SAG Awards 2020: Joaquin Phoenix honors 'favorite actor' Heath Ledger after 'Joker' win, lauds other nominees
Joaquin Pheonix won the SAG for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for his role in 'Joker' and he thanked the late Heath Ledger for his success. Pheonix, as always, thanked all the actors he was nominated with for the award with a special mention to the 'Dark Knight' star.
"I'm standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor Heath Ledger," he said. Speaking about Leo DiCaprio, who was nominated for 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood', Pheonix said, "When I started acting again, I would go to auditions and get to the final callback and... many people know what that's like. I would always be up against two other actors and we'd always lose to this one kid! No actor would ever say his name but every casting director would whisper...It's Leonardo."
He told Christian Bale, nominated for his amazing performance in 'Ford v Ferrari' to "suck just once" and that it was "infuriating" to Pheonix that he was so good. He praised Adam Driver, nominated for 'Marriage Story' as well as Taron Egerton, nominated for 'Rocketman'. This was Phoenix's first time winning a SAG.
Fans loved his speech and couldn't stop gushing over the actor. "I loved his speech! I love how he acknowledged his fellow nominees," one fan said. "I teared up the moment he said that. Congrats. Heath is definitely proud of you," said another. "Joker talking to Batman in this clip and then thanking Heath Ledger. Ohmygod," a third one said.
" Once again, he immortalizes this awards night with another emotional speech. VERY moving," said another. "The speech Joaquin Phoenix thanks his fellow nominees and thanks the legend of Heath Ledger for his interpretation of the #Joker Joaquin is everything good in this world," another fan said, moved by Pheonix.
'Joker', directed by Todd Phillips, leads the Academy Awards with 11 nominations, including nominations for Best Director and Best Picture.
