Emma Stone dazzles in a strapless black gown as she honours her Poor Things co-star Mark Ruffalo at the Santa Barbara Film Festival

Emma Stone dazzled in a strapless black gown as she attended the American Riviera Award ceremony during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Sunday.

The actress, 35, helped honour her Poor Things co-star Mark Ruffalo, 56, who was the recipient of the award at the event, held at The Arlington Theatre.

The actor was celebrated for his role as Duncan Wedderburn in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, which also bagged him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Emma turned heads on the red carpet of the annual award event, flaunting her lithe physique in the elegant black gown featuring a printed motif on the side.

The Spider-Man star strutted the red carpet with grace, wearing a pair of peep-toe heels which were barely visible under the long train of her skirt.

Emma Stone dazzled in a strapless black gown as she attended the American Riviera Award ceremony during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Sunday

The actress, 35, helped honour her Poor Things co-star Mark Ruffalo, 56, who was the recipient of the award at the event, held at The Arlington Theatre

The actor was celebrated for his role as Duncan Wedderburn in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, which also bagged him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor

The La La Land favourite added dainty gold jewellery including a choker necklace with a pearl pendant, small earrings and chunky rings.

Emma looked as though she was having a ball as she welcomed her co-star onto the stage to present him with his accolade.

The pair shared a sweet hug, as the Superbad star also delighted the crowd with a speech.

Before posing for pictures inside, the actress was seen putting on an animated display as she larked about while welcoming Mark in the room.

The duo seemed in very high spirits as they posed for a slew of shots, and it seemed they couldn’t stop having fun as they shared a laugh.

Emma, who is the toast of award season so far, was all smiles as she stepped out outside and waved to a mob of waiting fans.

The actress was also pictured posing alongside SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling, who looked dapper in a cream suit and black tie.

He said in a statement: ‘Ruffalo has been such a remarkable performer for years — deserving all the honours year after year — but his go-for-broke acting in Poor Things is a revelation. An extraordinary talent that just keeps outdoing himself.’

Emma turned heads on the red carpet of the annual award event, flaunting her lithe physique in the elegant black gown featuring a printed motif on the side

The Spider-Man star strutted the red carpet with grace, wearing a pair of peep-toe heels which were barely visible under the long train of her skirt

The La La Land favourite added dainty gold jewellery including a choker necklace with a pearl pendant, small earrings and chunky rings

Her copper red bob was loose straight, and she boosted her stunning looks with rosy blush and a peach lipstick

Emma was snapped posing alongside SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling, who looked dapper in a cream suit co-ord and black tie

Before posing for pictures inside, the actress was seen putting on an animated display as she larked about while welcoming Mark in the room

The duo seemed in very high spirits as they posed for a slew of shots

Emma and the Dark Waters actor posed after he collected his well-deserved prize

It seemed they couldn’t stop having fun as they shared a laugh in front of the cameras

Bella Baxter’s (Emma) sexual appetite causes her to pursue other men, including a foppish lawyer named Duncan Wedderburn (Mark), with whom she elopes and embarks on a hedonistic odyssey around Europe, Northern Africa, and Central Asia (pictured in Poor Things)

Emma was all smiles as she stepped out outside and waved to a mob of waiting fans

Despite coming from an endless slew of award ceremonies in the past month, Emma looked radiant and energetic as ever – as she keeps enjoying the success of Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film Poor Things – which she also produced.

Her acclaimed role as Bella Baxter got her a Desert Palm Achievement award at the 35th Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards in January as well as Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture at the Golden Globes.

Emma also won the Critics Choice Award for her role and is nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Now she is one of the best bets to win Best Actress Award at the upcoming Oscars – which will take place on March 10 – battling it all out with Lily Gladstone, Margot Robbie and Carey Mulligan.

Emma currently has 11/8, while Carey Mulligan has 13/2 for her portrayal of Felicia Montealegre in Maestro.

Margot Robbie has 14/1 odds for her acclaimed Barbie performance, while Greta Live has 18/1 for her role in romantic drama Past Lives.

During the Palm Springs Film Festival, the actress took to the stage to accept her Desert Palm Achievement award – one of the most coveted honours.

The prize was presented to her co-stars Mark and Willem Dafoe, as they all praised her.

Speaking to the crowd as she accepted the award, Emma said: ‘I’m grateful that I get to keep trying new things and for the opportunity to make choices when it comes to work because I know how rare and fleeting it can be to choose what you want to do, or who you want to work with, as an actor.

‘I was not always sure that that would be the case, because when I first moved to LA, I went to one of those general meetings that they sometimes send you to.

‘An executive told me that for male actors, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and in his eyes, for women, it was a sprint, not a marathon.’

‘That was 20 years ago, and I realised that advice is total garbage because the majority of the women that I look up to in this industry, many of whom are in this room, have proven that as time goes on, life and work only get more interesting and more fulfilling.’

The Arizona-born actress continued discussing her challenging role in Poor Things as Bella Baxter, saying it was unlike anything she’d ever read in ‘a woman who is immune to external expectations and impervious to judgment and shame’.

She went on: ‘Playing Bella was challenging because I had to try to unlearn those aspects in myself, and it also made her an absolute joy to play.

‘To make this film has been a highlight of my life, mainly thanks to a true creative soulmate,’ she sang the praises of film director Yorgos.

‘I hope for many more years of the chance to take swings and to try new things and to keep this marathon going,’ she finished off before leaving the stage.

Also starring in the critically-acclaimed movie is Willem Dafoe and Ramy Youssef.

Based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray, the film follows Bella, a young woman in Victorian London, who is resurrected by a scientist (Willem) following her suicide and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery and sexual liberation.

The award follows her 2017 win for smash hit musical La La Land which she co-lead with Ryan Gosling and for which she also received an Oscar and a BAFTA.

Through Poor Things, Emma is nominated for two Oscars: Best Picture and Best Actress and the film is nominated in a further nine categories.

To secure her second Oscar, Emma will have to beat out Annette Bening for Nyad, Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon, Sandra Huller for Anatomy of a Fall, and Carey Mulligan for Maestro.

The Cruella star joined Mark on stage – as she handed him the deserved award prize

Emma appeared to be full of pride for the fellow actor, as the pair couldn’t stop larking about on stage

The pair shared a hug as Emma presented Mark with his award

Despite coming from an endless slew of award ceremonies in the past month, Emma looked radiant and energetic as ever