Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Ozark
    • The Masked Singer
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Your guide to 2022's biggest tours

      Your guide to 2022's biggest tours

      From Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Weeknd, here are all the artists who can't wait to get on the road again. Read More
    • Your guide to the 2022 TV premiere dates

      Your guide to the 2022 TV premiere dates

      Read More
    • The 20 most anticipated books of 2022

      The 20 most anticipated books of 2022

      Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Ozark
    • The Masked Singer
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Gallery
  3. Oscars: 20 Best Speeches of the Past 20 Years

Oscars: 20 Best Speeches of the Past 20 Years

From heartfelt thoughts to unfettered exuberance, winning moments at the podium since '93. Plus: Six that went awry.
Darren Franich
By Darren Franich Updated February 15, 2013 at 05:00 PM EST
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne, and Jim Rash (2012)

Alexander Payne | Though below-the-line categories like Best Adapted Screenplay aren't usually Oscar speech thrillers, this one from The Descendants ' threesome was excellent for several reasons. BeforeÂ…
Credit: Mark Davis/WireImage

Though below-the-line categories like Best Adapted Screenplay aren't usually Oscar speech thrillers, this one from The Descendants' threesome was excellent for several reasons. Before a single word was uttered Faxon and Community's Rash instantly deconstructed presenter Angelina Jolie's self-consciously leggy stance (that year's Oscars' only instameme). Payne added to that clever irreverence by thanking his mom, who he admitted had made him promise to thank her ''just like Javier Bardem did [with] his mother.''

1 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Steven Soderbergh (2001)

Steven Soderbergh | ''I want to thank anyone who spends a part of their day creating. I don't care if it's a book, a film, a painting, aÂ…
Credit: Kevork Djansezian/AP Images

''I want to thank anyone who spends a part of their day creating. I don't care if it's a book, a film, a painting, a dance, a piece of theater, a piece of music. Anybody who spends part of their day sharing their experience with us. I think this world would be unlivable without art.''—Best Director win for Traffic

Watch it here

2 of 26

3 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Stanley Donen (1997)

Stanley Donen | ''Tonight, words seem inadequate. In musicals, that's when we could do a song. So... Heaven, I'm in Heaven ...''—Honorary Oscar, as he launched into songÂ…
Credit: Susan Sterner/AP Images

''Tonight, words seem inadequate. In musicals, that's when we could do a song. So... Heaven, I'm in Heaven...''—Honorary Oscar, as he launched into song and tapdanced

Watch it here

3 of 26

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (2008)

Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova | Irglova after host Jon Stewart brought her back on the stage: ''The fact that we're standing here tonight... is just to prove that no matterÂ…
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Irglova after host Jon Stewart brought her back on the stage: ''The fact that we're standing here tonight... is just to prove that no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible.''—Best Original Song, ''Falling Slowly'' in Once

Watch here

4 of 26

Advertisement

5 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Jennifer Hudson (2007)

Jennifer Hudson | ''My grandmother was my biggest inspiration. She was a singer too. She had the passion but she never had the chance. That was the thingÂ…
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

''My grandmother was my biggest inspiration. She was a singer too. She had the passion but she never had the chance. That was the thing that pushed me forward.''—Best Supporting Actress in Dreamgirls

Watch here

5 of 26

6 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Frances McDormand (1997)

Frances McDormand | ''I encourage writers and directors to keep these really interesting female roles coming, and while you're at it you can throw in a few forÂ…
Credit: Susan Sterner/AP Images

''I encourage writers and directors to keep these really interesting female roles coming, and while you're at it you can throw in a few for the men as well.''—Best Actress in Fargo

Watch here

6 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Emma Thompson (1996)

Emma Thompson | ''Before I came, I went to visit Jane Austen's grave in Winchester Cathedral to pay my respects and tell her about the grosses. I don'tÂ…
Credit: Eric Draper/AP Images

''Before I came, I went to visit Jane Austen's grave in Winchester Cathedral to pay my respects and tell her about the grosses. I don't know how she'd react to an evening like this but I do hope she knows how big she is in Uruguay.''—Best Adapted Screenplay for Sense and Sensibility

7 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Cuba Gooding, Jr. (1997)

Cuba Gooding Jr. | ''You can cut away. I won't be mad at you.''—Best Supporting Actor in Jerry Maguire before jumping around the stage Watch here
Credit: Reuters/Gary Hershorn/Landov

''You can cut away. I won't be mad at you.''—Best Supporting Actor in Jerry Maguire before jumping around the stage

Watch here

8 of 26

Advertisement

9 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Three Six Mafia (2006)

