Tessa Thompson to receive Spotlight Award at Gotham Film Awards for ‘Hedda’ performance

Tessa Thompson on “Soul of a Nation Presents: Screen Queens Rising” (ABC/Kyusung Gong)

Tessa Thompson will be honored at the 2025 Gotham Awards for her titular performance in the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios drama Hedda. She is set to receive the Spotlight Award at the Gotham Film & Media Institute’s 35th annual awards ceremony, taking place Dec. 1 in New York City.

An adaptation of Henrik Ibsen‘s play Hedda Gabler, Hedda follows a young newlywed who yearns for a past love while hiding her discontent with her life and husband. Over the course of one party and night, she “orchestrates a ruthless game of manipulation, where lust, jealousy and betrayal collide,” according to Deadline.

“Tessa’s performance is both fearless and revelatory – an interpretation that deepens one of dramatic literature’s most complex characters and brings her into new focus for the audience that we represent here at The Gothams,” said Jeffrey Sharp Gotham, executive producer at Gotham Film & Media Institute, to Deadline. “We are thrilled to honor Tessa with the Spotlight Tribute and celebrate her extraordinary work in bringing Hedda to life with such depth and nuance.”

Tessa’s performance as Hedda has also earned her the Actress Award at this year’s Critics Choice Association‘s eighth annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television awards, taking place Dec. 9 in Los Angeles.

Hedda, directed and written by Nia DoCosta, premieres Oct. 22 in limited theaters; it releases Oct. 29 on Prime Video. Tessa also serves as producer on the film.