Sterling K. Brown is having a ball. It’s T-minus one day before showtime at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2, and he is centerstage at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.
Upbeat and casual in shorts, sneakers and a black hoodie, Brown, 48, and Ana de Armas are practicing lines off a teleprompter as they prepare to co-present the Live Action Short category. “I gotchu,” says Brown, a Best Supporting Actor nominee last year for his American Fiction role, as he chats and links arms with the 36-year-old actress, who received a Best Actress nod in 2023 for Blonde.
And, having nailed their first run-through, the Paradise star exclaims, “Let’s do it!”
Rehearsal shenanigans unfolded throughout Saturday morning as a spirited succession of A-listers took the stage to master blocking, lines and timing ahead of Hollywood’s biggest night.
After fumbling her first words, two-time Oscar winner Emma Stone laughed and, in self-deprecating fashion, announced, “Oh God, this is going to go great.”
A steady stream of dazzling stars, including Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Miles Teller, Whoopi Goldberg, Miley Cyrus and Oprah Winfrey (with BFF Gayle King in tow in the front row!), were mostly dressed down and makeup-free as they worked out kinks, navigated nerves and took in the vast Hollywood theater, mostly empty save for a bustling production staff and crew.
At one point, a jeans-clad Stone, 36, peered out at the orchestra section peppered with cardboard placards emblazoned with each nominee’s headshot. Having perfected her lines — and handed an Oscar statuette to a stand-in winner — the star flashed a big smile, waved and headed out into the wings.
Andrew Garfield, a two-time nominee, and Goldie Hawn, who took home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1970 for Cactus Flower, were in similarly high spirits as they worked on timing and giggled together from centerstage.
Co-presenting the Animated Feature and Animated Short categories, the unlikely duo navigated their bits and at various moments, sweetly linked arms or hands.
When Hawn, 79, looking sharp in a black pantsuit and with her blonde hair down, briefly fumbled a line, she said, “Okay, here we go…” Garfield, 41, with a sweater slung over his shoulders, glasses and his button-down untucked, rubbed Hawn’s back — and, when they eventually nailed their run-through, the two shared an enthusiastic high-five.
In typical fashion, the 2025 Oscars are set to be star-studded, as the Academy previously announced that the list of presenters will include Emilia Pérez star Selena Gomez, The Brutalist‘s Joe Alwyn, Nosferatu‘s Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe, and Gladiator II‘s Connie Nielsen.
Other presenters at the Conan O’Brien-hosted show include Winfrey, Brown, Armas, Hawn, Ben Stiller, Nick Offerman, as well as 2024 Oscar winners Randolph, Stone, Robert Downey Jr. and Cillian Murphy.
The list of live performers, meanwhile, includes Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, Queen Latifah, Doja Cat, Lisa of BLACKPINK, and Raye.
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The 97th Academy Awards will air live from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and Hulu.
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