Originally appeared on E! Online
First task of 2026: Red carpet date night.
Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphrey certainly checked that off the list as they arrived in style at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica on Jan. 4. For the ceremony, the Flight Attendant star stepped out in sexy menswear-inspired chic, wearing a black bra top under a tuxedo jacket and slouchy trousers, accenting her look with Pomellato jewelry. She coordinated with her fiancé, who paired his Saint Laurent tux with a black turtleneck. (See all the stars on the Critics Choice Awards red carpet here.)
And it was more than just a special night out for the parents of 2-year-old Matilda, as Tom is up for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Task alongside The Pitt’s Patrick Ball, The Diplomat’s Ato Essandoh, The Morning Show’s Billy Crudup, Forever’s Wood Harris and Severance’s Tramell Tillman.
Asked if becoming a father changed his approach to picking roles, Tom told Justin Sylvester on Live From E!: Critics Choice Awards, “Dad life has changed everything—my daughter owns my life.”
Matilda didn’t even “need to manipulate,” he said with a laugh, “because she knows I’m going to say yes. So, roles, just trying to be smart between me and Kaley, obviously Kaley works too, so trying to be smart about schedule and being a dad is my No. 1 priority.”
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Though Tom is certainly earning accolades for his performance in the HBO drama, which also earned Best Drama Series and costar Mark Ruffalo Best Actor in a Drama Series nods, his longtime love has been there from the very start, with him previously admitting she asked if the part was specifically written for him.
Matt Winkelmeyer / Staff / GETTY IMAGES
It wasn’t, Tom acknowledged to Justin, but as soon as he read it (and then Kaley read it), “it made sense” to him.
“I’m assuming it was the essence of him—how much he loves his kids, the way he jokes, and the range of feelings he can have in just one episode,” the Ozark alum told Men’s Health in October. “I think Kaley saw that this guy’s got a big f–king heart, even if he’s a little rough around the edges, and maybe that’s how she thinks of me.”
As much as Tom and Kaley are each other’s biggest fans when it comes to their work, it’s ten-fold in real life as the duo, who got engaged in 2024 after more than two years of dating.
“Kaley can show up for me in ways that sometimes I struggle to show up for myself,” Tom admitted. “And there are other ways that I can show up for her. It’s really beautiful to be a part of a team in that way. And we take our relationship very seriously. We work on it.”
“Nothing important in life just takes care of itself,” he continued. “If you want to be fit, you go to the gym. If you want to have a good relationship, you take time and pay attention to that relationship. And having this family now, I’ve never found anything more worth my time and attention.”
Now, turn that attention to Tom and Kaley as well as all the stars winning so far at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards:
Best Young Actor/Actress
Everett Blunck – The Plague (Independent Film Company)
WINNER: Miles Caton – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Cary Christopher – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Shannon Mahina Gorman – Rental Family (Searchlight Pictures)
Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Nina Ye – Left-Handed Girl (Netflix)
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Patrick Ball – The Pitt (HBO Max)
Billy Crudup – The Morning Show (Apple TV)
Ato Essandoh – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Wood Harris – Forever (Netflix)
Tom Pelphrey – Task (HBO Max)
WINNER: Tramell Tillman – Severance (Apple TV)
Best Picture
Bugonia (Focus Features)
Frankenstein (Netflix)
Hamnet (Focus Features)
Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Marty Supreme (A24)
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Sentimental Value (Neon)
Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Train Dreams (Netflix)
Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme (A24)
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams (Netflix)
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon (Sony Pictures Classics)
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent (Neon)
Best Actress
WINNER: Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
Emma Stone – Bugonia (Focus Features)
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
WINNER: Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Paul Mescal – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Best Supporting Actress
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value (Neon)
WINNER: Amy Madigan – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Best Director
WINNER: Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Best Casting and Ensemble
Nina Gold – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Douglas Aibel, Nina Gold – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Jennifer Venditti – Marty Supreme (A24)
Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
WINNER: Francine Maisler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
Best Costume Design
Kate Hawley – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Malgosia Turzanska – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Lindsay Pugh – Hedda (Amazon MGM Studios)
Colleen Atwood, Christine Cantella – Kiss of the Spider Woman (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions)
Ruth E. Carter – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
Best Hair and Makeup
Hair and Makeup Team – 28 Years Later (Sony Pictures)
WINNER: Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Siân Richards, Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, Shunika Terry – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Kazu Hiro, Felix Fox, Mia Neal – The Smashing Machine (A24)
Leo Satkovich, Melizah Wheat, Jason Collins – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Frances Hannon, Mark Coulier, Laura Blount – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
Best Visual Effects
WINNER: Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett – Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios)
Ryan Tudhope, Nikeah Forde, Robert Harrington, Nicolas Chevallier, Eric Leven, Edward Price, Keith Dawson – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess, Ivan Busquets, José Granell – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Alex Wuttke, Ian Lowe, Jeff Sutherland, Kirstin Hall – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures)
Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, Donnie Dean – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Stephane Ceretti, Enrico Damm, Stéphane Nazé, Guy Williams – Superman (Warner Bros.)
