00:00Oh, my God. This is surreal. First of all, I just want to say this is truly a great day,
00:11because today is Amy Landecker's birthday.
00:21And what better way for an actor to celebrate his wife's birthday than with a municipal celebration of himself.
00:30Happy birthday, my love. I think you know that, I'm going to cry, none of this matters without you. And
00:40I want to thank you in advance for your ongoing efforts to support me in public. That's all I ask.
00:52No one has ever lain on their deathbed and with their final breath uttered the words, I wish I had
01:01done one more episode of television. That has never come up.
01:08So I want to thank the characters Amy and I love the most, our wonderful children, for being their incredible
01:19insistent selves.
01:20We're sorry that your parents are professional extroverts. We apologize. We know that can't be fun. And we're grateful for
01:32your patience.
01:33Dulé and Martin saying, it means so much for me to have you here today. Dulé, I have never seen
01:41anyone less changed by success in show business than you are.
01:47You are the same definition of humility and kindness and grace that I met 27 years ago, doing that old
01:55office thing, saying, it never goes away.
02:00In those 27 years, I have never heard you say a bad word about another human being, which is starting
02:09to feel like a hostile reminder of how old and bitter I have become.
02:17And speaking of old and bitter, Martin C.
02:20Martin C.
02:23I love you with all of my heart.
02:29We never had to act our love and loyalty, said Bartlett, because it was always just there on the set
02:36for you.
02:36Your kindness at the top of the call sheet, the joy you brought to the hard work of making a
02:43television show is what made us a family with a mission.
02:50My dad passed away right after we stopped the pilot.
02:57He actually saw a rough cut of the pilot.
03:00And I said, what did you think?
03:01He said, I didn't understand the work.
03:07But when my dad passed away, I felt like I still had a father with you around.
03:15And the greatest lessons we learn from our parents and our mentors are the examples of their lives.
03:24And yours is one of joy, of humility, of resilience, and the clear understanding that the greatest privilege fame can
03:33give you is the opportunity to bring attention to the suffering of others and to join in the fight against
03:38it.
03:39I love you.
03:41I'm thinking in gratitude today of our brother, John Spencer, Mary McCormick, everybody in front and behind the camera, with
03:56the possible exception of Josh Molina.
04:09We have a lot of cops here. We should probably get him out.
04:13No, he needs the publicity.
04:20Thank you, Dana and Ron, everyone here at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Walk of Fame Selection Committee.
04:28I'm not sure how this happens, but I am incredibly grateful.
04:32Thank you, everyone, at Netflix, Bellabiteria, Jenny Howe, Ted Sarandos for footing the bill for this event.
04:41But not only that, for making me feel like I have a creative home in this crazy business.
04:49Leslie Fiebert, Rhonda Price, everyone at Girth.
04:53I feel very at home there, finally.
04:58I want to thank Michael Mahan for representing me with civility and integrity.
05:04Melissa Cates, everyone at Viewpoint.
05:07No one believes me when I tell them that the famous person I ever met in Hollywood is a publicist,
05:14but it's true.
05:15And it's you.
05:18None of this would be happening without the fierce, unrelenting advocacy of my manager of almost 30 years, Adina Stoltz.
05:34Thank you, Adina, for always believing in me and for refusing to take no for an answer from those who
05:44didn't.
05:45Every actor should have an advocate like you.
05:49I am the actor.
05:50I'll get all the attention today, but we both know the stars, yours as much as mine.
05:58On the home front, I want to thank Gabby Silva for holding down the fort, managing the petting zoo, the
06:12spectacular desserts, and more than anything, for teaching my children how to swear.
06:21Thank you, Meg Graham, for your unwavering kindness and care you take in making this chaotic life feel manageable.
06:30I have to thank Aaron Sorkin for giving me a career over and over and over again.
06:40I have to thank John Wells for being the best television producer on the planet.
06:45A shout out to Jordan Peele for giving me an incredible shot.
06:51Thank you, Deborah Kahn, for letting me swim around in that beautiful brain of yours.
06:56I want to thank all of you for your brilliance and your friendship all these years.
07:01I come from a wonderfully supportive family that has nothing to do with show business, but I'm so grateful to
07:11my big brothers and big sisters for their love and support over the years.
07:18Oh, my God, my parents would have gotten such a kick out of this, and they would have loved to
07:28have known that their son was going to be tucked between Lucille Ball and my sister, Alice and Janie.
07:35Mom and Dad, you're with me every day.
07:39Thank you for making me know that I didn't need to get lucky in show business to feel loved.
07:50The best thing about a life spent telling stories is the people you get to tell them with.
07:57I want to thank every writer, director, producer, every cast and crew member I've ever had the privilege to work
08:03with.
08:04And here's to a future where real human beings continue to get up a little too early in the morning
08:11and work long, hard days to make stories together.
08:16Stories to make us laugh, make us cry, make us think, and most importantly, at this moment in this disorienting
08:24digital age,
08:25to remind us all of what it means to be a human being.
08:35Thank you for this frighteningly permanent reminder of what an honor and a joy it has been for me to
08:45be a part of that effort.
08:46So thank you to all the fans over all the years who have taken precious time out of their lives
08:55to watch me play with my friends.
08:59And a special thank you to all of you who are here today who made the effort to come out
09:05here on this beautiful day to celebrate my wife's birthday.
09:13Of course, I am deeply honored. Thank you.
