11th Annual SAG Awards™ Acceptance Speeches and Photos
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Jamie Foxx / RAY - Ray Charles Universal Pictures
JAMIE FOXX: We have to do it for Ray. [singing] Ohhhhh"...
AUDIENCE: Ohhhh...
FOXX: Ah-h-h...
AUDIENCE: Ah-h-h...
FOXX: Yeah, you're ready. [laughter] First
of all, I just want to say thank you to SAG Awards, my peers, to everybody
that voted for this. Thank you, for Ray Charles, for just living so complex
and so interested in making us just come together as everybody. I watch - I
tell you this story, I was in D.C., and it was for the Black Caucus, and we
screened this film. And a young black kid stood up, and he had a jersey on,
and he had his bling-bling on, and everybody was wondering, "What is this kid
gonna say," 'cause it was like the question and answering.
And
he said, "Foxx, do you think this might like give you a nom, or somethin' like
that?" And he said, "a nom," and he was talking about the Oscar nom, or Screen
Actors Guild, and it was beautiful to see the education that's going on with
this film, because everybody's getting on board with this. So, thank you for
that. [applause]
Thank you for Taylord Hackford, for taking the
chance with an African American film - Taylor you're my director of the year,
man, no matter what. [applause] Thank you for that beautiful cast that's
sitting right over there on that table, that can go with anybody. You guys are
incredible to me, and I split this up and I share it with you - right there at
that table. Yeah. [applause]
Jamie and Marcus King, my
managers, CAA my agents, Kim Hodges, Rick Kurtzman, Steve Smoot, everybody,
and to all the actors that I'm looking at in this crowd that I'm going to get
autographs from, and pictures and everything. [laughter] And so I can put 'em
up on my wall, so I can front and say, "Yeah, those are my good
friends." [laughter]
And Denzel Washington - when I
saw Denzel Washington, he was such an ambassador, as an actor. And I met
Denzel Washington a long time ago, and I hope he never ever remembers how I
met him. [laughter] Because I wasn't Jamie Foxx at the time, I was Eric
Bishop, I was just a young comic in LA trying to come up, and the Roxbury was
going off at the time. I don't know if anybody ever been to the Roxbury, but I
could not get in for nothin'. And I see Denzel come out. And I don't know if
you know, but Black people march when they get excited. [laughter] And I saw
Denzel and I said, "Denzellll!" [laughter/applause] And he took his elbow and
stuck me right in the throat and said, "Hold on. Hold on. What's goin'
on? What's goin' on?" And told him how much I... [laughter]
And I'm sittin' there with his elbow on my throat and I'm trying to tell him
that "I really love what you do, dog." And from that moment, all the way up to
being in Venice, Italy, when Denzel calls me out of the room and says, "Come
down to the front, I need to talk to you." And he said, "I've been hearing
some things. I've been hearing some things. I don't want to scare you, but
just keep doin' what you're doin'. If you win or if you lose, keep walkin' in
the same direction."
I'm walkin', D. [applause]
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Hilary Swank / MILLION DOLLAR BABY - Maggie Warner Bros.
HILARY SWANK: I am amazed, lucky, thankful, speechless and quite frankly
stunned to be a working actor. I thank my fellow SAG members for this
incredible honor, this award means so much to me. And I also want to
acknowledge my fellow nominees who inspire me to be a better actor.
You know, I also can't believe I'm a working actor, working with the legendary
Clint Eastwood, and the always amazing Morgan Freeman. I think one of the
rarest qualities, and most important qualities is the - being able to believe
in someone else. And Clint, your unwavering belief in me, I am just so
thankful for that. I am thankful to you for reminding me to trust my
instincts, and allowing me to trust my instincts.
And I am in
such awe - it's hard enough to be an actor, and how you directed this picture,
while giving the performance of a lifetime, producing and composing, I bow
down to you, you are a talent beyond compare. And if I'm half the person you
are, and half the talent you are, when I'm 74, I will know I have accomplished
something great. [applause]
I want to thank Tom Rosenberg and
Gary Lucchesi for sending me this beautiful script, Al Ruddy, and let's see -
the wrapping up sign is coming, but you don't understand, we work so hard,
please give me a moment to talk... Let's see, Phyllis Huffman, our casting
director, oh let's see, my trainers, Grant Roberts and Hector Rocca, and Tonya
Makomis [sp] - Clint's telling me to wrap it up. [laughter] And my mom. You
know what? My mom for believing in me from the very beginning. So anyway,
[applause] I thank you for this great honor and I want to also thank my
husband for just putting up with me. Thank you. [applause]
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Morgan Freeman / MILLION DOLLAR BABY - Scrap Warner Bros.
