Best Oscar speeches: The funniest, most awkward and award winning speeches ever

Back-slapping, tears and too many breathless "thank yous" to count are in store when stars take to the podium for their acceptance speeches at the Oscars this Sunday.

But what lessons can the winners learn from past speeches? In preparation for the big night, we've rounded up some of the best, funniest and most awkward Oscars speeches.

Sally Field's Oscar speech for Best Actress in 1985

In 1984 Sally Field joined the Academy Awards speech hall of infamy with her excitable speech accepting an award for Places in the Heart. The actress exclaimed, “I can’t deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!”

James Cameron's Oscar speech for Best Director in 1998

James Cameron won for the inescapable Titanic in 1998 and celebrated with a particularly memorable (and, at times, very uncomfortable) acceptance speech. It was full of cliches, including "my heart is full," but really took off when he shouted "I'm King of the world!" in an homage to the movie, with whooping worthy of the Insane Clown Posse. Quoting your own movie during a speech is the equivalent of wearing your band's tee-shirt onstage.

Gwyneth Paltrow's Oscar speech for Best Actress in 1999

When GP took home the Best Actress award in 1999 she was winning a pink Ralph Lauren gown that would quickly become iconic - but her speech for Shakespeare in Love was also particularly indelible. Paltrow famously wept in her acceptance speech, thanking her parents through her sobs. In a recent interview with Marie Claire, Paltrow recounted how her father had kept her in check after her Oscars win.

“I was just believing my own hype, thinking that I was super awesome,” Paltrow told the magazine. “And he was like, ‘You’re getting weird—you’re acting like a d*ck.’ When you achieve the kind of fame that I did by the time I was 25 or 26, the world starts removing all your obstacles because you’re now a ‘special person.’ You don’t have to wait in line at a restaurant, and if a car doesn’t show up, someone else gives you theirs.”

Angelina Jolie's Oscar speech for Best Actress in 2000

It wasn't just Jolie's speech that was noteworthy - it was how she celebrated her win for Girl Interrupted. Most winners smooch their significant others when their name is called out, but Jolie's brother, James Haven, was the target of her affections.

That in itself wasn't particularly strange, but Jolie then added, "I'm so in love with my brother right now!" on stage. She had also given him an open-mouthed kiss on the red carpet earlier on.

Adrien Brody's Oscar speech for Best Actor in 2003

When Adrien Brody won for The Pianist in 2003, he surprised the audience by kissing presenter Halle Berry. This wasn't the usual polite kiss on the cheek while grabbing the statue. Brody gave her an entirely unplanned full body lip lock.

Sandra Bullock's Oscar speech for Best Actress in 2010

When America's sweetheart won her first Academy Award for The Blind Side, she greeted the crowd with "Did I really earn this or did I just wear y'all down?" Bullock had gone through quite a few flops in her time, and her thank you felt particularly authentic.

Anne Hathaway's Oscar speech for Best Supporting Actress in 2013

Anne Hathaway has always been a fairy divisive character, but her acceptance speech for Les Miserables was universally panned. The most toe-curling bit? When The Princess Diaries actress quietly told her award "It came true!"

Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar speech for Best Actress in 2013

Jennifer Lawrence famously took a tumble when she went onstage to accept her Oscar for The Silver Linings Playbook. "You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell and that's really embarrassing but thank you," she said to the audience who gifted her with a standing ovation.

Helen Mirren's Oscar speech for Best Actress in 2006

When Dame Helen Mirren won (besting Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada and Judi Dench in Notes on a Scandal) her Oscars acceptance speech was just as impressive as she is. She likened the award to getting a gold star in class and offered to share it with her equally impressive fellow nominees.

Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt, and Fred Berger's Oscar speech for Best Picture in 2017

In 2017 one of the biggest blunders in Oscars history occurred when presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced the wrong Best Picture winner. The winner was Moonlight, but the card they were given read La La Land. "I opened the envelope and it said: Emma Stone, La La Land,” Beatty later explained. “That's why I took such a long pause and looked at Faye, and at you. I wasn't trying to be funny." Accounting firm PWC – who were in charge of the Oscars ballot cards – later apologised for the mistake.

Olivia Colman's speech for Best Actress in 2019

"Ooh it's genuinely quite stressful!" said a visibly shocked Colman when she picked up the award for Best Actress for The Favourite at the 91st Academy Awards. Colman went on to charm the room with a flustered stream of excited "thank yous", including an amusing apology to her fellow nominee and idol Glenn Close ("this is not how I wanted it to be") and an excited, "ooh Lady Gaga!" to Gaga who was sitting front row.