In his moving acceptance speech, Phoenix thanked his fellow nominees (Adam Driver, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce and Leonardo DiCaprio), all of which share “the same love for film,” and he pleaded for change. “This form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life,” he said, prior to noting that acting affords him the opportunity to use his platform for the voiceless.
He opened up about some distressing issues that we are facing collectively as a society. Phoenix noted that he feels that we’ve become extremely disconnected from the natural world, and rightfully so. “Many of us are guilty of an egocentric world view, and we believe that we’re the center of the universe,” he said.
“We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. Then, we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal,” he remarked.
He ended his Oscar speech with a salute to his late brother River Phoenix. “When he was 17, my brother [River] wrote this lyric: ‘run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow’,” he concluded.
This marked Joaquin Phoenix’s first career Oscar win. He was previously nominated for an Academy Award three times for his acting work in such films as The Master, Walk the Line, and Gladiator.
Phoenix was unstoppable this entire award season, scoring “Best Actor” wins for The Joker at the Golden Globe Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the BAFTA Awards, among countless other awards.
