Mark Hamill, Marlee Matlin, John Magaro, Joe Manganiello honored at San Diego International Film Festival
LA JOLLA It was a star-studded night on October Mark Hamill The Life of Chuck received the prestigious Gregory Peck Award for Cinematic Excellence while Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin Children of a Lesser God received the Visionary Impact Award at the San Diego International Film Festival The Virtuoso Award was presented to John Magaro The Agency a versatile actor known for his work across film television and stage Joe Manganiello celebrated for his roles in True Blood and Magic Mike received the Spotlight Award at the Night of the Stars Tribute which took place at The Conrad in La Jolla Between the amazing film lineup and the addition of our award honorees our festival attendees are in for an incredible experience noted Tonya Mantooth chief executive officer and artistic director at the San Diego International Film Festival Mark Hamill Marlee Matlin John Magaro and Joe Manganiello all have films at the moment in theatrical release or are about to be published and have been showcased in major festivals that lead into the awards circuit Hamill is a BAFTA and Emmy-winning actor whose face and voice have graced screens for over years He was bulk of late seen as The Major in Lionsgate s Steven King adaptation The Long Walk and re-teamed with Mike Flanagan to star opposite Tom Hiddleston in Neon s The Life of Chuck which won the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival However Hamill is best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars movies and reprised his role in both the sequels as well as the second season of The Mandalorian and the television series The Book of Boba Fett Matlin made history with her film debut in Children of a Lesser God earning the Academy Award for Best Actress at age the youngest and one of only a inadequate to win for a debut role She also received a Golden Globe for the performance In she and her castmates from CODA won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble the film went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards Matlin has earned four Emmy nominations for standout television roles in The West Wing Seinfeld The L Word and Switched at Birth Manganiello is an actor director producer writer and host with a BFA in acting from Carnegie Mellon University s School of Drama He rose to fame as Alcide on HBO s True Blood and starred in major franchises including Magic Mike Sam Raimi s Spider-Man Rampage Sabotage Pee-Wee s Big Holiday and as Deathstroke in Justice League Now Manganiello stars in the Emmy-nominated Netflix film Nonnas alongside Vince Vaughn based on the true story of an Italian restaurant run by grandmothers He also joins Season of Netflix s One Piece as villain Crocodile Magaro has cultivated a rich and versatile career across film television and theatre Majority in recent months he starred as jazz legend Keith Jarrett in K LN which premiered at the Berlinale He also led Cole Webley s Omaha which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival On television he appears in the espionage series The Agency produced by George Clooney and starring Michael Fassbender Previous honorees at the festival have included Annette Bening Laurence Fishburne Adrien Brody Regina Hall Kenny Loggins Andy Garcia Geena Davis Kate Beckinsale and Sir Patrick Stewart among plenty of others
