For the first time this awards season, Joaquin Phoenix used an acceptance speech to pay tribute to the late Heath Ledger. At Sunday night’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, Phoenix picked up the statuette for best actor for his performance in Joker, stopping to pay homage to Ledger, who died shortly after making an iconic turn as the villainous Joker in The Dark Knight.
“I’m standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor, Heath Ledger,” Phoenix said.
The entire theme of his speech was paying homage to his fellow nominees, opening his speech with kind words about Leonardo DiCaprio, a nominee that night for his performance in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. Phoenix, much like DiCaprio, began his career as a child actor and recounted that he was frequently pitted against the Titanic star for potential acting parts.
“There would always be two other guys that I was up against and we’d always lose to this one kid…every casting director would always whisper, ‘It’s Leonardo,’” he said, making the audience laugh. “You’ve been an inspiration for over 25 years to me and so many people.”
He then pivoted to Christian Bale, begging him to turn in at least one bad performance. “It’s infuriating. I wish you would. Just suck once,” Phoenix pleaded.
“Adam [Driver], I’ve been watching you the last few years and you’ve been turning in these beautiful, nuanced, incredible, profound performances. I’m just so moved by you…you should be here,” he said, gesturing to the stage. “Taron [Egerton], I’m so happy for you…you’re so beautiful in this movie [Rocketman] and I’m so happy for you, and I can’t wait to see what else you do.”
Phoenix’s SAG acceptance was a world away from his Golden Globes speech, which was exuberant and laced with silly profanity (befitting the Globes’ Champagne bubble energy). Phoenix also used his speech then to chide actors for luxurious excesses. “We don’t have to take private jets to Palm Springs and back,” he quipped irreverently. But perhaps his more endearing SAG speech is a preview of what’s to come at next month’s Academy Awards, where Phoenix is predicted to take home his first best-actor statuette.
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