MORGAN FREEMAN: [singing] "Who was the long tall stranger there, Maverick is
his name. Ridin' the trail to who knows where, luck is his companion, gambling
is his game." [applause]
I want to thank anybody who I ever
met. [laughter] I want to thank Clint Eastwood and his entire family. I want
to thank Hillary Swank, Al Ruddy coming to us with this wonderful script. And
I want to thank you all so much. [applause]
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett / THE AVIATOR- Katharine Hepburn Miramax Films
CATE BLANCHETT: Thank you. I so didn't expected this. I wore a really tight
dress that's very ungracious walking up those stairs. Thank you very much, I
sort of don't know where to begin.
Playing Katharine Hepburn, I
absolutely did not expect to be standing here in front of you all. But Hepburn
aside, I actually would like to say, as an actor coming from another country
to this country, I am so astounded and amazed, and grateful, at the power of
the SAG union and what it does for its members. And I hope that other
countries, mine own included, you know, is inspired by that - I think it's
incredible.
So, I thank you very much. I think the head, shoulders,
knees and toes of this belong to Martin Scorsese, who led us all and gave us
great courage - I'm shaking. Thank you so much. And to Leonardo and to Graham
King who were so incredibly welcoming. To Morag Ross, who painted every single
freckle on my face, and everyone, because it's an absolute team effort and a
team on it. I don't know where to begin, I'm overwhelmed. Thank you so much.
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
SIDEWAYS Fox Searchlight Pictures
Thomas Haden Church Jack
Paul Giamatti Miles
Virginia Madsen Maya
Sandra Oh Stephanie
SANDRA OH: Thank you so much. We've had such
a great ride and this has been such a great experience to be here with all
fellow actors. To Paul Giamatti, the center of our ensemble, I thank you so
much. [applause] This has been such a pure filmmaking experience, and for a
variety of reasons, 'cause everyone was working at their best. And thank you
to our great casting director, John Jackson, who brought us Marylouise Burke
and Jessica Hecht and Patrick Gallagher, the great and naked M.C. Gainey --
VIRGINIA MADSEN: The naked man.
OH: Yeah, the naked man. To Fox,
Searchlight, Mr. G., and Peter Price, Claudia Lewis, who supported this film
tremendously, and all the foxy ladies at Fox who support us. And mostly to our
great producer, Michael London, and because they never questioned the
director's vision to cast who he wanted. And I thank you guys for that,
because it doesn't happen all the time. And of course, to our great visionary
director, Alexander Payne who... [applause] he's great, he's really great...
who is in Sweden right now - hi honey - and to Jim Taylor, who wrote such a
beautiful script, which is like manna from Heaven for all actors.
For
Alexander Payne the director, who saw in each one of us something that most
people don't usually see. So, thank you for giving us a shot, and thank you
for voting for us. Thank you. [applause]
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Geoffrey Rush / THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS - Peter
Sellers HBO
GEOFFREY RUSH: Thank you very much. I don’t know
how you calibrate acting. I can’t define for myself how you do it or how it
turns out. But to be nominated by the Guild in such great company is a really
thrilling benchmark. I delude myself actually into thinking that when I’m
naked, I look like this guy. [laughter] I love that he’s called The Actor, and
he’s not “The Talent” [laughter] or “The Celebrity” or “The Sound Byter” or
“The Whore” [laughter] or all of the things that we sometimes, you know, have
to succumb to. [laughter]
As Glenn said, I mean, I just love this
job. I love this profession. I love the vast heritage of it. And when you work
with people like Charlize and Emily and John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci, Miriam
Margolyes, you become just so much more acutely aware of that.
Thank
you Stephen Hopkins, my director, for teasing us all into a wonderful state of
play. And thank you, Peter Sellers, just for the extreme pleasure of being
able to watch all of your movies.
Thank you.
[applause]
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Glenn Close / THE LION IN WINTER - Eleanor Of Aquitaine Showtime
GLENN CLOSE: Thank you so much, it means the world to me, to
get this award from my peers. I adore what I do, I think it's the most
wonderful profession in the world, and I want to share it with my
collaborators, every single one of them, on the amazing experience that was
"Lion in Winter."
It was daunting taking on a role,
word-for-word, that was made iconic by the great Katharine Hepburn, who won an
Oscar for it. But I have to tell you a story very quickly. When I was a senior
in college at William and Mary, I was painting scenery backstage, and the Dick
Cavett interview with Hepburn, the only time she was ever on television,
happened to be playing.
