Honourary Oscars are awarded to veterans in the movie industry for their decades of film and humanitarian work.
Hollywood ushered in the Academy Awards weekend by bestowing honorary Oscars to Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Glover and other movie industry veterans on Friday, for their decades of film and humanitarian work.
Samuel L. Jackson was among the recipients of the annual Governors Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the group that will hand out ‘best picture’ and other trophies at the Oscars live ceremony on Sunday.
Actor Denzel Washington introduced Jackson by noting he has appeared in 152 films that have grossed more than $27 billion at movie box offices over five decades.
Among them, Jackson portrayed Nick Fury in the Avengers superhero movies and was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a hitman in director Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 drama Pulp Fiction.
As he accepted the award, Jackson thanked his family, business representatives, “and every person who ever bought a ticket to any of my movies.”
“I tried to entertain audiences the way Hollywood entertained me,” Jackson said, “Make them forget their lives for a few hours, be thrilled, awed or excited.” Jackson currently stars in the new series The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.
Also awarded at the event was well-known Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover who received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his advocacy for justice and human rights. He currently serves as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.
