Joaquin Phoenix Calls for More Diversity in Hollywood in BAFTA Acceptance Speech

Joaquin Phoenix called out the film industry’s lack of diversity at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards in his Leading Actor acceptance speech for Todd Phillips’ Joker.

Phoenix took the stage at the Feb. 2 ceremony and thanked the BAFTAs for the recognition, but expressed conflicting emotions, saying, “Because so many of my fellow actors that are deserving don’t have that same privilege.”

The actor, who recently won a Golden Globe and SAG award for his performance, said, “This is not a self-righteous condemnation because I’m ashamed to say that I’m part of the problem. I have not done everything in my power to ensure that the sets I work on are inclusive.”

Phoenix concluded his speech by saying, “It’s more than just having sets that are multicultural, I think that we have to really do the hard work to truly understand systemic racism. I think that it is the obligation of the people that have created and perpetuate and benefit from a system of oppression to be the ones that dismantle it, so that’s on us.” On that final note, the Royal Albert Hall erupted in applause.

Phoenix beat out Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Taron Egerton (Rocketman) and Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) for the award.

Check out the full list of British Academy Film Awards winners and nominees below.

Best Film

Winner: 1917 – Sam Mendes

Nominees:
The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
Joker -Todd Phillips
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
Parasite – Bong Joon Ho

Outstanding British Film

Winner: 1917 – Sam Mendes

Nominees:
Bait – Mark Jenkin
For Sama – Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts
Rocketman – Dexter Fletcher
Sorry We Missed You – Ken Loach

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

Winner: Bait – Mark Jenkin

Nominees:
For Sama – Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts
Maiden – Alex Holmes
Only You – Harry Wootliff
Retablo – Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio

Film Not in the English Language

Winner: Parasite – Bong Joon Ho

Nominees:
The Farewell – Lulu Wang
For Sama – Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts
Pain and Glory – Pedro Almodóvar
Portrait of a Lady on Fire – Céline Sciamma

Documentary

Winner: For Sama – Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts

Nominees:
American Factory – Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
Apollo 11 – Todd Douglas Miller
Diego Maradona – Asif Kapadia
The Great Hack – Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim

Animated Film

Winner: Klaus – Sergio Pablos

Nominees:
Frozen 2 – Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon – Will Becher and Richard Phelan
Toy Story 4 – Josh Cooley

Director

Winner: 1917 – Sam Mendes

Nominees:
The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
Joker – Todd Phillips
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
Parasite – Bong Joon Ho

Original Screenplay

Winner: Parasite – Bong Joon Ho

Nominees:
Booksmart – Olivia Wilde
Knives Out – Rian Johnson
Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino

Adapted Screenplay

Winner: Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi

Nominees:
The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
Joker – Todd Phillips
Little Women – Greta Gerwig
The Two Popes – Fernando Meirelles

Leading Actress

Winner: Judy – Renée Zellweger

Nominees:
Wild Rose – Jessie Buckley
Marriage Story – Scarlett Johansson
Little Women – Saorise Ronan
Bombshell – Charlize Theron

Leading Actor

Winner: Joker – Joaquin Phoenix

Nominees:
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Leonardo DiCaprio
Marriage Story – Adam Driver
Rocketman – Taron Egerton
The Two Popes – Jonathan Pryce

Supporting Actress

Winner: Marriage Story, Laura Dern

Nominees:
Jojo Rabbit – Scarlett Johansson
Little Women – Florence Pugh
Bombshell – Margot Robbie
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Margot Robbie

Supporting Actor

Winner: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Brad Pitt

Nominees:
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood – Tom Hanks
The Two Popes – Anthony Hopkins
The Irishman – Al Pacino
The Irishman – Joe Pesci

Original Score

Winner: Joker -Todd Phillips

Nominees:
1917 – Sam Mendes
Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi
Little Women – Greta Gerwig
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – J.J. Abrams

Casting

Winner: Joker – Todd Phillips

Nominees:
Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
The Personal History of David Copperfield – Armando Ianucci
The Two Popes – Fernando Meirelles

Cinematography

Winner: 1917 – Sam Mendes

Nominees:
The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
Joker – Todd Phillipps
Le Mans ‘66 – James Mangold
The Lighthouse – Robert Eggers

Editing

Winner: Le Mans ‘66 – James Mangold

Nominees:
The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
Jojo Rabbit -Taika Waititi
Joker -Todd Phillips
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino

Production Design

Winner: 1917 – Sam Mendes

Nominees:
The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi
Joker – Todd Phillips
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino

Costume Design

Winner: Little Women – Greta Gerwig

Nominees:
The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi
Judy – Rupert Goold
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino

Make Up and Hair

Winner: Bombshell – Jay Roach

Nominees:
1917 – Sam Mendes
Joker – Todd Phillips
Judy – Rupert Goold
Rocketman – Dexter Fletcher

Sound

Winner: 1917 – Sam Mendes

Nominees:
Joker – Todd Phillips
Le Mans ‘66 – James Mangold
Rocketman – Dexter Fletcher
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – J.J. Abrams

Special Visual Effects

Winner: 1917 – Sam Mendes

Nominees:
Avengers: Endgame – Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
The Lion King – Jon Favreau
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – J.J. Abrams

British Short Animation

Winner: Grandad Was a Romantic – Maryam Mohajer

Nominees:
In Her Boots – Kathrin Steinbacher
The Magic Boat – Naaman Azhari

British Short Film

Winner: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) – Carol Dysinger

Nominees:
Azaar – Myriam Raja
Goldfish – Joe Wein
Kamali – Sasha Rainbow
The Trap – Lena Headey

EE Rising Star Award

Winner: Michael Ward

Nominees:
Awkwafina
Kaitlyn Dever
Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Jack Lowden