AACTA Awards 2025 winners list: Better Man, Boy Swallows Universe dominate awards

The chimp has taken the gold!

Michael Gracey’s Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, which swaps the star for a chimp, has taken home the biggest film honour at this year’s AACTA awards.

Better Man won four awards throughout the night, including Best Direction in Film for Gracey and Best Lead Actor in Film for Jonno Davis. The film had already nabbed five awards at the Industry Gala earlier in the week, taking their total 2025 AACTA Awards to nine.

In the television categories, Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe dominated, picking up six awards in addition to the six they had already won at the Industry Gala — bringing their total to 12.

Here are the winners from the 2025 AACTA Awards.

AACTA Award for Best Film

Better Man — WINNER
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
How To Make Gravy
Late Night with the Devil
Memoir Of A Snail
Runt

AACTA Award for Best Drama Series

Fake
Heartbreak High — WINNER
The Artful Dodger
The Twelve
Thou Shalt Not Steal
Total Control

AACTA Award for Best Narrative Comedy Series

Austin
Bump
Colin From Accounts
Fisk — WINNER
Strife
The Office

AACTA Award for Best Miniseries

Boy Swallows Universe — WINNER
Exposure
Four Years Later
House of Gods
Human Error
Last Days of the Space Age

AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in Film

Laura Gordon — Late Night with the Devil
Sarah Snook — Memoir Of A Snail — WINNER
Jackie van Beek — Audrey
Anya Taylor-Joy — Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Anna Torv — Force Of Nature: The Dry 2
Phoebe Tonkin — Kid Snow

AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in Film

Eric Bana — Force Of Nature: The Dry 2
David Dastmalchian — Late Night with the Devil
Jonno Davies — Better Man — WINNER
Daniel Henshall — How To Make Gravy
Guy Pearce — The Convert
Kodi Smit-McPhee — Memoir Of A Snail

AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama

Asher Keddie — Fake
Deborah Mailman — Total Control
Leah Purcell — High Country
Anna Torv — Territory
Phoebe Tonkin — Boy Swallows Universe — WINNER
Sherry-Lee Watson — Thou Shalt Not Steal

AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Drama

Zac Burgess — Boy Swallows Universe
Felix Cameron — Boy Swallows Universe — WINNER
Rob Collins — Total Control
Brendan Cowell — Plum
Sam Neill — The Twelve
Noah Taylor — Thou Shalt Not Steal

AACTA Award for Best Acting in a Comedy

Patrick Brammall — Colin From Accounts
Aaron Chen — Fisk
Harriet Dyer — Colin From Accounts
Kitty Flanagan — Fisk — WINNER
Genevieve Hegney — Colin From Accounts
Asher Keddie — Strife
Michael Theo — Austin
Felicity Ward — The Office

AACTA Award for Best Original Song

Dream On (Meg Washington, Electric Fields & The Prison Choir) — How To Make Gravy — WINNER
Forbidden Road (Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, Sacha Skarbek) — Better Man
Fine (Meg Washington, Brendan Maclean & The Prison Choir) — How To Make Gravy
Side By Side (Paul Kelly) — Runt
Streetlights (Jacob Harvey) — Under Streetlights

AACTA Award for Best Documentary

A Horse Named Winx
Every Little Thing
Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line
Otto by Otto — WINNER
Porcelain War
The Musical Mind: A Portrait In Process

AACTA Award for Best Indie Film

Before Dawn
Birdeater — WINNER
Christmess
Just A Farmer
The Emu War
You’ll Never Find Me

AACTA Award for Best Comedy Performer

Wil Anderson — Taskmaster Australia
Aaron Chen — Guy Montgomery’s Guy-Mont Spelling Bee
Anne Edmonds — Taskmaster Australia
Tom Gleeson — Hard Quiz — WINNER
Guy Montgomery — Guy Montgomery’s Guy-Mont Spelling Bee
Charlie Pickering — The Weekly with Charlie Pickering

AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actress in Film

Alyla Browne — Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Hannah Diviney — Audrey
Kate Mulvany — Better Man
Kate Mulvany — How To Make Gravy
Ingrid Torelli — Late Night with the Devil
Jacki Weaver — Memoir Of A Snail — WINNER

AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in Film

Fayssal Bazzi — Late Night with the Devil
Chris Hemsworth — Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Damon Herriman — Better Man — WINNER
Damon Herriman — How To Make Gravy
Richard Roxburgh — Force Of Nature: The Dry 2
Hugo Weaving — How To Make Gravy

AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama

Essie Davis — Exposure
Rachel Griffiths — Total Control
Heather Mitchell — Fake
Deborah Mailman — Boy Swallows Universe — WINNER
Sophie Wilde — Boy Swallows Universe
Asher Yasbincek — Heartbreak High

AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama

Simon Baker — Boy Swallows Universe
Wayne Blair — Total Control
Bryan Brown — Boy Swallows Universe
Travis Fimmel — Boy Swallows Universe
Lee Tiger Halley — Boy Swallows Universe — WINNER
Ewen Leslie — Prosper

AACTA Award for Best Direction in Film

Better Man — Michael Gracey — WINNER
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga — George Miller
How To Make Gravy — Nick Waterman
Late Night with the Devil — Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes
Memoir Of A Snail — Adam Elliot

AACTA Award for Best Entertainment Program

Dancing With The Stars
LEGO Masters Australia vs The World
Mastermind
Spicks and Specks — WINNER
The 1% Club
Tipping Point Australia

AACTA Award for Best Direction in Drama or Comedy

Boy Swallows Universe — Episode 1 — Bharat Nalluri — WINNER
Colin From Accounts — Episode 3 — Trent O’Donnell
Colin From Accounts — Episode 6 — Madeline Dyer
Fake — Episode 5 — Emma Freeman
Thou Shalt Not Steal — Episode 2 — Dylan River

AACTA Award for Best Children’s Program

Bluey — WINNER
Eddie’s Lil Homies
Hard Quiz Kids
Little J & Big Cuz
Play School: Big Ted’s Time Machine
Spooky Files

AACTA Award for Best Stand-Up Special

Anne Edmonds: Why Is My Bag All Wet? — WINNER
Lloyd Langford: Current Mood
Mel Buttle: Let Me Know Either Way?
Melbourne International Comedy Festival — The Allstars Supershow
Melbourne International Comedy Festival — The Gala
Rove McManus: Loosey Goosey

AACTA Award for Best Comedy Entertainment Program

Guy Montgomery’s Guy-Mont Spelling Bee
Hard Quiz — WINNER
Have You Been Paying Attention?
Thank God You’re Here
The Cheap Seats
The Weekly with Charlie Pickering

AACTA Award for Best Factual Entertainment Program

Alone Australia
Gogglebox Australia
Muster Dogs — WINNER
Stuff The British Stole
Take 5 with Zan Rowe
The Assembly

AACTA Award for Best Documentary or Factual Program

Australia’s Sleep Revolution with Dr Michael Mosley
I Was Actually There
Maggie Beer’s Big Mission
Miriam Margolyes Impossibly Australian — WINNER
Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye
Who Do You Think You Are?

AACTA Award for Best Screenplay in Film

Better Man — Michael Gracey, Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole — WINNER
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga — George Miller, Nico Lathouris
How To Make Gravy — Nick Waterman, Meg Washington
Late Night with the Devil — Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes
Memoir Of A Snail — Adam Elliot

AACTA Award for Best Screenplay in Television

Boy Swallows Universe — Episode 4 — John Collee — WINNER
Colin From Accounts — Episode 6 — Patrick Brammall, Harriet Dyer
Fake — Episode 1 — Anya Beyersdorf
Fisk — Episode 3 — Kitty Flanagan, Penny Flanagan
Thou Shalt Not Steal — Episode 2 — Dylan River, Tanith Glynn-Maloney, Sophie Miller