00:00Wow. Thank you so much. Thank you.
00:13Firstly, I feel I have to say something about the award itself.
00:18The first acting award in history that doesn't separate nominees based on their sex
00:24says something about how we perceive the human experience.
00:35MTV's move to create a genderless award for acting will mean something different to everyone.
00:42But to me, it indicates that acting is about the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes.
00:49And that doesn't need to be separated into two different categories.
01:02Empathy and the ability to use your imagination should have no limits.
01:09This is very meaningful to me.
01:12Both to be winning the award and to be receiving it from you, Asia.
01:17Thank you for educating me in such an inclusive, patient and loving way.
01:30Thank you so much.
01:40I think I'm being given this award for a performance as an actor.
01:45But it doesn't feel like that's what it's really for.
01:49Although I'm very grateful if you did think that I did a good job because the whole singing part of
01:55the situation was pretty terrifying.
01:59Yeah, not kidding about that part.
02:02But more seriously, I think I'm being given this award because of who Belle is and what she represents.
02:13The villagers in our fairy tale wanted to make Belle believe that the world was smaller than the way that
02:20she saw it, with fewer opportunities for her.
02:24That her curiosity and passion for knowledge and her desire for more in life were grounds for alienation.
02:32I loved playing someone who didn't listen to any of that.
02:44I'm so proud to be a part of a film that celebrates diversity, literacy, inclusion, joy and love the way
02:56that this one does.
02:58I want to thank Linda Woolverton for writing the original Belle, Jean-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont for writing what
03:04the animated movie was based on.
03:06And Paige O'Hara for playing Belle in the original.
03:09And I want to thank every single person who voted for me.
03:14Thank you so much.
03:22Taraji, I can't see you, but Daniel, James, Hayley, all of you, it's a privilege to have been nominated alongside
03:29you.
03:31Lastly, I want to thank anyone and everyone who had anything to do with giving me this opportunity and for
03:38supporting me on that journey.
03:40You know who you are and I can't thank you enough. Thank you so, so much.
