Oscars 2024: Most memorable acceptance speeches of all time

Going into Oscar night, we watch to see if our favourite films will win. But when the ceremony ends, what we’re left with is how they made us feel, and that comes down to the winning speeches. Did they make us laugh or cry or cheer? Or all of the above? Giving the perfect speech is difficult, and not everyone has that skill. (Also read: Oscars 2024: From Cillian Murphy to Paul Giamatti and Bradley Cooper, a guide to Best Actor)
Here’s a list of memorable speeches that tomorrow’s winners should try and emulate.
When Schindler’s List won Best Picture in 1994, Steven Spielberg was already backstage having just received his Best Director Oscar from Clint Eastwood. In his short speech, Spielberg made an impassioned plea to educators to teach children about the horrors of the Holocaust so that it would never be forgotten. But the most moving part came later, when one of his producing partners, Branko Lustig started his speech by introducing himself and reading out the number tattooed on his arm when he was a child at Auschwitz. He proceeded to speak about his experience at the concentration camp and his speech was almost as powerful as the film itself.
2002 inadvertently became the greatest year for African-American actors when both Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won for Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively. In addition, the Academy chose to give the legendary Sidney Poitier an honorary Oscar at the same ceremony. When Denzel won, he acknowledged Sidney in his speech saying he would always follow in Poitier’s footsteps. And in a touching moment, the two actors raised their Oscars to each other.
Irish musicians Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova came out of nowhere to win Best Song for Falling Slowly from the lovely musical Once, in which they also starred. Hansard gave a lovely speech but used up all their time and the orchestra played them off before Marketa could speak. When the show returned from a commercial break, host Jon Stewart made a beautiful gesture apologizing to Irglova and calling her back onstage to give her speech. Irglova took the opportunity to talk about the power of dreaming big, a truly inspirational speech.
The Queen (in more ways than one) Olivia Colman was stunned speechless when she won for The Favourite. Sandwiched between her beaming husband and her crying co-star Emma Stone, she took a few moments to recover before making her way onstage. She eventually found her words and in typical British fashion, gave the most charming speech ever. Highlights include apologizing to her idol Glenn Close for winning over her, blowing a raspberry at the teleprompter asking her to wrap up, and blowing a kiss at Lady Gaga before walking off to a standing ovation.
Best Supporting Actor is the first award of the night and a great speech for this category can set the tone for the evening. In 1997, when Cuba Gooding Jr won for Jerry Maguire, he started by saying he was so happy to win that he wouldn’t be mad if his speech was cut off. But when the music started playing, it was like he was possessed by the spirit of Rod Tidwell, his character in the movie. He excitedly proclaimed his love for his co-stars Tom Cruise and Regina King, before yelling “I love you” to everyone involved with the movie. As the music built up to a crescendo, Cuba went all out screaming “I love everybody! I love you all”, receiving a standing ovation from the audience who could not help but be moved by his infectious joy. The best part of his speech is not even visible in the video, he ended by keeping his Oscar on the floor and doing an honest-to-god backflip on the stage in his tailored tux. Now that’s how you give a winning speech!