`This form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life,` the actor said in his opening remarks. `But the greatest gift that's been given to me is to use our voice for the voiceless.` Phoenix went on to stand up for every kind of injustice, detailing how we've become `disconnected from the natural world.`
Phoenix is the second actor after Heath Ledger to win an Oscar for playing the Joker onscreen. The idea of two actors winning awards for playing the `same` character is rare, but not unheard of. Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh were both nominated for their roles as Henry V way back when. Marlon Brando won for playing Don Vito in The Godfather in 1972, while Robert De Niro won Best Supporting Actor for playing his younger self in The Godfather Part II.
