TOM HANKS: Thank you, we are delighted. Our ensemble effort on camera was rooted in the research that we did and the reality of the ensemble efforts of thousands of Americans. Men, Women, and children who in the decade of the 1960’s figured out a way to send a man to the moon and return him safely to Earth.
Thank you for recognizing our efforts and also their efforts by way of dedication I think.
On behalf of all the cast, let me say that a man by the name of Chris Craft was to America’s Van Lunar Project what a certain man by the name of Ron Howard was to the filming of Apollo 13. We salute you and we salute our fellow actors.
Thank you very much. I hope that doesn’t fall down. (Statue)
I wanted to talk a little bit about the fact that when I was fifteen years old, I’ll never forget going into the new Beverly Cinema and seeing James Dean in East of Eden for the first time trying to give Raymond Massey, who played his Dad, the money he made from the Massey and refusing to accept it. I was heart broken. I empathized. It was like a medium to me at that age. And, it was at that moment I knew I wanted to be an actor.
No song, sculpture, painting, concert ever affected me as much as that. And how many of us can mark periods in our lives the memories of great performances such as: Lon Chaney in Phantom of the Opera, Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry, and Betty Davis in All about Eve, and Jack Nicholson in One flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. How many great performers are still out there struggling, dying for their craft. I respect all of them. I respect all of you.
I didn’t go to college. This is my university and I’m going to have to consider this award to be my degree.
I’m honored to accept it. Thank you. Let me thank my beautiful wife, my mother and my grandmother. Thank you very much. [Applause]
Outstanding Performance by a
Male Actor in a Leading Role
Cast of Anthony Hopkins
Nixon
Transcript of Anthony Hopkins
Nixon
Outstanding Performance by a
Male Actor in a Leading Role
Cast of James Earl Jones
Cry The Beloved Country
Transcript of James Earl Jones
Cry The Beloved Country
Outstanding Performance by a
Male Actor in a Leading Role
Cast of Sean Penn
Dead Man Walking
Transcript of Sean Penn
Dead Man Walking
Outstanding Performance by a
Male Actor in a Leading Role
Cast of Massimo Troisi
The Postman / Il Postino
Transcript of Massimo Troisi
The Postman / Il Postino
Thank you, thank you actors. This is so, so great to get out of my seat for a change. It’s really disorienting and I have some people I’m going to thank in case I never get out of my seat again.
First of all thank you all for including me with all these great lucky actors that had a chance to have a good part this year. I’d like to thank Sister Helen Prejean for living her life, for trusting us with her life into our lives.
I’d like to thank Arleen Donovan for showing me the book. I’d like to thank my dear friend Sam Cohn and Eileen Goldsmith for forcing people to make it. I’d like to thank PolyGram and Working Title, Tim Evans and Michelle Hume, Russell Swaite, Allen Leyer for giving us 495 to make it.
And Sean Penn, for his intelligence, his humor, his courage and his hair do. Half of this is definitely yours.
And finally, most importantly the writer, director, and my partner in crime, Tim Robbins for putting aside his project to do this one; for writing such a brilliant script and putting humanity first. And giving everybody on every side of this issue a human face for his incredible vision and dedication to that vision with out which no one would have anything. To put it in hockey terms, I just kept hitting the post until you came in to assist. Thank you very much.
Thank you all. [Applause]
Outstanding Performance by a
Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cast of Elisabeth Shue
Leaving Las Vegas
Transcript of Elisabeth Shue
Leaving Las Vegas
Outstanding Performance by a
Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cast of Meryl Streep
The Bridges Of Madison County
Transcript of Meryl Streep
The Bridges Of Madison County
Thank you all. I just love to act. I really do. I keep thinking there’s something else I’ll get good at. I just keep trying to get better and thank you for this.
It gives me chance to thank a really great group of actors. Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon were all prepared to go up to the moon while a group of about forty of us were in mission control working four or five weeks at Universal Pictures. And this was a great group of actors. Ron Howard assembled a great group of guys and we worked really hard together. [Applause]
And, I hope a lot of the ma re watching this because this is for you guys as well as me.
I am really appreciative - talk about support. This was – I just can’t tell you how hard we worked together and how much we wanted the film to work. Some of these guys are on the screen for all of two seconds but they were there everyday all day long working there butts off.
I have to thank Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. I’ve got to thank my beautiful wife Amy. [Applause]
I’ve also got to thank God and Mother Earth for the precious gift of life. Thank you. [Applause]
