The 2013 Oscars, the most preeminent of cultural award shows (or at least the one that the most people care about), will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles this Sunday. It goes without saying that winning an Oscar is a big deal, the highest profile way for an actor or filmmaker to be recognized for their work. Because of that, reactions to winning the golden statuette tend to be memorable for audience and awardee alike. From the euphoric, to the crazed, to the utterly bizarre, here are our five favorite Academy Award acceptance speeches of the last 85 years.
Marlon Brando, Best Actor, “The Godfather” (1973)
This is the quintessential anti-acceptance speech. Brando didn’t even bother to show up to the event, sending in his place Native American civil-rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather, who, upon taking the stage, announces that Brando will not be accepting the award as a form of protest against the siege at Wounded Knee and the misrepresentation of Native Americans in film and television. In typical Hollywood fashion, half the crowd boos.
Vanessa Redgrave, Best Supporting Actress, “Julia” (1978)
Poor John Travolta: so wide-eyed and innocent, just happy to be on the stage presenting an award among his idols. Little does he know things are about to get very, very real. Redgrave is smiling as she gets on stage to accept the award, but as the applause winds down, the actress launches into a speech where she celebrates the Academy for not giving in to the demands of “Zionist hoodlums” who had been protesting the ceremony due to the her support of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Her peers did not accept the praise: angry boos persist throughout her speech and, moments later, screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky openly criticized Redgrave for the comments she made on stage.
Sally Field, Best Actress, “Places in the Heart” (1985)
From the moment the cameras started focusing on her while the nominees were being read, you just knew this was going to be something special. Though she'd won a Best Actress award for her performance in “Norma Rae” five years prior, this time around Field was overcome with emotion because, as she says so many times, she finally understood just what this meant. And, of course, there's the famous quote: “I cannot deny the fact that you like me. Right now! You really like me!” There's a reason why this is the most famous Oscar speech of all time.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Best Actress, “Shakespeare in Love” (1999)
There's being overcome with emotion and then there's this. The second Jack Nicholson read out her name, Paltrow burst into tears, barely pulling herself together enough to deliver a breathless recitation of thanks and appreciation for her fellow nominees, the members of the cast and crew, her agent, and then, just as she gets to her family, it all comes crashing down, as the actress can barely contain herself while delivering a heartfelt thanks to her entire family. Memorable for sure, but she was outdone later during the very same ceremony...
Roberto Benigni, Best Actor, “Life is Beautiful” (1999)
Benigni’s famous walk over the audience (notice Steven Spielberg struggling to hold the actor up) has been replayed thousands of times, but that’s only the beginning what is a great performance: he bunny hops up the stairs, uncomfortably hugs Sophia Loren for longer than usual, quotes William Blake, and thanks his parents for being poor. He might not have deserved the Oscar, but we’ll happily take a speech like this over the usual boring platitudes.