Academy award shows have struggled over recent years to remain as top red carpet events garnering millions of viewers.
What was once a prime event in American culture has slowly dwindled thanks to controversial and overly politicized moments stripping the attention away from the art of acting.
Regardless, this year’s Oscar winners – particularly winners for best actor, supporting actor, actress and supporting actress categories, delivered genuine and heartfelt acceptance speeches that provided a sense of authentic, long-awaited hope and grace.
Actor and now Oscar winner Brendan Fraser won the best actor category for “The Whale,” taking the stage after a more than 10-year break from acting due to personal and mental health issues.
“So this is what the multiverse looks like!” Fraser shouted with glee. He continued, “I’m grateful to Darren Aronofsky for throwing me a creative lifeline and hauling me aboard the good ship ‘The Whale,’” he said.
“I started in this business 30 years ago, things didn’t come easy to me but there was a facility that I didn’t appreciate at the time, until it stopped. I just want to say thank you for this acknowledgement.”
Fraser is a prime example of overcoming all adversities with compassion, strength and humility.
Actress and now Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh took home the category for best actress category for her role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” becoming the second woman of color to win the trophy.
“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities,” Yeoh said, while accepting her award. “This is proof to dream big and that dreams do come true. Ladies – don’t let anyone ever tell you are past your prime. Never give up!”
Ke Huy Quan, a child star who returned to the spotlight after decades away from it, won the Oscar for best supporting actor in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
“My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp. And somehow, I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage,” he said through tears. “They say stories like this only happen the movies. I cannot believe it’s happening to me. This — this is the American dream!”
To close out the heartfelt moments of the night, legendary actress and now Oscar winner, Jamie Lee Curtis took the trophy for best supporting actress for her role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” She comes from a lineage of actors, his mother and father being Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, to which she dedicated her win to alongside all of the fans who have supported her films.
“To all of the people who have supported the genre movies I’ve made, the thousands and hundreds of thousands and people, we just won an Oscar together. My mother and father were both nominated for Oscars in different categories,” Curtis said, choking with emotion and looking upwards. “I just won an Oscar!”
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