nyong’o and Randolph went on to win Academy Awards, while Day, Blige, Erivo, Huffman and Pike received nominations.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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