We’re deep in the red carpet-lined trenches of award season, which culminates at the Academy Awards on Sunday, with big stars and even bigger controversies surrounding them. The jury is still out as to who will take home an Oscar, but one thing is for sure — there will always be some great acceptance speeches.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house during Ke Huy Quan’s acceptance speech at the 2023 Oscars. Similar to his role of the optimistic Waymond from Everything Everywhere All at Once, Quan used his time in the spotlight to share a message of hope, urging the audience to “keep your dreams alive.”
Demi Moore offered a similarly uplifting speech after winning a Golden Globe this year for The Substance. Moore shared that a producer once called her a “popcorn actress,” which fueled her belief that she would never be recognized in the way she wanted.
In a sea of forgettable speeches, Moore and Quan stand out. Perhaps there should be a new category for best awards show speeches. For this year’s season — so far — here are the nominees.
Timothée Chalamet – Best Actor in a Motion Picture, SAG Awards
Approaching acting as if it were a sport, Chalamet stated that he wants “to be one of the greats.” The actor won for his role as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, and soundbites from his speech are already being used in countless TikTok hopecore edits. It’s still a complete unknown who will win the Best Actor Oscar this weekend, but Chalamet’s conviction shows he won’t stop honing his craft any time soon.
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Fernanda Torres – Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, Golden Globes
I’m Still Here star Fernanda Torres won the same award that her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, was nominated for in 1999. Montenegro was the first Brazilian woman to be nominated in the category, and when Torres became the first Brazilian woman to win it, her emotional speech won everyone over.
“[My mother] was here 25 years ago. And this is proof that art can endure through life, even in difficult moments like this,” she said. “The same thing that is happening now in the world with so much fear … this is a film that helps us to think how to survive in tough times like this.”
Doechii – Best Rap Album, Grammy Awards
Rapper and singer-songwriter Doechii was the breakout star of this year’s Grammy Awards, thanks to both her electric performance of her songs “CATFISH” and “DENIAL IS A RIVER,” and her heartfelt acceptance speech for Best Rap Album. Doechii became only the third woman to win the award in the category’s 30-year history, and used her platform to encourage fellow Black women and girls watching to follow their dreams.
“Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you, that tell you that you can’t be here, that you’re too dark or that you’re not smart enough or that you’re too dramatic or you’re too loud,” she said. “You are exactly who you need to be, to be right where you are, and I am a testimony.”
Hannah Einbinder and Michael Urie – Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Critics’ Choice Awards
The acceptance speech is an art form itself. The way someone approaches this moment can either justify exactly why they are deserving, or it can showcase how their talents remain strictly in their chosen craft, and not in speech writing. Actors Michael Urie and Hannah Einbinder used their time perfectly to showcase their comedic talents.
Urie and Einbinder gave a joint speech, purposefully talking over each other. One of the only moments the two comedians weren’t fighting over the spotlight was when they said “Trans lives matter” in unison.
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Jon M. Chu – Best Director, Critics’ Choice Awards
Tongue-in-cheek yet genuine. Upon being handed his award on stage, Chu, the director of Wicked, exclaimed “I’m gonna win that Oscar!” Chu was not, in fact, nominated for the Best Director category for the Academy Awards — a snub widely criticized following the critical and audience acclaim for his box office record-breaking film. “I feel very privileged to be here, to be telling the stories to the world with all of you out here,” Chu said. “America is the greatest place in the world. Yes, we have our issues, but it is the greatest place where dreams can come true. We can achieve stuff that my parents could have never dreamed.”
Keke Palmer – Entertainer of the Year, NAACP Image Awards
Leave it to Keke Palmer to be hilarious, talented and sentimental in the same breath. The One Of Them Days actress began her speech earnestly explaining that she didn’t think she would win because Wicked star Cynthia Erivo was in the same category. Palmer then did her best “Defying Gravity” riff, which garnered applause and cheers from the audience, Erivo included.
Palmer also got thoughtful about her career and what others can take away from her success. She shared a nugget of wisdom she recently received from actress Aunjanue Ellis Taylor — “You don’t always have to ask [for] a seat at nobody’s table. Just make your own table with your folks.”
