The South by Southwest (SXSW) 2025 festival in Austin, Texas, is always a star-studded event, featuring a slew of celebrity sightings. You never know who you might see. In fact, often it’s the unexpected encounter that ends up being the most memorable experience of the festival. This year was no exception.
Here Are The Best Celebrity Sightings of SXSW 2025!
Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick
The co-stars attended the premiere of Another Simple Favor on the opening night of the fest. Everyone, and we mean EVERYONE, was waiting to see how this appearance would go down. While the red carpet was swift, the best soundbites came from fans asking for photos and autographs. When Blake Lively was asked by a fan what it was like working with Kendrick, she quickly said, “Oh, it’s the best, I’m so happy.” Meanwhile Anna Kendrick was asked the same thing, to which she replied, “Oh, you know.”
On the red carpet, Variety attempted to sneak in a question about the Lively drama by asking Kendrick, “How do you think the movie is being affected by everything going on… in the world” Kendrick replied saying she did Ayahuaska and doesn’t remember anything about the last year. Before blowing a kiss, she stated, “But I hear the movie is great!”
For more on what Blake Lively did while in Austin, see this post.
The Men of Another Simple Favor
Though their appearance at the premiere event wasn’t as big of an affair, we were pretty psyched to get celebrity sightings of the men of Another Simple Favor during their press appearance the following day at the Four Seasons. While we were mingling with friend from the PR firm Sunshine Sachs on the lawn, Henry Golding and Michele Morrone were apparently doing interviews in a room nearby. Every time they stepped out to make a call or have a smoke, we couldn’t help but stare. Those are two fine looking men!
Jessica Simpson
Pop star turned country singer Jessica Simpson made two surprise appearances at the festival. First, she popped up at the Grammy’s Block Party on the lawn of the Four Seasons. The following day, she played a set at Willie Nelson’s Luck Ranch during the annual Luck Reunion, marking a return to music after a 15-year hiatus. You can see videos of her performance on our TikTok and Instagram accounts.
Pedro Pascal
The stars of The Last of Us participated in a panel discussing the show’s upcoming season, but our favorite sighting was a subtle selfie with Pedro Pascal in the background at Torchy’s on South Congress. Eater Austin also reports that he was caught at Franklin Barbecue, having a laugh and a pork rib.
Nicole Kidman
At the Holland premiere, Nicole Kidman stunned in a striped look from a 2008 Fendi collection. She was joined by co-stars Matthew Macfadyen and Gael García Bernal, whom we crossed paths with earlier in the day in the lobby of the Four Seasons. Kidman changed into a second ensemble for the Q&A after the film, pictured below, which included a pair of red The Bisou sandals from Jacquemus.
Elijah Wood
We chatted with former Austinite Elijah Wood on the red carpet at the Texas Film Awards. He was there to honor Karrie and Tim League, founders of the Alamo Drafthouse. As he spent about a decade living in the ATX, our Texas This or That quiz was a breeze for the current Yellowjackets star. Watch the full interview here. Other celebrity sightings at the event included Jared Padalecki, Michelle Rodriguez and more!
Paul Rudd
With two project premiering at the fest, it was no surprise that Paul Rudd was spotted at various spots throughout the festival. We were actually seated next to him during dinner on the patio of the Four Seasons. It was incredibly difficult not to fan girl over him, but we did our best and left him and his guests alone.
Catherine O’Hara
We spotted Catherine O’Hara at the Four Seasons as well, along with her The Studio co-star Seth Rogen. Other celebrity sightings at the hotel that evening included: Elizabeth Perkins, Richard E. Grant, Andrew Rannells, Téa Leoni, Will Poulter and more.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Out favorite party of the festival is always the Cinema Center by Roxstar Entertainment. They host the best film after parties and while the event is always packed with the stars of those films, it’s the unexpected run-ins we like best. This year, that included Christopher Mintz-Plasse, AKA McLovin from Superbad. We had such a fun time, hanging with him and chatting about Austin events throughout the years.
