Throwback| A look back at memorable Oscar speeches of all time

Throwback| A look back at memorable Oscar speeches of all time

Memorable Oscars speeches

The Oscars, considered the highest honour in the world of cinema, are just two days away. On March 12th, the 95th Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatres in Los Angeles, with Jimmy Kimmel as the host of the big evening.The night will be full of A-listers, who will grace the red carpet in their fashion best. Apart from this, we will also see some history-making moments with some celebrities makingpolitical statements along with emotional acceptance speeches, without which Academy night is incomplete.

In the 94-yearhistory of the Academy, we have seen a number of memorable speeches, from political to controversial and even emotional ones.

As we gear up for the next Academy Awards night, here we’ve compiled some of the most memorable, controversial, powerful, and shortest speeches delivered by our Oscar winners over the years.

Sacheen Littlefeather- 1973

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One of the most controversial moments in Oscar's history. Actor Marlon Bradon rejected his Best Actor award for The Godfather and sent Native American woman Sacheen Littlefeather, who went to the stage to accept the trophy but refused to take the trophy.

She said in her speech: ''Hello. My name is Sacheen Littlefeather. I'm Apache and I am president of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee. I'm representing Marlon Brando this evening and he has asked me to tell you in a very long speech, which I cannot share with you presently because of time but I will be glad to share with the press afterwards, that he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry – excuse me – and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee. I beg at this time that I have not intruded upon this evening and that we will in the future, our hearts and our understandings will meet with love and generosity. Thank you on behalf of Marlon Brando.''

Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCrane - 2017

After winning the award for best-adapted screenplay for Moonlight, Barry Jenkins and Terell Alvin McCraney in their acceptance speech dedicated their award to all the people of colour:

“This goes out to all those black and brown boys and girls and non gender-conforming who don’t see themselves, we’re trying to show you you, and us. So thank you, thank you. This is for you,” McCraney said while accepting the award.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon - 1997

In 1997, Ben Affleck become the youngest person ever to win an Oscar for best original screenplay alongside Matt Damon for Good Will Hunting'.

“There’s no way we’re doing this in less than 20 seconds,” he laughed before adding, “I know we’re forgetting somebody,” he concluded before Damon took over with some shouts of love, reminiscent of Cuba Gooding Jr.’s own speech earlier in the evening: “Whoever we forgot, we love you! We love you!”

Halle Berry's most emotional speech

Halle Berry made history by becoming the first Black actress to win the Best actor award in 2002 for 'Monster's Ball. Sobbing in happiness, Berry said, “This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It’s for the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, and Vivica Fox. And it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of colour that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.''

Lupita Nyong'o dream moment

When Lupita took the stage in the aqua colour gown to accept the biggest trophy of her life and she used the stage to send an empowering message to every childwho dreams.

''When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you're from, your dreams are valid," Lupita said while accepting the Best supporting actress for '12 Years a Slave'.

Leonardo Di Caprio's urge for nature

Leonardo DiCaprio took the stage and addressed climate change. Holding the golden trophy in his hands, Caprio said, "Making The Revenant was about man's relationship to the natural world. A world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people out there who would be most affected by this. For our children's children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed. I thank you all for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this planet for granted."

Viola Davis

Davis gave apowerful speech after she won Best Supporting Actress in 2017 for 'Fences'."There's one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered. One place. And that's the graveyard. People ask me all the time, 'What kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?' And I say, exhume those bodies. Exhume those stories. The stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition. People who fell in love and lost. I became an artist, and thank god I did, because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. So here's to August Wilson, who exhumed and exalted the ordinary people."

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Pragati Awasthi

Pragati Awasthi is an entertainment industry expert with over three years of experience covering celebrity profiles, conducting in-depth interviews, writing reviews, and analysing ...Read More