Kate Winslet Kisses Allison Janney at the 2017 Hollywood Film Awards

"I'm a little bit breathless," Winslet admits after locking lips with the I, Tonya star

By Zach Johnson Nov 06, 2017 12:30 PMTags

The 2017 Hollywood Film Awards had some surprise girl-on-girl action.

At the Beverly Hilton Sunday, Shailene Woodley presented the Hollywood Actress award to her Divergent co-star Kate Winslet, who next appears opposite Justin Timberlake in the Woody Allen movie Wonder Wheel. At the beginning of Winslet's acceptance speech, she told Woodley, "Thank you, Shai. Thank you so much for those wonderful words. I'm very proud to be next to you on this stage. Thank you for your grace, your integrity and your beautiful words."

Rather than stand alone in the spotlight, Winslet wanted to shine a light on others in the room, so she used her speech to herald their accomplishments. "What a great room this is to be in tonight, filled with so many achievements and such powerful creativity. I'm deeply appreciative of this acknowledgement, at a time when the voices of artists play such an important role in storytelling and pushing boundaries, and that feels necessary today—more than ever before, I think," she said. Winslet went on to say that "one of the most rewarding things about this job" is "the opportunity to work alongside incredible actors," and so she wanted "to thank and applaud" her fellow actors being honored, "for your passionate dedication and your brilliance."

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2017 Hollywood Film Awards: Red Carpet Fashion
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"Allison Janney is in this room. Allison, I know I don't really know you, but I just want to be you," she said. "I do. Or just stroke you or something. I mean, we could always kiss, maybe."

As Janney cheered from her seat, Winslet said, "Maybe?"

Janney jumped up and rushed toward the stage.

"Oh, it's gonna happen. Quick, quick, quick!" Winslet said. "This is an exciting moment, isn't it?"

After sharing a passionate (albeit quick) kiss on the lips, Winslet was too flustered to finish her speech. "Thank you very much," the actress told the audience. "Now I'm a little bit breathless!"

Later in the show, Melissa McCarthy showed to give Janney the Hollywood Supporting Actress Award for her role in I, Tonya. "Allison Janney is not a good actor. She's not a good mimic, or even someone who is able to simply mirror a character, because she is so, so much more than all of those things combined. Allison, to me—and I think to all of us—is a force of nature. I think she throws herself headfirst into the heart and soul, and sometimes darkness, in her characters. Janney leads with her gut and with her weird, smart brain and her unflappable integrity, and we all get to sit and watch and bask in her amazing glow. She will hate everything I'm saying, by the way," she said. "This is one way I get to torture her, which is fun for me, because she somehow always remains in this beautiful state of kind of never knowing that she is the best of us."

Janney was equally effusive when she appeared onstage to collect her award. "I met Melissa back in 1999, I would say, when I first moved to L.A. I fell in love with her comedy, I fell in love with who she was as a person, and I've just loved watching her become the star I always knew that she would be and was," she told her. "I love you so much for being here for me tonight."

"Another good friend of mine is Mr. Steven Rogers. Steven Rogers wrote I, Tonya, for those of you who have not seen the movie. We've been friends for longer than either one of us would care to admit. He has written a lot of other movies and a lot of other roles for me, but I've never been cast in any of those movies. It was kind of our running joke. He'd write a movie and go, 'I wrote this great part for you.' Cut to 'the part written for Allison Janney will be played by Kevin Bacon.' It was extraordinary. And then, finally, this is where we meet together, in this extraordinary movie. You wrote this extraordinary part for me, which makes my legs tingle right now. I'm so grateful to you for an unbelievable role," she told him. "I love you so much for it."