Robert Downey, Jr. Entertainer of the Year Award

This award is one I will present annually to the actor, writer, director or any combination thereof who has in my estimation the best year. The only real criteria is that they have multiple credits. The credits can be two responsibilities on the same film or more than one film. The idea came to me based on Robert Downey, Jr.’s incredible 2008. He was the first winner and the name stuck.

Ayo Adebiri

It’s rare for me to see two animated films one after another wonder who voiced a particular character and find the same answer, those films being Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Now, perhaps, if The Bear wasn’t a TV blindspot of mine I would have recognized her voice, but I’m not always great at picking out celebrities doing voice work. Regardless, her characterization in both films is outstanding and jumped out to me as a strong point in both film which is a rare feat now even with all the quality animated films going around. Yet, beyond that Adebiri was one of the standouts of the ensemble cast in Theater Camp playing an important part as a staffer whose story remains unknown throughout most of the film. Those performance were impressive enough to earn her this honor even though her most widely viewed live-action performance on film in 2023, Bottoms, was one I happened to miss seeing.