There’s no bigger night in Hollywood than Oscar night . Over the course of the last 90-plus Academy Award nights, Tinsel Town truly has seen it all.
Among the many highs and lows, certain events stand out and have become ingrained into our pop culture paradigm .
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Now, as movie fans all over the world prepare for the 93rd Academy Awards , here is a collection of some of the most memorable moments from the Oscars.
Roberto Benigni climbs over the chairs after winning “Best Actor” for ‘Life Is Beautiful’.
Roberto was the first to win “Best Actor” for a foreign language film since Sofia Loren won for Two Women nearly 40 years prior. His excitement isn’t just understandable — it’s contagious.
Leonardo DiCaprio FINALLY takes home the Oscar for “Best Actor.”
Before Leo won for his role in The Revenant , he had been nominated four previous times. Many had started to believe that an Oscar would always elude him, but Leo proved them wrong.
Moonlight wins “Best Picture” in a truly confusing fashion.
The good and bad thing about live TV is that anything can happen. Apparently, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were given the wrong envelope and accidentally proclaimed La La Land as the winner by mistake.
Jennifer Lawrence meets Jack Nicholson backstage.
What could possibly top winning your first Oscar for “Best Actress”? For J-Law, it was a chance encounter with living legend Jack Nicholson. The expression of shock and bewilderment on Jennifer’s face is priceless.
Parasite wins “Best Picture”
When Parasite swept the Oscars and took home the Academy Award for ” Best Picture ,” it became the first foreign-language film ever to do so. It also marked the first time that a South Korean film had ever won an Academy Award.
James Franco and Anne Hathaway host Oscar night.
James and Anne may just go down in history as two of the Academy’s most infamous hosts. Their lack of chemistry was palpable and there’s a fairly decent chance that Franco was stoned for the entire production.
John Travolta mispronounces Idina Menzel’s name.
As John would later explain to Jimmy Kimmel, there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for the mix-up. It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to properly say Idina’s name, but rather it was the fault of the production team for spelling her name phonetically on the teleprompter.
When Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were too excited for words.
When Ben Affleck and Matt Damon received their first-ever Academy Award nomination for “Best Original Screenplay” for the film Good Will Hunting , very few people expected them to win — least of all Ben and Matt.
Nobody plays Cuba Gooding Jr. off the stage.
When Cuba Gooding Jr. won the Oscar for ” Best Supporting Actor ” for his role in Jerry Maguire , he was understandably excited. When the orchestra began playing him off the stage, Cuba just kept on going — louder and prouder.
Jennifer Lawrence falls up the stairs.
It’s one thing to fall down the stairs, but few, if any, Oscar winners have ever had the misfortune of falling up the stairs as they walked to receive their Academy Award for “Best Actress”
Kathryn Bigelow makes history by winning the Oscar for “Best Director.”
Before Kathryn Bigelow took home the ” Best Director ” Oscar for gritty wartime drama The Hurt Locker , no woman had ever won in the category. Kathryn’s win changed the course of history and opened the door for a whole new generation of female filmmakers.
Marlon Brando’s boycott of the Oscars.
Marlon Brando’s role as Don Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is considered by many to be his career-defining role. As a form of solidarity with the indigenous peoples of America, Marlon sent Sacheen Littlefeather in his stead to refuse the award.
Heath Ledger receives his posthumous Oscar for ‘The Dark Knight’.
Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight is the kind of performance that you only see once in a generation. He may not have been there to accept the award in person, but his spirit was felt in full force that evening.
Superman returns to the Academy.
The 1996 Academy Awards was Christopher Reeve’s first public appearance since the tragic horseriding accident which left him paraplegic. Chris was presenting a video segment for social issues in America and was greeted with a raucous uproar and standing ovation.
Halle Berry’s acceptance speech for “Best Actress.”
Before Halle Berry, no Black woman had ever taken home the Academy Award for ” Best Actress .” Her emotion poured out of her as she refused to be played off the stage until she thanked everyone who helped make her dreams come true.
