Georgia-born actor and writer Danny McBride will receive the Rome International Film Festival's 2026 Flannery O'Connor Award, honouring artists whose work captures the spirit of Southern storytelling. He will collect the accolade at the Georgia festival's 23rd edition, held from 5 to 8 November, and will also take part in a career retrospective and live "In Conversation" masterclass.

McBride, from Statesboro, Georgia, is best known for co-creating and starring in HBO's Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones, alongside film roles in Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder and This Is the End. He was nominated by 2025 award recipient Jerusha Hess and becomes the sixth person, and first Georgia-born filmmaker, to receive the honour, following Billy Bob Thornton, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, Tim Blake Nelson and Hess. The news comes as McBride's debut book, Thrilling Tales of Modern Men, has hit the New York Times bestseller list, and he has been announced as writer of Paramount's next G.I. Joe film.