''George Clooney, my favorite. Man, he showed me love when I first met him.'' —Best Original Song, ''It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp'' fromÂ…
Credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

''George Clooney, my favorite. Man, he showed me love when I first met him.'' —Best Original Song, ''It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp'' from Hustle & Flow

Watch here

9 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Dustin Lance Black (2009)

Dustin Lance Black | ''I heard the story of Harvey Milk, and it gave me the hope. It gave me hope to live my life. It gave me hopeÂ…
Credit: Gabriel Bouys.AFP/Getty Images

''I heard the story of Harvey Milk, and it gave me the hope. It gave me hope to live my life. It gave me hope that one day I could live openly as who I am and that maybe even I could fall in love and one day get married.''—Best Original Screenplay for Milk

Watch here

10 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Tilda Swinton (2008)

Tilda Swinton | ''I have an American agent who is the spitting image of this [the Oscar trophy]. Really, truly. The same shaped head and, it has toÂ…
Credit: Gabriel Bouys.AFP/Getty Images

''I have an American agent who is the spitting image of this [the Oscar trophy]. Really, truly. The same shaped head and, it has to be said, the buttocks.''—Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton

Watch here

11 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Clint Eastwood (2005)

Clint Eastwood | ''I watched Sidney Lumet out there, who's 80, and I figure I'm just a kid... I've got lots of stuff to do yet.''—Best Director forÂ…
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

''I watched Sidney Lumet out there, who's 80, and I figure I'm just a kid... I've got lots of stuff to do yet.''—Best Director for Million Dollar Baby

Watch here

12 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

13 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Kate Winslet (2009)

Kate Winslet | ''I'd be lying if I said I hadn't made a version of this speech before. I was probably 8 years old and saying it intoÂ…
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

''I'd be lying if I said I hadn't made a version of this speech before. I was probably 8 years old and saying it into the bathroom mirror. And this [the Oscar] would have been a shampoo bottle. Well, it's not a shampoo bottle now.''—Best Actress for The Reader

Watch here

13 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

14 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Anna Paquin (1994)

Anna Paquin | The 11-year-old Best Supporting Actress — who still stands as the category's second-youngest winner — was positively agape that she'd snagged the statuette for herÂ…

Ten seconds of endearingly nervous gulping and wide-eyed stares as the audience laughed before she regained her composure and delivered a professional ''thank you'' speech.—Best Supporting Actress for The Piano

Watch here

14 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

15 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Forest Whittaker (2007)

Forest Whitaker | ''Receiving this honor tonight tells me that it's possible for a kid from East Texas, raised in South Central, L.A. and Carson, who believes inÂ…
Credit: AFP/Getty Images

''Receiving this honor tonight tells me that it's possible for a kid from East Texas, raised in South Central, L.A. and Carson, who believes in his dreams and commits himself to them with his heart, to touch them and have them happen.''—Best Actor for The Last King of Scotland

Watch here

15 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

16 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Robert Altman (2006)

Robert Altman | ''I'm here I think under false pretenses and I have to get straight with you. About 10 years ago, 11 years ago, I had aÂ…
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

''I'm here I think under false pretenses and I have to get straight with you. About 10 years ago, 11 years ago, I had a total heart transplant. I got the heart of I think a young woman who was in her late 30s. By that calculation you may be giving me this award too early because I think I've got about 40 years left on it. And I intend to use it.''—Honorary Oscar

Watch here

16 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

17 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Aaron Sorkin (2011)

Aaron Sorkin | ''Roxy Sorkin, your father just won the Academy Award. I'm gonna have to insist on some respect from your guinea pig.''—Best Adapted Screenplay for TheÂ…
Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP Images

''Roxy Sorkin, your father just won the Academy Award. I'm gonna have to insist on some respect from your guinea pig.''—Best Adapted Screenplay for The Social Network

Watch here

17 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

18 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Luke Matheny (2011)

"Huh, I should have gotten a haircut. Hey, everybody!"—Best Live Action Short Film for God of Love
Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP Images

"Huh, I should have gotten a haircut. Hey, everybody!"—Best Live Action Short Film for God of Love

18 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

19 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Ennio Morricone (2007)

This was made all the more touching by the fact that Morricone spoke Italian and presenter Clint Eastwood translated for him: ''He dedicates this OscarÂ…
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

This was made all the more touching by the fact that Morricone spoke Italian and presenter Clint Eastwood translated for him: ''He dedicates this Oscar to his wife Maria, who's always been there with him all these years with enormous commitment and love, which he feels the same for her. Maria.''--Honorary Oscar

