About an hour before the Screen Actors Guild announced that Brad Pitt was a nominee for the guild's lead acting honor, the Palm Springs International Film Festival had already made the "Moneyball" star a winner.
Early Wednesday, PSIFF announced that Pitt would be the recipient of the festival's Desert Palm Achievement Award for Acting. The award is designed to honor his performances in both "Moneyball" and "The Tree of Life," and will be presented to Pitt at the fest's Awards Gala on Saturday, January 7.
“Brad Pitt consistently mesmerizes audiences with the depth and versatility of his performances. He has the rare ability to interpret and capture the most complicated facets of human nature, infusing his roles with strength and emotion,” said festival chairman Harold Matzner in a statement.
Pitt recently won acting awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Boston Society of Film Critics. On Tuesday, he was nominated for Best Actor in the Critics Choice Movie Awards.
Past winners of the award include last year's recipient, Colin Firth, as well as Jeff Bridges, Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Penn.
Other honorees at the PSIFF gala will include Michelle Williams, Glenn Close, Octavia Spencer, Michel Hazanavicius and Pitt's close pal George Clooney.
The 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival kicks off on January 5 and runs through January 16.
