Maitland Ward is getting into the spirit of the awards season with a Best Actress Award win from top industry tastemaker XCritic, taking home the trophy on New Year’s Day for her onscreen performance in Deeper’s celebrated feature film Muse 2.

This is the second consecutive XCritic win for the talented leading lady, who was honored with the same award last year for her smoldering turn in Muse, portraying a broad-minded professor of sexual psychology who challenges her students with topical theories such as consent and power dynamics while living dangerously on the edges of social conventions.

“Thank you XCritic and affiliated reviewers for this award! Working on Muse 2 with filmmaker Kayden Kross, who did such an exceptional job writing and directing this ambitious venture, was a real labor of love,” said Ward of the film, which took nearly two weeks to shoot.

“With a 75-page script and 750 lines of dialogue for my character alone, we knew that we were taking on something special and making movie magic – and as the official face of Deeper, I’m so thrilled to be a part of that magic with Kayden and the entire production team who worked so hard to bring this brilliant film to life.”

To learn more about Ward’s work with the Muse anthology, as well as her other films for Deeper, visit her model page at Deeper.