And so I knew that I had wanted to be an
actress, but something happened to be that night watching her. And I said to
myself, "If that's who you want to be, do it!" And the next day I went to the
office of the head of the theater department, I asked to be nominated for a
series of national auditions. I ended up that fall with my first job as an
understudy on Broadway.
And later, when Hepburn was celebrated at the
Kennedy Center Honors, I was one of the group of artists that helped celebrate
her. And she came back stage, which was very rare, and I was coerced into
telling her this story. And so I kind of stuttered it, you know, about she had
had a real impact, and was the reason why I got my first job.
And
days later, I received this letter, which hangs on a wall in my house, in a
place of honor. And what she wrote to me was this: "I'm glad I persuaded you
when you were a mere child to join this terrible profession, this terrifying
profession, and let's face it, this delicious way to spend your life."
Thank you very much.
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Jerry Orbach / LAW & ORDER - Detective Lennie Briscoe NBC
ELAINE ORBACH: Thank you. Thank you. Oh! [applause]
JAMES DENTON: It's very heavy.
ORBACH: Oh no. Oh... Oh God, how
bittersweet, but it's still sweet. Thank you. Thank all of you. God, if Jerry
were here, he would be - he would be so articulate and so giving and loving,
and receiving, all of you, for this beautiful award.
Jerry was an
actor and he loved actors. He loved kibitzing with them, he loved playing
cards with them, he loved playing Scrabble with them, but he loved being with
them. Jerry had a motto. He said, "Never leave a hit show." [laughter] It was
a good one. [applause] He did it for the audiences of Broadway, for a good
35-years, with all the major long-running shows that he did, "Promises" - good
Lord, the original "Chicago," which that's where we met and fell in love -
"42nd Street," on and on and on.
And in between, the
wonderful Dick Wolf said, "Would you consider 'Law & Order"?" And of course,
it brought him back to his beloved Broadway, 'cause he could spend time on and
around Broadway. Oh God, and it gave him the longest-running show of his
heart. He loved it, he stayed there till the end, and he always said, "Never
leave a hit show."
May you all never leave your hit show. Thank
you so much. [applause] God, it's heavy. [laughs] Thank you.
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Jennifer Garner / ALIAS - Sydney Bristow ABC
JENNIFER GARNER: Thank you so much. Thank you so much. My first job, Melissa
Gilbert played my mom. I called her Laura, every day in the make-up trailer. I
practically called her Half-Pint - it's so fun to be sitting with her. I've
claimed James Garner for years as a relative, it's wonderful to be in this
room, [laughter] and to be part of this union.
And the day my
parents accepted that I was an actor was the day I told them, "I get
insurance." [laughter] So, thank you to SAG and thank you to all the actors
that we work with on "Alias," the background, my stunt double, Shauna Duggins,
my stand-in, Nancy Wetzel, my incredible cast, the writers, ABC, everybody,
we're so lucky to have this job. We have a blast. Thank you so, so
much. [applause]
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Tony Shalhoub / MONK - Adrian Monk USA
TONY SHALHOUB: Thank you very much. I’m so proud to be among you in this
group. They asked us not to go through a whole long list of thank you’s this
year, but I just want to extend my gratitude to all of the guest actors who
come onto series television. [applause]
As series regulars, our job
is made so much easier to be in the head of the character week in and week
out, as Jamie Foxx proved so well tonight. [laughter] But for the guest actors
who come into a show without any preparation, without any time to rehearse,
their job is so much harder, to capture the tone, to create a character, to
work in harmony with actors and directors they have not worked with before. I
want to extend my gratitude to them. Thank you all.
[applause]
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Teri Hatcher / Desperate Housewives - Susan Mayer ABC
TERI HATCHER: Wow, it's really... Okay, it's really heavy, that's one
thing... Okay, I sort of didn't expect this and... .look at this, all these
amazing actors.
I came to Los Angeles as a dancing extra in "The Love
Boat" in 1985, and since then I got to work with Christopher Guest and Kevin
Bacon, and Kevin Kline, and Sally Field, and Whoopi Goldberg and... God, like
a lot of movies and TV shows, for really having no career a year ago. And I
just - I learned from all those people and I am so proud to be a part of this
group.
