Joaquin Phoenix won his much deserved SAG Award for his role as Arthur Fleck in Joker. The actor won for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. Joaquin Phoenix accepted the award with a heartfelt speech where he thanked Heath Ledger.
“I was here many years ago, and I couldn’t fully appreciate it at the time. I now realize how fortunate I am to be a part of this community. I have such reverence for actors and what we do. I feel really honored to be here.”
The actor has also won at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice this year and is a front runner for the Oscar Best Actor Award. Phoenix joked around about his fellow nominees. He praised Christian Bale by saying, “You never turn in a bad performance. It is infuriating. I wish you would, one time, just suck once. It would be great, OK?”
However, the most heart rendering moment of the speech by Joaquin Phoenix came when he thanked Heath Ledger. Ledger also won the Supporting Actor SAG Award and went on to win the Oscar in 2009 for playing the Joker character in The Dark Knight. Tragically, Ledger died of a drug overdose at age 28 just months after finishing the movie.
“Really, I am standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor, Heath Ledger,” Phoenix said. “So thank you and good night.”
During the 2006 awards season, both Joaquin Phoenix and Heath Ledger were nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. While Ledger was up for his iconic role in Brokeback Mountain, Phoenix was nominated for his role in Walk the Line. The two were seen spending time together at the awards.
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