The Best Acceptance Speeches

Great, you’ve won an award! Now it’s time to construct your badass acceptance speech. Essentially, you’d want to make it memorable and meaningful. Here are among the best acceptance speeches we’ve seen and heard:

Adrien Brody
Accepts the Oscar’s Best Actor award for “The Pianist”

Steve Carell
Accepts the Golden Globes’ Best Actor TV Series Musical or Comedy award for “The Office”

Adele
Accepts the Grammy’s Album Of The Year award for “21″

“Hello! First of all, I just want to say: Mum, girl did good! Mum, I love you. I’m so sorry you’re not here.

 

And I also want to say a big thank you to Rick Rubin, who taught me about quality control. He really taught me about what I wanted to be and made me realize stuff that I didn’t ever think I would. And this record is inspired by something that is really normal and everyone’s been through it, which is a rubbish relationship. And it’s gone on to do things that I can’t tell you how I feel about it, it’s been the most life-changing year.

 

And I want to thank my record companies, Columbia Records and XL Records and Nick Huggett who signed me in the UK — oh, I’ve got a bit of snot!

 

And all my band, all my band on my album and in the studio, all my live band, my crew, my friends, my family, my manager Jonathan and Rose, Simon, my mum, everyone. Thank you so much. And all of you lot! Thank you so much!”

Katie Finneran
Accepts the Tony’s Best Featured Actress in a Musical award for “Promises, Promises”
 

Melissa McCarthy
Accepts the Emmy’s Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series award for “Mike and Molly”

“Holy Smokes! Wow! It’s my first and best pageant ever! Oh my God – there’s so many pe- stop that clock! – Uh, there’s so many people I want to thank. Oh my God my sweet, lovely husband Ben; I wish you were here; he’s not. My lovely sister Margie is here. I’m sorry I’m a crier!

 

My Mom and Dad who supported me forever and shouldn’t have and just said ‘keep doing what you’re doing.’ I’m from Plainville, Illinois and I’m standing here and it’s kind of amazing.

 

I work with the best cast and the best crew and I love them all. And Chuck Laurie fought for me. And Peter Roth you are like a handsome cheerleader in a suit. Nina Tassler, Les Moonves I’m gonna carry you both around tonight for a while.

 

Um, oh my God our writers – Mark Roberts – writing your beautiful little funny weird plays for us, and the cast I love you all so much. I go to work – I show up early like a dork, everyday because I kinda can’t wait to see people. Vivi you can go to bed now. Georgie, I love you. And, oh God I know I’m forgetting somebody, I don’t have my list. Anybody I forgot I just want to say thank you. Holy smokes!”

Jack Palance
Accepts the Oscar’s Best Supporting Actor award for “City Slickers”

Kate Winslet
Accepts the Golden Globes’ Best Actress award for “Revolutionary Road”

Michael Jackson
Accepts the 35^th Grammy’s Legend Award

“I love you too, thank you. I hope this puts to rest, I hope this finally puts to rest another rumor that has been in the press for too many years: Me and Janet really are two different people.　
 
In the past month, I’ve gone from “where is he” to “here he is again” but I must confess, it feels good to be thought of as a person, not as a personality. Because I don’t read all the things written about me, I wasn’t aware that the world thought I was so weird and bizarre. But when you grow up as I did, in front of one hundred million people since the age of five, you’re automatically different. The last few weeks, I have been cleansing myself and it’s been a rebirth of myself. It’s like a cleansing spirit.　　
 
My childhood was completely taken away from me. There was no Christmas, there were no birthdays, it was not a normal childhood, nor normal pleasures of childhood – those were exchanged for hard work, struggling pain, and eventual material and professional success. But as an awful price, I cannot re-create that part of my life, nor would I change any part of my life. However, today, when I create my music, I feel like an instrument of nature. I wonder what delight nature must feel when we open our hearts and express our God-given talents. The sound of approval rolls across the universe, and the whole world abounds in magic, wonder fills our hearts, for what we’ve glimpsed, for an instant, the playfulness of life. And that’s why I love children and learned so much from being around them. I realised that many of our world’s problems today – from the inner city crime, to large scale wars and terrorism, and our overcrowded prisons, are a result of the fact that children have had their childhood stolen from them. The magic, the wonder, the mystery, and the innocence of a child’s heart, are the seeds of creativity that will heal the world. I really believe that.
 
What we need to learn from children isn’t childish. Being with them connects us to the deeper wisdom of life, which is ever-present and only ask to believe. They know the way to solutions that lie waiting to be recognised within our own hearts. Today, I would like to thank all the children of the world, including the sick and deprived. I am so sensitive to your pain.
 
I also want to thank all those who have helped me to channel my talent here on earth. From the beginning, my parents, all my brothers and sisters, especially Janet. I am so proud of her, it’s incredible. I mean, I remember when we were little, I used to ask her to be Ginger Rogers, while I was Fred Astaire. The Motown family, my teacher Berry Gordy. Diana Ross, I love you. Suzanne De Pazze. The wonderful, great Quincy Jones. Teddy Riley. My new godson Michael Gibb. My new Sony family, Akio Morita, Mickey Schulhoff, Tommy Motola, Dave Glew, Polly Anthony – thanks for making one of my most creative efforts, the album Dangerous, such an incredible success. I love you all so much. Sandy Gallin, Jim Morey. All the fantastic fans around the world, I love you very much.”

Julia Roberts
Accepts the Oscar’s Best Actress award for “Erin Brokovich”
 

 
Robert Downey Jr.
Accepts the Golden Globes’ Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical award for “Sherlock Holmes”
 

 
 
Now it’s your turn. How will your speech go?