Paul Giamatti Jokes About “Going Viral” For Eating In-N-Out In Acceptance Speech At Critics Choice Awards

Paul Giamatti won at the Critic Choice Awards for Best Actor for The Holdovers and acknowledged his viral fame this week during his acceptance speech.

“Wow, guys, I didn’t think my week could get any better than going viral for eating a cheeseburger,” Giamatti joked.

The actor was referencing a photo that went viral of himself eating at In-N-Out after winning an award at the Golden Globes.

“Serious guys, I need that endorsement. So let’s all just pray for me,” Giamatti continued. “Everybody get their pizza in a bag, by the way? I think that’d be a good endorsement. Paul Giamatti for pizza in a bag.”

Getting serious about the accolade he just earned, Giamatti was grateful for the award coming from the critics as they are “the toughest crowds.”

The actor thanked his son during his acceptance speech despite knowing he would probably “roll his eyes” at him, adding, “I can hear him doing it, but I want to thank him anyway.”

Giamatti pulled the heartstrings when he also thanked his late father.

“I want to think about my father tonight who never saw me act professionally,” he said. “If that’s what I do is professional acting. I’m not so sure. But he was a critic. He was a literary critic. And so you couldn’t get away with anything but good work with him. So this would make him really happy. And that makes me really happy. So thank you.”

Giamatti was nominated in the Best Actor category at the Critics Choice Awards alongside Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Leonardo DiCaprio (Killers of the Flower Moon), Colman Domingo (Rustin), Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction).