Catherine O'Hara wins posthumous gong at Actor Awards

A month after her unexpected death, Catherine O'Hara has won a posthumous award at the 32nd Actor Awards for her performance on The Studio.

O'Hara won best female actor in a comedy series on Sunday at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards. O'Hara died aged 71 on January 30 from a blood clot in the lungs. At the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, the crowd gave a standing ovation for O'Hara after she was announced as the winner.

Seth Rogen, co-creator of The Studio, accepted the award on her behalf. He recalled a passionate collaborator who would, the night before a scene, invariably send a polite email with suggested rewrites. Rogen said O'Hara "showed that you could be a genius and you could be kind".

With two weeks to go until the Academy Awards, the 32nd Actor Awards are the final pre-Oscars showdown for One Battle After Another and Sinners.

Formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the newly renamed Actor Awards are one of the most closely watched Oscar precursors.

Actors make up the largest slice of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and their choices at the Actor Awards often align.

Kristen Bell, returning as host, kicked off the show on Sunday on a light, song-and-dance note despite the war in Iran and entertainment industry upheaval.

The awards marked the biggest Hollywood bash since Paramount reached an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $US111 billion ($A156 billion). The merger, which awaits regulatory approval, sent shockwaves through Hollywood.

Netflix chief executive Ted Sarandos, whose company lost out to Paramount competing bid, walked the red carpet in jeans.

Before the ceremony began, the award for best stunt ensemble went to a Paramount release: Mission: Impossible ? The Final Reckoning. The first award handed out during the show went to Keri Russell (The Diplomat) for best female actor in a drama series.

Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another comes in the heavy favourite, having won at the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and at Saturday's Producers Guild Awards. The film comes in with a record seven nominations and is seen as the most likely winner of the night's top award, best ensemble.

The four other nominees for best ensemble are: Sinners, Hamnet, Marty Supreme and Frankenstein. If Ryan Coogler's Sinners upsets One Battle After Another, it would add a late dose of unpredictability to Oscars.

Jessie Buckley is the favourite in the best female actor category. The other nominees are: Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another), Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue) and Emma Stone (Bugonia).

Harrison Ford received the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award, presented to him by Woody Harrelson.