Xuenou > Movies > Newport Beach Film Fest: Adam Sandler Tapped for Performance of the Year Award, Will Record Live Episode of THR’s ‘Awards Chatter’ Podcast
Newport Beach Film Fest: Adam Sandler Tapped for Performance of the Year Award, Will Record Live Episode of THR’s ‘Awards Chatter’ Podcast
Adam Sandler, the beloved veteran actor who is best known for his work in big screen comedies, is set to be celebrated for a dramatic film next month.

Newport Beach Film Fest: Adam Sandler Tapped for Performance of the Year Award, Will Record Live Episode of THR’s ‘Awards Chatter’ Podcast

Adam SandlerMike Marsland/WireImage

Adam Sandler, the beloved veteran actor who is best known for his work in big-screen comedies, is set to be celebrated for a dramatic film next month.

The Newport Beach Film Festival will present Sandler with its inaugural Performance of the Year Award in recognition of his work in Jeremiah Zagar’s Hustle, the fest’s organizers announced Thursday. The 56-year-old will be feted at a noontime luncheon at the Resort at Pelican Hill on Saturday, Oct. 15, following an hourlong recording of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, which features career-retrospective conversations with Hollywood’s biggest names.

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Sandler’s career took off with a five-year stint on Saturday Night Live, from 1990 to 1995, followed by a long string of comedic blockbuster films including Tamra Davis’ Billy Madison (1995), Dennis Dugan’s Happy Gilmore (1996), Frank Coraci’s The Waterboy (1998) and The Wedding Singer (1998), and Dugan’s Big Daddy (1999). He has also shined in more dramatic projects including Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Mike Binder’s Reign Over Me (2007), Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories (2017) and Ben Safdie and Josh Safdie’s Uncut Gems.

But the actor has received some of the best reviews of his career for his work in Hustle, which dropped on Netflix on June 8, and in which he plays a basketball scout who discovers a generational talent abroad.

“It’s a privilege to be partnering with The Hollywood Reporter and honoring Adam Sandler’s outstanding performance,” Gregg Schwenk, the CEO of Newport Beach Film Festival, said in a statement, adding, “This is exactly the kind of event that our local guild and Academy voters love to attend.”