This is one acceptance speech you don't want cut off by the orchestra playing. Jared Leto's speech was by far, perhaps, the best of all time.
He won his first Oscar of the night, for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a transgender person diagnosed with AIDS in Dallas Buyers Club.
He expressed his love for host Ellen DeGeneres, and told a sweet story about his mom, before thanking his big brother and fellow Dallas actors. He also expressed solidarity for AIDS victims, as well as the citizens of Ukraine and Venezuela.
Venezuelan protesters had tweeted at leading Oscar nominees asking that they mention the country when accepting their awards. As a result, Venezuelan TV networks were not allowed to air the Oscars' broadcast.
Check out his speech:
Incredible. Ellen, I love you. To my fellow nominees, I’m so proud to share this journey with you. I’m in awe and have so much respect for you all. To the Academy, thank you. In 1971, Bossier City, Louisiana, there was a teenage girl who was pregnant with her second child. She was a high school dropout and a single mom, but somehow she managed to make a better life for herself and her children. She encouraged her kids to be creative, to work hard and to do something special. That girl is my mother and she’s here tonight. And I just want to say, I love you, Mom. Thank you for teaching me to dream. To my brother, Shannon, the best big brother in the world, you’re a true artist. Thank you so much for sharing this insane and amazing adventure that is 30 Seconds to Mars, and for being my best friend. I love you. Thank you.
To all the dreamers out there around the world watching this tonight in places like the Ukraine and Venezuela, I want to say we are here and as you struggle to… to make your dreams happen, to live the impossible… We’re thinking of you tonight. And this is, is incredibly special as well because there’s so many people that helped me get here. And I just want to say thank you to Focus Features, to Mick Sullivan, to Jim Toth, to Jason Weinberg, to Emma Ludbrook, to Kelly Adams, to the entire Dallas Buyers Club team. Matthew, I love you. Jean-Marc. And this for the 36 million people who have lost the battle to AIDS and to those of you out there who have ever felt injustice because of who you are or who you love, tonight I stand here in front of the world with you and for you. Thank you so much and goodnight.