Watch here

19 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

20 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Michael Caine (2000)

Michael Caine | ''I was thinking back to how the Academy changed 'the winner is' to 'the Oscar goes to.' And if ever there was a category whereÂ…
Credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

''I was thinking back to how the Academy changed 'the winner is' to 'the Oscar goes to.' And if ever there was a category where the Oscar goes to someone without there being a winner, it's this one. Because I do not feel like being a winner.''—Best Supporting Actor for Cider House Rules

Watch it here

NEXT: Six to remember — but not to emulate

20 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

21 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

WORST Gwyneth Paltrow (1999)

Gwyneth Paltrow | The contents of the speech were loving and kind but the clearly overwhelmed actress weepily thanked everyone for two and a half minutes for herÂ…
Credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

The contents of the speech were loving and kind but the clearly overwhelmed actress weepily thanked everyone for two and a half minutes for her win.—Best actress for Shakespeare in Love

Watch here

21 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

22 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

WORST George Clooney (2006)

George Clooney | We love the guy, but he concluded his speech with this weird tangent about how Hollywood people are out of touch, and that's a goodÂ…
Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP Images

We love the guy, but he concluded his speech with this weird tangent about how Hollywood people are out of touch, and that's a good thing. ''We're the ones who talk about AIDS when it was just being whispered, and we talked about civil rights when it wasn't really popular... I'm proud to be out of touch." South Park would later savage this speech.

Watch here

22 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

23 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

WORST Jennifer Connelly (2002)

Jennifer Connelly | The gifted actress brought a written speech, but it was just a list of people to thank, delivered in a monotone , with her faceÂ…
Credit: Kevork Djansezian/AP Images

The gifted actress brought a written speech, but it was just a list of people to thank, delivered in a monotone, with her face down the entire time.
Best Supporting Actress for A Beautiful Mind

23 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

24 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

WORST Angelina Jolie (2000)

Angelina Jolie | ''I'm so in love with my brother right now.''—Best Actress for Girl Interrupted . Still creepy. Watch here
Credit: Eric Draper/AP Images

''I'm so in love with my brother right now.''—Best Actress for Girl Interrupted. Still creepy.

Watch here

24 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

25 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

WORST Sean Penn (2004)

Sean Penn | When he won Best Actor for Mystic River , Penn started by saying that he hadn't written a speech. Then he rambled. So, lesson learned:Â…
Credit: Timothy A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

When he won Best Actor for Mystic River, Penn started by saying that he hadn't written a speech. Then he rambled. So, lesson learned: Write a speech! (He did years later when he won for Milk, and it was much, much better.)

25 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

26 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

WORST Special prize to Elinor Burkett (2010)

The most painfully and yet hilariously awkward speech in recent history was when Elinor Burkett suddenly ran onstage in the middle of Roger Ross Williams'Â…
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The most painfully and yet hilariously awkward speech in recent history was when Elinor Burkett suddenly ran onstage in the middle of Roger Ross Williams' energetic acceptance speech for Music by Prudence and gave a mesmerizing random speech about her role models.

Watch it here

26 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

  • By Darren Franich @DarrenFranich

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 26 Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne, and Jim Rash (2012)
    2 of 26 Steven Soderbergh (2001)
    3 of 26 Stanley Donen (1997)
    4 of 26 Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (2008)
    5 of 26 Jennifer Hudson (2007)
    6 of 26 Frances McDormand (1997)
    7 of 26 Emma Thompson (1996)
    8 of 26 Cuba Gooding, Jr. (1997)
    9 of 26 Three Six Mafia (2006)
    10 of 26 Dustin Lance Black (2009)
    11 of 26 Tilda Swinton (2008)
    12 of 26 Clint Eastwood (2005)
    13 of 26 Kate Winslet (2009)
    14 of 26 Anna Paquin (1994)
    15 of 26 Forest Whittaker (2007)
    16 of 26 Robert Altman (2006)
    17 of 26 Aaron Sorkin (2011)
    18 of 26 Luke Matheny (2011)
    19 of 26 Ennio Morricone (2007)
    20 of 26 Michael Caine (2000)
    21 of 26 WORST Gwyneth Paltrow (1999)
    22 of 26 WORST George Clooney (2006)
    23 of 26 WORST Jennifer Connelly (2002)
    24 of 26 WORST Angelina Jolie (2000)
    25 of 26 WORST Sean Penn (2004)
    26 of 26 WORST Special prize to Elinor Burkett (2010)

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    Oscars: 20 Best Speeches of the Past 20 Years
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.