‘Dancing with the Stars’ season 34: Robert Irwin, Witney Carson win the Mirrorball Trophy
Witney Carson and Robert Irwin win Season 34 of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ (Disney/Eric McCandless)
Dancing with the Stars has crowned its new Mirrorball champions.
After a high-stakes season 34 finale, wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin and his partner Witney Carson won the coveted Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy after performing their final dance numbers.
Finalists also included Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy; Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach; Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa; and Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten.
When asked by co-host Julianne Hough what winning DWTS meant to him, Irwin said, “My sister said it best: Thank you for changing my life.”
Robert’s sister Bindi Irwin won the trophy in 2015. On Instagram, she wrote, “Words can’t describe how proud I am of you. You EARNED this.”
Carson added, “I’m so grateful for Robert, and I feel like I won already with him as my friend.”
The final dances included one chosen by one of the judges, an “Instant Dance Challenge” for the ultimate test of improvisation and a freestyle round.
The winners of this season were determined by a combination of live viewer votes from the night, plus the scores from judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli. More than 72 million votes were cast, the show announced.
The finale kicked off with an electrifying dance number to “Never Can Say Goodbye” by The Communards.
It also saw the return of cast members over the season, including Lauren Jauregui, Andy Richter, Corey Feldman, Danielle Fishel, Hilaria Baldwin, Scott Hoying, Whitney Leavitt and Baron Davis.
Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Elijah Wood as Frodo in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.’ (New Line/WireImage via Getty Images)
You can stop making Lord of the Rings films about Frodo, but you can’t kick Elijah Wood out of the shire.
The actor recently visited the set of The Lord of the Rings‘ Shire during a trip to New Zealand. During his visit, he surprised a couple who were in the middle of their wedding ceremony.
A video of the surprise interaction was recently shared to the official Hobbiton TikTok. Hobbiton is the name of The Shire set in Matamata, New Zealand, which Wood’s character, Frodo Baggins, called home.
“POV: You’re getting married in The Shire and an unexpected guest crashes your wedding…” the text on top of the video reads.
The video shows the ceremony taking place as Wood arrives with a small group of camera operators documenting the surprise. As Wood presents himself at the end of the aisle, both the bride and groom exclaim, “Oh my God.”
Wood posed for photos with the newlyweds at the altar. As he looked out into the crowd of attendees, he said, “This is amazing, and everyone is dressed as hobbits!”
“Thank you so much for coming,” the groom said to Wood before the latter posed for a selfie.
“An unforgettable wedding in The Shire…” Hobbiton captioned the TikTok.
Peter Jackson‘s first film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, began filming almost 26 years ago to the month. The trilogy was an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s classic fantasy novels.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in ‘Wicked: For Good’ (Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures)
Wicked fans can finally get a taste of the two new original songs from the movie’s sequel.
A new Wicked: For Good clip was released Wednesday, featuring snippets of songs sung by Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba.
The songs are “The Girl in the Bubble,” sung by Grande, and “No Place Like Home,” sung by Erivo. They were composed by Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the music and lyrics for the original Wicked Broadway musical. He told ABC Audio in June, “They are storytelling songs … and they’re there because we needed them to tell the story.”
“They are astonishing talents,” Schwartz said of the movie’s stars. “And to have two songs being debuted by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, I mean, as a songwriter, it doesn’t really get better than that.”
In a Fandango interview with director Jon M. Chu and the cast, Chu said there are “so many things” he’s excited for fans to see in Wicked: For Good.
“The temperature is up,” he said in the interview, a snippet of which was shared on Instagram. “In movie one, we saw cracks of who [Elphaba and Glinda] are to become. We saw them make choices that position them on the stage of what could be. And in movie two, we get to see those things play out.”
The new clip and song snippets come as tickets go on sale for the conclusion of the two-part Wicked film series, which hits theaters Nov. 21. The first film, simply titled Wicked, premiered Nov. 22, 2024.
The Actor statue is seen during the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards media preview and menu reveal at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on Feb. 20, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Nominations are in for the 2026 Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
This year’s nominations were announced live in Los Angeles on Wednesday by Abbott Elementary star JanelleJames and Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie.
The 2026 awards show, which recognizes performances across film and television, will take place March 1 in Los Angeles, streaming live on Netflix.
Harrison Ford will be honored with the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award during the ceremony. A host has yet to be announced.
Here is the full list of nominees:
Television
Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or limited series Jason Bateman, Black Rabbit Owen Cooper, Adolescence Stephen Graham, Adolescence Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me
Outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This Ike Barinholtz, The Studio Ted Danson, A Man on the Inside Seth Rogen, The Studio Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series Britt Lower, Severance Parker Posey, The White Lotus Keri Russell, The Diplomat Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus Aimee Lou Wood, The White Lotus
Outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series Sterling K. Brown, Paradise Billy Crudup, The Morning Show Walton Goggins, The White Lotus Gary Oldman, Slow Horses Noah Wyle, The Pitt
Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series The Diplomat Landman The Pitt Severance The White Lotus
Outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or limited series Sarah Snook, All Her Fault Erin Doherty, Adolescence Claire Danes, The Beast in Me Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex Christine Tremarco, Adolescence
Outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series Katherine Hahn, The Studio Catherine O’Hara, The Studio Jenna Ortega, Wednesday Jean Smart, Hacks Kristen Wiig, Palm Royale
Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series Abbott Elementary The Bear Hacks Only Murders in the Building The Studio
Film
Outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role Odessa A’zion, Marty Supreme Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good Amy Madigan, Weapons Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
Outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another Miles Caton, Sinners Paul Mescal, Hamnet Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role Jessie Buckley, Hamnet Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another Emma Stone, Bugonia
Outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon Michael B. Jordan, Sinners Jesse Plemons, Bugonia
Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture Hamnet Frankenstein Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sinners
Stunt ensemble honors
Outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a motion picture F1 Frankenstein Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning One Battle After Another Sinners
Outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a television series Andor Landman The Last of Us Squid Game Stranger Things
