Sunny Pawar, the tiny, adorable star of Lion, attended the Academy Awards for first time on Sunday night but his newbie status didn’t prevent him from stealing the show.
While Jimmy Kimmel wisely enlisted the young actor to help him with a skit during the ceremony that included recreating the famous Lion King scene with Pawar as Simba and ended with candy falling from the ceiling, Pawar needed no help in winning over the hearts of Hollywood’s elite.
On the red carpet, Pawar met awards show hero Chrissy Teigen, who fulfilled her dream of finally meeting little Sunny after seeing him in Lion.
He also hung out with Andrew Garfield, who couldn’t contain his excitement about hanging out with the rising star.
Pawar also wanted credit where credit is due when it came to his work on Lion – he told a reporter that he taught Dev Patel Hindi.
Dev Patel, for his part, had no shortage of affection for his young co-star during the show.
Pawar also got a co-sign from none other than Samuel L. Jackson, who contended that Pawar should have received the Best Actor award.
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Write to Cady Lang at cady.lang@timemagazine.com