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]
ANTHONY EDWARDS: Thank you very much. This is like half of our ensemble. George and Noah obviously aren’t here. And Sherry and Eric, but there here in spirit sending their regards.
First I have to thank a group of people I didn’t thank before which is Warren Whitfield and Don Warmen for their support. Tony Jonas, John Wells – our creators and our studio.
But when it comes to an ensemble, this is an amazing ensemble and I have to read their names and you have to meet all of them. Abraham Benrubi, Yvette Freeman, Ellen Crawford, Deezer D – you can’t mess with him, he’ll kill ya, Vanessa Marquez, Laura Innes, Connie Marie Brazelton, Bill Masey, Christine Elise.
And this honestly, this is truly an award we wanted to win tonight because that’s what we do, we work as a group. So all you, every body else who – NYPD, everybody, we all know what its like to do an ensemble. This is our first time out. We respect all of your work so much. Thank you for honoring ours. [Applause]
MATHEW PERRY: We’ll very fitting to get this award from this man, Ted Dansin, who’s show inspired us.
This is an informative night for me because I always thought this award was a wardrobe award, So that’s kind of nice to know now.
We’re thrilled and amazed and so honored to be included in a group with such great shows and we have to thank: Marty Kauffman, David Crane, and Kevin Bright for bringing a great script every week. [Applause]
And, all the people at NBC and all the people at Warner Brothers. Tony Jonas, Less More. And Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer
LISA KUDROW: Jennifer Anniston
MATHEW PERRY: Jennifer Aniston, I know! Couldn’t be here tonight because they’re doing publicity for the show and thank God for that! Because we’ve got to get a way to get this show out there to let people know that its about friends that drink coffee and say funny things.
But ah, we’re honored to be honored by you all – the actors and wow! Okay. [Applause]
Wow. Hey. [APPLAUSE] Thank You. Thank you very much. Thanks. [APPLAUSE] Thanks.
Every week we employ half of the Screen Actors Guild on our show, so I appreciate that. Thank you to members of SAG, who I’m proud to be a part of. I’m also very proud to be part of an incredible group of actors: Julianna Marguiles and Noah Wyle and Eriq La Salle and Sherry Stringfield and Laurie Reuben and George Clooney—who I’ll hopefully play his Bat Boy to his Bat…uh I don’t know to his…Cat boy, I don’t know what I can play.
Most importantly, I have to thank my wife who supports me constantly and I love and adore—Jeanine Lobell. And uh, in trying to think of who to dedicate this to, it makes me think about the fact that it’s unfortunate that we live in a country in which we don’t provide healthcare to all of our people, [APPLUASE] because we’re obsessed with the survival of the fittest. So, this goes to all the real EMTs, the real emergency docs, the real nurses, who are taking care of people all over the country and we’re thankful to them and we hope we continue to portray the in the light in which they work.
I have absolutely nothing to say. I didn’t expect this at all.
Um, where did you people come from? [Laugh]
Thank you to SAG and all of its members for nominating me. Thank you to my husband for being with me through this time. My nanny, for making these hours worth, even possible. The writers Glen Morgan, James Wong - I am forgetting all of them right now. That’s okay… they’re not even with the show anymore. [Laugh]
But, hell… okay. I’ll wrap now. Chris Carter, thank you, Executive Producer. All of the direction – David, I love you. And my daughter, Piper, for waking me up. [Applause]
It’s very humbling to get an award like this, which has better legs than I do.
[Laugh/ Applause]
Thank you. Thank you. I want to thank everyone who voted for me. My fellow Sagees and Sagettes. And I want to say I am as honored to be nominated with Kelsey and Paul and Michael and Jason as I am to be working with Kelsey and John and Jane and Perry.
And Finally I want to say I got seen for this job because I look like Kelsey Grammer. I based the character of Kelsey’s early years on Cheers. I am continuously inspired by Kelsey everyday.
So, I just want to say thank you. This represents my ability to learn from and steal from the best. [Applause]
Sean handed me my second Tony Award. This is the first time I have been nominated in the leading actress category. I think it is wonderful that it would come from my fellow actors. I must have worked with all of you at some point off Broadway.
I thank everyone from Cybill, my darling colleagues: Alan, Alicia, and Dede, and wonderful Cybill who couldn’t be here tonight. My producers, are hard working writers, the wonderful Andy Wayman – our director.
There is a quote from William James that I remember from acting school, “We work in the dark, we do what we can, our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task – the rest of the madness is art.” I know how awkward we all feel about using the A word “art” but suffice it to say, given from my peers, this is such an encouragement to keep trying to do good work. This means so much to me, Thank you. [Applause]
Cast of Alfre Woodard
The Piano Lesson, Hallmark Hall of Fame
Transcript of Alfre Woodard
The Piano Lesson, Hallmark Hall of Fame
Oh my, Oh wow. I have to put this down, this is really heavy – is it going to fall?
Thanks, thanks, just like thank you Screen Actor’s Guild: all of my friends, all my…
I have to remind myself that this is going out to millions. I see my friends here tonight and we’re so use to cutting up together and the suits out here, except the suits we like – so I have to behave myself. But I am just so psyched. This is like really, really excellent. Thank you so much.
I am so grateful that my life has lead me to this community of people. I can’t imagine spending my life in any other industry. We’re vagabonds, clowns, queens, crackpots. You are my friends. You are my partners. There is no performance I think I have ever done that has been a vacuum.
We are only as good as we are to each other and I just.. I’m so happy and thrilled. I want to remind us that we must never judge ourselves by other people’s opinion of us. We got to find someway…searching to come to a respect and love and a honesty about ourselves, about our craft. And to all of us, many of us, for most who are at home, who never working, who are seldom working, who are not just trying to fashion a career, just trying to pay the rent. You hang in there, keep the faith and celebrate that fact right now.
[Applause]
This is so cool, this kind of makes me laugh when they say “and the actor goes to”. Now I got to find him some work too. Thank you. [Applause]