Cristo Fernandez
Another unexpected meeting at the Cinema Center involved Cristo Fernandez, who plays Dani on Ted Lasso. We spotted him early at a party for American Sweatshop and since the scene wasn’t really happening yet, we didn’t think he’d mind taking a picture. Though he did take one, he was really not feeling it. So, we grabbed a Bloom Sparking Energy and called it a night.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
When Ben Affleck walked the red carpet for The Accountant 2, we expected him to be joined by co-stars Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, and Jon Bernthal. We did not expect Matt Damon to pop up so that was a pleasant surprise. Mark Cuban was also there. Affleck is no stranger to the ATX as he filmed Hypnotic here in 2022.
Matthew McConaughey
While Matthew McConaughey was definitely a draw for the premiere of The Rivals of Amziah King, it was his son Levi McConaughey that stole the spotlight on the red carpet. He worked on the film and this was his first full red carpet experience. Apparently, we can expect to see him on the big screen in two upcoming projects. Of course, we never miss an opportunity to chat with the Minister of Culture. Watch our interview with MM here.
Kyle MacLachlan
Every year we choose a festie bestie and this year it was Kyle MacLachlan. He is the most charming man. We first chatted with him at the iHeart Podcast Awards in 2024. This year, we got to chat with him again and snap some pictures in the photo booth at the award after party.
Kesha
Our schedule is so packed that we don’t get to see a lot of films or panels, however we did make time for the one Kesha sat in on. It focused on fighting loneliness in the digital world. You can watch a clip of her speaking on the panel here.
Lance Bass
The other panel we attended featured Lance Bass tackling the topic of chronic disease. During the session, Bass and other panelists spoke about the realities of living with health conditions and dispelling myths involved with those conditions. I was insightful for everyone, even those not suffering with the conditions discussed.
Rod Stewart
Our number one most exciting sighting of the fest was someone not even appearing at SXSW. Rod Stewart happened to be playing a show at the Moody Center during weekend one of the festival and we spotted him leisurely hanging with his crew at the Four Seasons Lobby Bar. Honestly, I almost passed out. It’s a miracle I was able to walk past him and behave totally normal. Now, once I exited the door to the patio, that’s another story.
Here are all of the celebrity sightings we had during the week:
- Ben Affleck
- Jake Arrieta
- Annaleigh Ashford
- Kevin Bacon
- Ike Baranholtz
- Lance Bass
- Zazie Beetz
- Allison Brie
- Sophia Bush
- Nicolas Cage
- Matt Damon
- Zoey Deutch
- Daisy Edgar-Jones
- Meghan Fahey
- Cristo Fernandez
- Dave Franco
- Julia Fox
- Gael Garcia Bernal
- Henry Golding
- Eiza González
- Richard E. Grant
- Kathryn Hahn
- Ed Helms
- Robert Iller
- Kesha
- Anna Kendrick
- Nicole Kidman
- Tea Leoni
- Blake Lively
- Gabriel Luna
- Matthew MacFayden
- Kyle MacLachlan
- Joe Manganiello
- Kate Mara
- Matthew McConaughey
- Colt McCoy
- Aly Michalka
- AJ Michalka
- Christopher Mintz-Plasse
- Michele Morrone
- Carey Mulligan
- Alex Newell
- Catherine O’Hara
- Michelle Obama
- Chris Olsen
- Jenna Ortega
- Jared Padalecki
- Pedro Pascal
- Aaron Paul
- Ken Paves
- Elizabeth Perkins
- Will Poulter
- Bella Ramsey
- John C. Reilly
- Daisy Ridley
- Tim Robinson
- Michelle Rodriguez
- Seth Rogen
- Paul Rudd
- Jamie-Lynn Sigler
- Jessica Simpson
- Brandan Sklenar
- Cole Sprouse
- Rod Stewart
- Ashley Tisdale
- James Wolk
- Elijah Wood
For the full list of celebrities scheduled to attend SXSW 2025, click here.
