Kieran Culkin wins his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Real Pain

Actor Kieran Culkin won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Billy Kaplan in the 2024 film A Real Pain on Sunday, March 2, 2025. The 97th Academy Awards were held at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.

It is Kieran Culkin's first ever Oscar nomination and win. The 42-year-old actor was touted as the favorite to win in the category, which also included Jeremy Strong for The Apprentice, Guy Pearce for The Brutalist, Yura Borisov for Anora, and Edward Norton for A Complete Unknown.

Culkin's film A Real Pain was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Jesse Eisenberg, who also directed and starred in the movie. However, he lost out to Sean Baker for Anora.

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Kieran Culkin delivers a hilariously heartwarming acceptance speech

At the 97th Academy Awards, Robert Downey Jr. presented the night’s first award for Best Supporting Actor and announced Kieran Culkin as the winner. During his acceptance speech, the actor thanked the film's director, Jesse Eisenberg, by calling him a "genius."

He also thanked his manager of 30 years, Emily Gerson Saines, for helping shape his career and his mother and stepfather for trying to raise him well.

Kieran Culkin also gave a shoutout to his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong for his "amazing" performance in The Apprentice. The actor also accidentally used the f-word, which led to his speech being partially bleeped.

He dedicated the award to his wife, Jazz Charton, and jokingly teased her about their deal to have two more kids if he won an Oscar.

"I just have this to say to you, Jazz — love of my life, ye of little faith — no pressure. I love you. I’m really sorry I did this again, and let’s get cracking on those kids. What do you say?" he said in his speech.

The actor had an exceptional award season as he won the Golden Globes Award, Independent Spirit Award, the SAG Award, BAFTA Film Award, and Critics Choice Award for his performance in the film.

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Exploring Kieran Culkin's Oscar-winning role in A Real Pain

A Real Pain is a comedy-drama film written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, and produced by Ewa Puszczyńska, Jennifer Semler, Ali Herting, Jesse Eisenberg, Dave McCary, and Emma Stone. The film was released in theaters across the US on November 1, 2024.

A Real Pain revolves around Billy Kaplan (Culkin) and his cousin David Kaplan (Eisenberg) going on a Jewish heritage tour in Poland to connect with their Jewish roots. The once-close cousins struggle to bond on the trip due to their different personalities. Billy is free-spirited and impulsive, while David is more reserved and pragmatic.

On the trip, David gets increasingly annoyed by Billy's antics while visiting historical monuments like the Old Jewish Cemetery, the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, and the Warsaw Uprising Monument. During an emotional conversation, David admits that Billy's suicide attempt six months ago left him feeling very distraught. The two confess to caring deeply about each other before the end of their trip.

In addition to the lead pair, Jennifer Grey, Will Sharpe, Liza Sadovy, Kurt Egyiawan, Ellora Torchia, and Daniel Oreskes round out the film's supporting cast.

A Real Pain was made on a budget of $3 million and grossed $21.1 million in box office collections, as per Box Office Mojo. Kieran Culkin's nuanced performance was singled out as a "tour de force" and "shockingly great" by critics.

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