Adam Sandler Wins National Board of Review Best Actor Award

Adam Sandler has won the National Board of Review’s Best Actor award for his role as gambling addicted jeweler Howard Ratner in the Safdie brothers’ Uncut Gems. According to Variety, Sandler received a standing ovation and even expressed how unlikely his win was by joking that his win was such a longshot given that he is best known for his work in comedies that anyone who had actually bet on him to take home the award probably owed him a thank you.

“If you are one of the wise few who took the three-million-to-one odds that Vegas was offering on me ever winning the National Board of Review best actor award, I have to words for you: You’re welcome,” Sandler said.

While Sandler is correct that, when looking at his entire career, his win is a bit of a surprise, the reality is that both Uncut Gems and Sandler have been the subject of a good bit of awards buzz since the film’s debut at the Telluride Film Festival back last August. There has even been some Oscar buzz for Sandler, something that the actor has joked a bit about on The Howard Stern Show last month that if he doesn’t win the Oscar, he’s going to make a terrible movie as revenge.

“If I don’t get it, I’m going to f-cking come back and do one again that is so bad on purpose just to make you all pay,” Sandler said.

All joking aside, Sandler has also spoken about how exciting it was for him to do something different than what he usually does in terms of his acting roles. Sandler told the Los Angeles Times last fall that he was happy the hard work that went into Uncut Gems — and not just his own, but of everyone who had a hand in the film — was getting critical praise and recognition.

“I feel great that all the hard work we did is looked at in a positive way,” Sandler said. “It’s very exciting, it really is. It’s exciting for me as a guy who has been doing it a long time to do a different thing, use a different muscle.”

“But mostly I am just excited that these guys are getting the recognition they deserve,” Sandler continued. “They’re incredible guys. Hardest working, most focused. And they’re so young and they have so much ahead of them.

Uncut Gems also stars Lakeith Stanfield (Knives Out), Pom Klementieff (Avengers: Infinity War), Idina Menzel (Frozen), Eric Bogosian (Succession), Judd Hirsch (Taxi), and newcomer Julia Fox. Basketball icon Kevin Garnett and music star The Weeknd will both play themselves in the film.

Uncut Gems is in theaters now.