Winning an Academy Award is a great honour. The highest award bestowed from the film industry and a moment where the world is watching you. After receiving nominations, doing interviews and arriving on the night all that is left is for the winning to accept the great award and give a speech. Theses few words should immortalise you in the eyes of your peers but for some it can have the exact opposite effect.
So here is my run down of the very best and worst Oscar speeches.
The Best Oscar Speeches
Not only did Mr Brody give a world class performance in The Pianist, his Oscar speech was pretty impressive too. The sheer joy and shock on his face as his name was announced and the looks of genuine happiness on his fellow nominees is heart warming. If this was not enough of an entrance to the stage he ran to Halle Berry, who was presenting the award and gave her an old Hollywood style kiss. Casablanca couldn’t have done it better. His speech was one of thanks to all that had worked on the film, inspired it and inspired him. And if that was not adorable enough he returned the next year to present best actress and before reading out the name sprayed breath spray, just in case.
Michael Caine has always come across as a real gentlemen. This was so brilliantly demonstrated when he won his award for best supporting actor in The Cidar House Rules. He thanks his director and cast but most of the speech is dedicated to his fellow nominees who he clearly admires. The group includes Tom Cruise, Michael Clark Duncan, Jude Law and little Haley Joel Osment. A real classy speech from a real class act.
The actor had been working steadily in Germany for thirty years before Quentin Tarantino cast him as Col Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds. The role made Waltzs an overnight Hollywood sensation and for Tarantino’s next film he again went to Waltz. The reunion resulted in another best supporting actor Oscar. For his first speech he compares the film to a ship and calls Tarantino its captain who changed the course of his destiny. For his second speech Waltz borrowed lines from his character Dr King Schultz to commend his directors bravery in film making. For either speech Waltz appreciation for his great director is the main subject for him. And also running to hug your director before kissing your wife is the ultimate sign of a real bromance.
FINALLY! Like his great muse Leonardo DiCaprio his Oscar was very, very overdue. So when his friends Steven Speilberg, George Lucus and Francis Ford Coppola got up on stage to present him his award it was almost like a sorry from The Academy. He also greeted his young daughter who was watching at home and told her to go to bed in ten. We can only hope that when DiCaprio gets his Oscar they esembled all his heros on stage and have a drink waiting for him.
Jennifer Lawrence has gained a following of adoring fans who like her for her talent, her beauty and her sheer quirkiness. She seems like the kind of girl you could be friends with. So to confirm just how quirky she really is Miss Lawrence ascended The Academy stairs and fell over. Not only did she keep her head but she managed to make it look cool. She waves off the standing ovation she recieves by stating “You have to clap cos that was really embarrassing.” For even more Lawrence quirkiness watch her reaction as Jack Nicholson congratulates her on her win.
The Worst Oscar Speeches
Now I do like Halle Berry. I think she gave an impressive performance in Monsters Ball. She was the first woman of colour to win a leading actress Oscar but for christs sake pull yourself togeather woman. The crying was like nothing I have ever seen before. She managed to reign it in enough to thank everyone including coloured actresses of the past that had been overlooked which is great. Sadly the gorgeous Halle will always remain in the bad Oscar speeches but look up her speech at the Razzies for Catwoman. Now that’s how you give a speech Miss Berry.
Another human flood gate. The tearful Paltrow ascended the stage and it was as if someone had turned on a tap. She manages to thank the entire world and its mother before leaving the stage. Not her finest moment.
Melissa Leo won best supporting actress for The Fighter and was presented her award by Kirk Douglas. Please don’t make me Youtube it again, its so painful. She asks Douglas to pinch her and then acts out hitting on the vetran actor. The speech gets even worse from there. The silence during her pauses is pentrating and its clear how the audience have lost interest in the wreak on stage. When it finally finishes she uses Douglas’s walking stick to hobble off the stage as if he did not actually need it.
Thats what you get for not giving the award to Amy Adams instead.
Now we all admired young Brando for his unbelieveble acting abilities and his devilish good looks but the man was an arse. Crazy as a drunk badger and his method of accepting his second best actor Oscar proved this fact. He declined to attend and sent a young native American girl (who wasn't actually native American) to accept his award in his place. Despite the intentions to bring awareness to wrongful Native American portrayals in cinema, it would probably have been best to say it himself. Weird.
Joe Pesci for Goodfellas, 1990
Considering the character he plays in Goodfellas is such a live wire you’d expect Joe Pesci speech to be epic but instead its merely, “It’s my privilege, thank you”.