Naomi Watts to take home Zurich Film Festival's Golden Eye Award

Naomi Watts is to receive the prestigious Golden Eye award at the Zurich Film Festival.

The 57-year-old actress will accept the award - for her role in movie The Housewife - in person on September 26, after which she will talk about her career in a Masters session.

Announcing the news, the festival described Naomi as “an artist renowned for her emotional depth, versatility and unwavering commitment to her roles”.

Of the award, Naomi said in a statement: “It is such an honour to be presented with the Golden Eye Award from Zurich Film Festival.

“I cannot wait to be there, accepting this award among such great company, and I thank the film festival for honouring my role in this film.”

The Housewife sees Naomi star as a woman living in New York during the 1960s, whose life turns into chaos when a New York Times journalist uncovers clues about her husband’s past.

While festival CEO Christian Jungen added: “Since her breakthrough in David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, Naomi Watts has been one of the most fascinating actresses of our time. Her greatest performances thrive on the tension between glamour and darkness, between what a character reveals and what she conceals – making her the kind of character actress Hitchcock would have loved.

“In The Housewife, she masters this ambiguity as an elegant and mysterious woman. At the same time, the film tells a true story that powerfully illustrates how indispensable investigative journalism is in uncovering historical crimes.

“Naomi Watts delivers one of the most compelling performances of her career.”

Naomi has been nominated for two Best Actress Oscars in her career - once in 2004 and once in 2013 - but has yet to walk away with one of the awards.

The screen star previously opened up to The Guardian about her career, as she admitted she’s become used to projects “failing” over the years.

She explained: “The fact is, it’s rare and extremely difficult to make a film or TV show that works on all levels. Mostly they fail. And when you’ve been working in the industry as long as I have, you know it’s all ups and downs.

“You are hot, and then you are not. That is the cycle. We’re mostly like cicadas who spend most years underground and then on occasion get to come out and play.

“There’s no point in getting bitter or twisted about it. You just have to keep going.”