“Am I a vanguard, really?” Pfeiffer asked, to applause from the crowd.

Drinking water on stage, Pfeiffer actually opened her speech with a hilarious story about accidentally inhaling part of a bubbling face mask while preparing for the ceremony. “I just wanted to look nice,” she joked.

Pfeiffer then reflected on the artistic community that has shaped her career. She praised her fellow actors for their willingness to expose themselves emotionally in pursuit of great art.

Describing actors as artists willing to “dig deeper and dig deeper until they strike oil,” she further compared acting to a vulnerable act of self-disclosure.

“It’s like, ‘Here you go, guys. Here are my guts. Please be kind,’” she said.

Curiosity gradually emerged as a major theme among several honorees over the course of the evening. For Pfeiffer, it’s a quality that drives many of her bravest professional decisions.

“I’m like a moth to a flame with anything that scares me,” the actress said, while warmly apologizing to her team for the sometimes unpredictable projects she agrees to take on.

Pfeiffer appears now in two of the industry’s most celebrated new series. Apple TV’s “Margo’s Got Money Trouble” was adapted from Rufi Thorpe’s novel by David E. Kelley, who is also Pfeiffer’s husband. On the show, Pfeiffer plays Cheyenne, a reluctant grandmother whose larger-than-life personality conceals deep insecurities.

On Paramount+’s The Madison, created by Taylor Sheridan, Pfeiffer stars as Stacy Clyburn, a grieving wife attempting to hold her family together after a devastating loss.

Pfeiffer said that the projects challenged her in different ways. She described Cheyenne’s character as “multifaceted” and admitted she particularly wanted to avoid disappointing her spouse while bringing the role to life. But the key to “The Madison” was building a love story that remains deeply meaningful even after death.

“People are saying this is Taylor Sheridan’s most personal work to date, and you can feel it on every page,” Pfeiffer said.

She also paid tribute to “The Madison” ensemble, including her former “Tequila Sunrise” co-star Kurt Russell. “There is no one I’d rather share an outhouse with than all of you.”

Pfeiffer acknowledged Kelley, whose adaptation finally gave the couple a chance to collaborate artistically after more than three decades together.

“Thank you to my real-life husband, David Kelley, for giving me Cheyenne,” she said, before tying in “The Madison” too.” “Stacy and Preston Clyburn can’t hold a candle to our over 33-year romance.