LA JOLLA \u2013 It was a star-studded night on October 16. <\/p>\n
Mark Hamill (\u201cThe Life of Chuck<\/a>\u201d) received the prestigious Gregory Peck Award for Cinematic Excellence, while Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin (\u201cChildren of a Lesser God<\/a>\u201d) received the Visionary Impact Award at the San Diego International\u00a0Film\u00a0Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Virtuoso Award was presented to John Magaro (\u201cThe Agency<\/a>\u201d), a versatile actor known for his work across\u00a0film, television, and stage.<\/p>\n Joe Manganiello, celebrated for his roles in\u00a0\u201cTrue Blood<\/a>\u201d\u00a0and \u201cMagic Mike<\/a>,\u201d received the Spotlight Award at the Night of the Stars Tribute, which took place at The Conrad in La Jolla.<\/p>\n \u201cBetween the amazing\u00a0film\u00a0lineup and the addition of our award honorees, our\u00a0festival\u00a0attendees are in for an incredible experience,\u201d said Tonya Mantooth, chief executive officer and artistic director at the San Diego International\u00a0Film\u00a0Festival. <\/p>\n \u201cMark Hamill, Marlee Matlin, John Magaro, and Joe Manganiello all have\u00a0films currently in theatrical release, or are about to be released, and have been showcased in major\u00a0festivals that lead into the awards circuit.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamill\u00a0is a BAFTA and Emmy-winning actor whose face and voice have graced screens for over 40 years. He was most recently seen as The Major in Lionsgate\u2019s Steven King adaptation \u201cThe Long Walk\u201d and re-teamed with Mike Flanagan to star opposite Tom Hiddleston in Neon\u2019s \u201cThe Life of Chuck,\u201d which won the Audience Award at the 2024 Toronto International\u00a0Film\u00a0Festival.<\/p>\n However, Hamill is best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the original \u201cStar Wars\u201d movies, and reprised his role in both the sequels as well as the second season of \u201cThe Mandalorian\u201d and the television series, \u201cThe Book of Boba Fett.\u201d<\/p>\n Matlin\u00a0made history with her\u00a0film\u00a0debut in\u00a0\u201cChildren of a Lesser God,\u201d earning the Academy Award for Best Actress at age 21 \u2014 the youngest and one of only a few to win for a debut role. <\/p>\n She also received a Golden Globe for the performance. In 2022, she and her castmates from\u00a0\u201cCODA\u201d\u00a0won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble; the\u00a0film\u00a0went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Matlin has earned four Emmy nominations for standout television roles in\u00a0\u201cThe West Wing,\u201d\u00a0\u201cSeinfeld,\u201d\u00a0\u201cThe L Word,\u201d and\u00a0\u201cSwitched at Birth.\u201d<\/p>\n Manganiello\u00a0is an actor, director, producer, writer, and host with a BFA in acting from Carnegie Mellon University\u2019s School of Drama. He rose to fame as Alcide on HBO\u2019s\u00a0\u201cTrue Blood\u201d\u00a0and starred in major franchises including\u00a0\u201cMagic Mike,\u201d Sam Raimi\u2019s\u00a0\u201cSpider-Man,\u201d\u00a0\u201cRampage,\u201d\u00a0\u201cSabotage,\u201d\u00a0\u201cPee-Wee\u2019s Big Holiday,\u201d and as Deathstroke in\u00a0\u201cJustice League.\u201d<\/p>\n Currently, Manganiello stars in the Emmy-nominated Netflix\u00a0film\u00a0\u201cNonnas,\u201d alongside Vince Vaughn, based on the true story of an Italian restaurant run by grandmothers. He also joins Season 2 of Netflix\u2019s\u00a0\u201cOne Piece\u201d\u00a0as villain Crocodile.<\/p>\n Magaro\u00a0has cultivated a rich and versatile career across\u00a0film, television, and theatre. Most recently, he starred as jazz legend Keith Jarrett in\u00a0\u201cK\u00d6LN 75,\u201d which premiered at the 2025 Berlinale. He also led Cole Webley\u2019s\u00a0\u201cOmaha,\u201d which premiered at the 2025 Sundance\u00a0Film\u00a0Festival. On television, he appears in the espionage series\u00a0\u201cThe Agency,\u201d produced by George Clooney and starring Michael Fassbender.<\/p>\n Previous honorees at the\u00a0festival\u00a0have included Annette Bening, Laurence Fishburne, Adrien Brody, Regina Hall, Kenny Loggins, Andy Garcia, Geena Davis, Kate Beckinsale, and Sir Patrick Stewart, among many others.<\/p>\n READ NEXT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LA JOLLA \u2013 It was a star-studded night on October 16. Mark Hamill (\u201cThe Life of Chuck\u201d) received…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":356053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,173691,157318,173692,3548,20427,431,3549,122165,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-356052","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-gregory-peck-award","12":"tag-joe-manganiello","13":"tag-john-magaro","14":"tag-la-jolla","15":"tag-mark-hamill","16":"tag-marlee-matlin","17":"tag-san-diego","18":"tag-san-diego-international-film-festival","19":"tag-sandiego","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115493910606482290","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}