Joaquin Phoenix honors Heath Ledger with SAG acceptance speech

The post Joaquin Phoenix honors Heath Ledger with SAG acceptance speech appeared first on Consequence of Sound.

Yesterday, after winning a SAG Award for his work in Joker, Joaquin Phoenix ended his acceptance speech by honoring another actor to play the Batman villain: the late, great Heath Ledger.

The moment came at the conclusion of a gracious speech in which Phoenix paid homage to fellow Screen Actors Guild nominees Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver, Taron Egerton, and Christian Bale. As Phoenix came to the end, he paused, seemingly overcome with emotion. “I’m standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor Heath Ledger,” he said. “So thank you, and goodnight.”

Heath Ledger famously played The Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight, although he died from a drug overdose before the film’s release. He was posthumously given an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

That was one of the night’s more emotional moments, but Joaquin Phoenix’s whole acceptance monologue was steeped in respect for his fellow performers. He began with a story about losing out on roles to the same person over and over again for decades.

“There would always be two other guys that I was up against and we’d always lose to this one kid,” he said. “No actor would ever say his name because it was too much, but every casting director would whisper, ‘It’s Leonardo.'”

(Read: Heath Ledger vs. Joaquin Phoenix: Which Joker Gets the Last Laugh?)

At this point, Phoenix addressed DiCaprio — nominated for his role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — in a more tender tone. “You’ve been an inspiration for over 25 years to me and so many people. Thank you.”

Phoenix heaped individual praises on each of his fellow nominees. To Taron Egerton, up for Rocketman, he said, “Taron, I’m so happy for you… You’re so beautiful in this movie and I’m so happy for you, and I can’t wait to see what else you do.”

Turning to Christian Bale, nominated for Ford v Ferrari, he said, “Christian, you commit to your roles in ways that I could only dream of. You never turn in a bad performance. It’s infuriating. I wish you would just suck once.”

But perhaps his biggest praise was reserved for Adam Driver. For his work in Marriage Story, Phoenix suggested Driver deserved to win the award himself. “Adam, I’ve been watching you the last few years and you’ve been turning in these beautiful, nuanced, incredible, profound performances. I’m just so moved by you. You were just devastating in this film and you should be here [on stage].”

With his SAG Award in the bag alongside a previous win for Best Actor at the Golden Globes, it would be a small surprise if Joaquin Phoenix didn’t win his first Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards.

If he doesn’t win this time around, he might have a shot the next time he plays the Joker. Although, while most people are expecting a Joker sequel, director Todd Phillips says that’s premature.

Earlier this month, Phoenix was arrested at Jane Fonda’s climate change rally.

Joaquin Phoenix honors Heath Ledger with SAG acceptance speech
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