I never thought I could even call myself an actor, and I want
to thank you for letting me sort of rediscover myself, for giving me a chance
to maybe get rid of old perceptions and be a part of this group of wonderful
cast on the show, with amazing writers, and Jamie Denton and Andrea Bowen, my
boyfriend and my daughter, who don't get all of the press of all of the lovely
housewives, but make me so great in those scenes. If it wasn't for you, I
wouldn't be anywhere, and the same thing to all of you ladies, it's just the
most wonderful job, and thank you very much.
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION CBS
Gary Dourdan Warrick Brown
George Eads Nick Stokes
Jorja Fox Sara Sidle
Paul Guilfoyle Jim Brass
Robert David Hall Dr. Robbins
Marg Helgenberger Catherine Willows
William Petersen Gil Grissom
Eric Szmanda Greg Sanders
WILLIAM PETERSEN: Well,
this is a shock. The only explanation for this is that somehow in the last
year, every one of you tried to act with rubber gloves and
tweezers. [laughter] Although I will have to say that when you share your
close-up with carpet fibers, you're doing a little bit of ensemble
acting. [laughter]
The best thing about being an actor is that
we get to hang out with other actors. We enjoy being with each other every
day, we care about each other, we're friends, and that's truly our
reward. We're proud to be members of the Screen Actors Guild, the best private
club in the world, and we would like to thank our fellowship of gypsies for
this lovely award.
Thank you. Peace. [applause]
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ABC
Andrea Bowen Julie Mayer
Ricardo Antonio Chavira Carlos Solis
Marcia Cross Bree Van De Kamp
Steven Culp Rex Van
De Kamp
James Denton Mike Delfino
Teri
Hatcher Susan Mayer
Felicity Huffman Lynette Scavo
Cody Kasch Zach Young
Eva Longoria Gabrielle Solis
Jesse Metcalfe John the Gardener
Mark Moses Paul
Young
Nicollette Sheridan Edie Britt
Brenda Strong Mary Alice Young
DOUG SAVANT: Good
evening. We'd like to use this award to ring the death knell to reality
television. [applause] The incredible success of "Desperate Housewives" begins
and ends with one man, and that's Mr. Marc Cherry. He is actually in his
office right now working, writing, and he is as kind and generous, and ethical
as he is talented. And we wanted to let you know that tonight.
We want to thank our executive producer, Mr. Tom Spezialy and Michael
Edelstein. [applause] The overworked and often under-recognized, Mr. George
Perkins, all of - is George here? - all of our directors and writers who make
our show all that it is. We would also - no actor stands on the stage without
first gaining the support and confidence of a casting director, and we have
two brilliant casting directors - because they cast us [laughter] - they are
Junie Lowry-Johnson and Scott Genkinger. [applause]
All you
actors out there, if you do audition for our show, you will be treated well,
you will be treated with respect, and when you leave, you will think,
"Wow! That was almost like acting." [laughter] Lastly, we too celebrate, or
share this award, with every guest cast and day player who has graced our set
with their talent. And to our Screen Actors Guild stand-ins, Rosie, Jenny,
Patty, Sandra, Scott, Dawn, Mark, and Eric who runs the football pool.
[laughter]
Thank you for this honor. God bless. [applause]
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
JAMES GARNER
JAMES GARNER: Don’t do too much of that. I get very emotional. Hello, actors!
[audience responds] Well, of course, I’m humbled by this evening. I don’t know
if I deserve this award, but, please, if, just for tonight, you’ll forgive me
if I act like I do. [laughter]
You look at the list of wonderful
actors who have been recipients of this award, and I’m not all sure how I got
here. I’m just so humbled to be a part of such a distinguished group. And,
well, we actors, we seldom know how we are perceived by others, but this
wonderful award lets me know, say, “Hey, Jim, you must have done something
good.” So to have actors think of me in these terms, it touches me deep, deep,
deep, DEEP in my heart.
To all of my fellow actors, and of course my
lovely co-stars, leading ladies that I’ve had the pleasure of working with, I
can only offer one grateful and astounded thank you to all of the people who
have helped me along the way and brought me to this moment.
I would
be remiss if I didn’t mention the one person who has been every step of the
way, my wife of 48 years, Lois. [applause] I love you sweetheart for all the
support you’ve given me, and a few other things. [laughter]
Oh,
and one more thing I would like to say: actors are very special people, and I
love each and every one of you. I have been a member of this guild for over 50
years, and it’s a great guild. It’s the best guild in the world. I’m proud to
be part of it. And just remember, you take damn good care of it, okay?
And now I get to go to work next week with my cast and crew of “Eight Simple
Rules” and start on my second lifetime. Thank you so much. I love you all!
[applause]