Best Animated Feature
Arco (Neon)
Elio (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
In Your Dreams (Netflix)
WINNER: KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (GKIDS)
Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
Best Comedy
The Ballad of Wallis Island (Focus Features)
Eternity (A24)
Friendship (A24)
WINNER: The Naked Gun (Paramount)
The Phoenician Scheme (Focus Features)
Splitsville (Neon)
Best Foreign Language Film
It Was Just an Accident (Neon)
Left-Handed Girl (Netflix)
No Other Choice (Neon)
WINNER: The Secret Agent (Neon)
Sirat (Neon)
Belén (Amazon MGM Studios)
Best Song
“Drive” – Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Blake Slatkin – F1 (Apple Original Films)
WINNER: “Golden” – Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, Teddy – KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
“I Lied to You” – Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
“Clothed by the Sun” – Daniel Blumberg – The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
“Train Dreams” – Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner – Train Dreams (Netflix)
“The Girl in the Bubble” – Stephen Schwartz – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
Best Drama Series
Alien: Earth (FX)
Andor (Disney+)
The Diplomat (Netflix)
Paradise (Hulu)
WINNER: The Pitt (HBO Max)
Pluribus (Apple TV)
Severance (Apple TV)
Task (HBO Max)
Best Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown – Paradise (Hulu)
Diego Luna – Andor (Disney+)
Mark Ruffalo – Task (HBO Max)
Adam Scott – Severance (Apple TV)
Billy Bob Thornton – Landman (Paramount+)
WINNER: Noah Wyle – The Pitt (HBO Max)
Best Actress in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates – Matlock (CBS)
Carrie Coon – The Gilded Age (HBO Max)
Britt Lower – Severance (Apple TV)
Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us (HBO Max)
Keri Russell – The Diplomat (Netflix)
WINNER: Rhea Seehorn – Pluribus (Apple TV)
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Nicole Beharie – The Morning Show (Apple TV)
Denée Benton – The Gilded Age (HBO Max)
Allison Janney – The Diplomat (Netflix)
WINNER: Katherine LaNasa – The Pitt (HBO Max)
Greta Lee – The Morning Show (Apple TV)
Skye P. Marshall – Matlock (CBS)
Best Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Elsbeth (CBS)
Ghosts (CBS)
Hacks (HBO Max)
Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
The Righteous Gemstones (HBO Max)
WINNER: The Studio (Apple TV)
Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Adam Brody – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Ted Danson – A Man on the Inside (Netflix)
David Alan Grier – St. Denis Medical (NBC)
Danny McBride – The Righteous Gemstones (HBO Max)
WINNER: Seth Rogen – The Studio (Apple TV)
Alexander Skarsgård – Murderbot (Apple TV)
Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristen Bell – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Natasha Lyonne – Poker Face (Peacock)
Rose McIver – Ghosts (CBS)
Edi Patterson – The Righteous Gemstones (HBO Max)
Carrie Preston – Elsbeth (CBS)
WINNER: Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO Max)
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
WINNER: Ike Barinholtz – The Studio (Apple TV)
Paul W. Downs – Hacks (HBO Max)
Asher Grodman – Ghosts (CBS)
Oscar Nuñez – The Paper (Peacock)
Chris Perfetti – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Timothy Simons – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Watch the Critics Choice Awards 2026 live Sunday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m. on E! and USA Network.