It’s no secret Kristen Bell loves a musical number and jumped at the opportunity to break out in song during her monologue at the 2026 Actor Awards on Sunday.
The Nobody Wants This star kicked off the show with some, let’s say, creative stage name suggestions for some of the night’s nominees.
“As you know, this year, the show got a little bit of a facelift. Like many people in this room can understand, we nipped the ‘sag,’ and now it’s just the Actor Awards. But thinking about it got me thinking about rebranding, because at one time or another, everyone has thought about…” Bell began before singing, “A stage name up on the marquees that rolls off the tongue with melodious ease.”
She continued singing, “A stage name to bring you acclaim, to double your luck and to triple your fame / A stage name that says who you are, that tells the whole world, baby, I’m a star.”
Bell went on to suggest some interesting stage names for some of the actors in the room. “But here’s the thing, I feel like the people in this room could be doing so much more with their stage names,” she said.
Some of her suggestions included Jacob O’Lordy instead of Jacob Elordi, Teddy Dandaughter instead of Ted Danson and TeyTay instead of Teyana Taylor. However for Chase Infiniti, Bell said, “No notes.”
Ahead of the 2026 awards ceremony, the returning host told The Hollywood Reporter that she’s rehearsed “a lot a lot.” Bell added, “We rehearse the scripts, the beats, the walk-ups, the walk-aways, the camera marks. I practice reading a teleprompter, I practice pretending to not read a teleprompter even though I absolutely am. By show day, it’s basically muscle memory.”
The 32nd annual Actor Awards streamed live on Netflix on Sunday from the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles. Find all the winners here, and check out the red carpet looks.
More to come.
