Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Database

FOREST WHITAKER:
Thank you. Thank you. Just a second, just a second. Okay. Take it [in], okay. I wrote something down because I thought if it would happen I would be a little overwhelmed and I am. So, okay.

When I was a kid the only way that I saw movies was from the backseat of my family's car at the drive-in, and it wasn't my reality to think I would be acting in movies. So receiving this honor tonight tells me that it's possible, it is possible for a kid from east Texas, raised in South Central L.A., in Carson, who believes in his dreams, commits himself to them with his heart, to touch them and to have them happen. Because when I first started acting, it was because of my desire to connect to everyone, to that thing inside each of us, that light that I believe exists in all of us. Because acting for me is about believing in that connection; and it's a connection so strong, it's a connection so deep that we feel it and through our combined belief we can create a new reality.

So I want to thank my fellow believers in "The Last King of Scotland." I want to thank Peter, Jeremy, Andrea, Lisa, Charles, Kevin, James McAvoy, Kerry, Stephen, Fox, DNA, Channel Four. I want to thank the people of Uganda, who helped this film have a spirit. And finally, I want to thank my mom and my dad; I want to thank my wife Keisha, my children, my ancestors who continue to guide my steps, and God, God who believes in us all and who's given me this moment in this lifetime that I will hopefully carry to the end of my lifetime into the next lifetime. Thank you.