Not all Oscar speeches have to be boring, and these five winners are living proof of this. Their speeches were not at all average, rather anything but. Without hesitation, here are five memorable Oscars acceptance speeches that stood out among others.
Tom Hanks in Philadelphia
Nobody saw this one coming. Though Tom Hanks had played a serious role of an individual with AIDS fighting the stigma, it was not expected that he would break away from the traditional speech to give a true lesson on AIDS. This heartwarming speech is one to watch, as it is still relevant today, despite being decades old. In it, Hanks described his experiences with great men who were gay.
Marlon Brando in The Godfather
This one came as a surprise to almost everyone. When Brando won Best Actor in 1973, to the stage came a Native American, Sacheen Littlefeather. In an amazing gesture, Brando told Littlefeather to speak on behalf of him, and she was told not to accept the trophy. The reason was that Brando believed Native Americans were being treated poorly by the movie industry. Though not pleased at first, the crowd later applauded strongly.
Robert Beningni for Life is Beautiful
This speech was memorable not due to its content, but for its presentation. Benigni appeared to be incredibly ecstatic after his film won Best Foreign Film. He could be seen pummeling through the crowd in order to accept his trophy, even climbing onto the rows of seats, and once on stage, he was extremely energetic in his actions. Thus, this speech is definitely one to remember.
Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Maguire
This started off as a fairly ordinary speech. However, as time progressed, Gooding Jr. got more and more enthusiastic in his words, and even when the music indicating for him to stop started playing, he became more and more enthusiastic once again in his words. By the end of the speech, Gooding Jr. had the crowd on its feet with shout outs to nearly everyone in the crowd.
Jack Palance in City Slickers
This acceptance speech had a little of everything, making it one of the most memorable. From the start, Palance dropped a one liner against Billy Crystal. However, it did not stop there. Before the end, Palance could be seen doing a series of one armed push ups.
There we go, some of the most memorable Oscars acceptance speeches. These were some that will always stay in the minds of true fans of the Oscars, as they have stood out for a variety of reasons, whether that be standing up for Native Americans and gays, or because of one armed push ups.
