The best Oscar acceptance speeches of all time, including Matt and Ben

From Meryl Streep to Olivia Colman, these Oscar winners set the gold standard for winning acceptance speeches at the Academy Awards.

What makes an exemplary Oscar speech?

That’s the million-dollar question facing each new crop of winners, who are frequently tasked with finding fresh things to say at the Academy Awards (live Sunday, March 15, on ABC and Hulu, 7 p.m. ET/4 PT) after a months-long parade of awards shows. Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Ke Huy Quan and Daniel Kaluuya nailed the assignment in recent years, giving speeches that struck an endearing balance of humor and sincerity, but always with a dash of the unexpected.  

Many winners opt for a timely message, while others resort to rattling off a list of names. But after years of watching innumerable speeches, here are those in a category all their own:

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Did Meryl Streep really need her third Oscar win for, of all films, “The Iron Lady”? Not really. She was the weakest contender for best actress that year, and her earlier nods for “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Doubt” and “Julie & Julia” were more deserving. But her pitch-perfect speech made up for it: She’s at once self-deprecating, joking that “half of America” groaned when her name was called. Streep then gets sentimental, reflecting on the community she has cultivated over 40 years in Hollywood. “I look out here, and I see my life before my eyes,” she said. “My friends, thank you, all of you – departed and here – for this inexplicably wonderful career.”