Ben Affleck's Oscars speech put a classy cap on the 85th annual Academy Awards.
As a co-producer on "Argo," Affleck accepted the Oscar for Best Picture when his film was announced as winner on Sunday night. "Argo" had been the favorite to win Best Picture going into the ceremony, despite the fact that Affleck himself wasn't nominated in the Best Director category. "Argo" is the first film to win without a Best Director nomination since "Driving Miss Daisy" at the 1990 ceremony, and only the fourth film to accomplish that feat in Oscars history.
Affleck began by giving a shout out to Steven Spielberg, director of "Lincoln," and the other nominees for Best Picture. He went through a list of thank-you's, including the country of Canada, while accepting the award. Grant Heslov and George Clooney were also co-producers on "Argo." (Clooney, in fact, thought he might direct the film before handing it off to Affleck.)
Chris Terrio wrote "Argo," basing the film on a Wired article, and he took home an Oscar as well - for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Affleck has given acceptance speeches throughout awards season. His film won major prizes from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (The Golden Globes), Directors Guild of America, Producers Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America and BAFTA.
While accepting Best Director from BAFTA, Affleck noted that the "Argo" was a chance for him to earn some redemption after being a punchline because of some acting choices in the early 00s.
"This is a second act for me and you have given me that. This industry has given me that," he said.
For more on the Oscars' 2013 ceremony, including a full list of Academy Awards winners, check out the live blog below.
