Seth Rogen pays tribute to “utter genius” Catherine O’Hara at DGA Awards

Seth Rogen has paid tribute to Catherine O’Hara in his speech at the Directors Guild Awards.

Late last month (January 30), it was confirmed that the beloved actor and comedian had passed away at the age of 71 following a brief illness. O’Hara recently starred in The Studio, where she played high-powered Hollywood executive Patty Leigh.

When picking up the award for Best Comedy Series last night (February 7), creators Rogen and Evan Goldberg took time to pay tribute to O’Hara, reflecting on what it meant to have her involved in the show.

Rogen and Goldberg called O’Hara “our idol since we were children”, referencing her iconic role as the mother of Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McAllister in the first two Home Alone films.

“Home Alone, honestly, is like the movie that made me wanna make movies in a lot of ways,” Rogen explained. “In that movie, she’s always yelling ‘Kevin, Kevin,’ and on set she would always be yelling, ‘Evan, Evan,’ and every time she did it we were like, It’s like Home Alone.”

He went on to say: “The best part of her is she showed that you can be an utter genius and also the nicest person in the entire world,” Rogen said. “Every day, we work very hard to make the show good enough to warrant her time and her presence. So ultimately we would like to thank the DGA for this, but we would mostly like to thank Catherine O’Hara.”

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Culkin paid his own touching tribute to O’Hara after news of her death emerged last week, saying that he “thought we had time”.

Schitt’s Creek creator and star Dan Levy also shared a tribute to O’Hara, speaking of the “gift” to have been able to “dance in the warm glow” of the late actor.

She played Moira Rose in the show, created by Levy and his father Eugene, an eccentric and flamboyant former soap opera star.

“What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years,” Levy said. “Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family. It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it. I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her.”

She was also a part of The Last Of Us, with her co-star Pedro Pascal among those sharing posts following the news of her death. See a selection of tributes here.

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