‘The Imitation Game’ Screenwriter Graham Moore’s Oscars Speech: ‘Stay Weird, Stay Different’


Graham Moore didn’t intend on talking about his suicide attempt when he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Imitation Game. The screenwriter spoke with E! news at the Governors Ball. The writer noted that his mom beamed by his side as she held his Oscar.

Moore said that his moving speech at the 2015 Oscars on Sunday night wasn’t even planned or thought out beforehand.

“I didn’t write anything out. Everyone when they’re growing up imagine’s giving an awards speech. I’ve given my fair of speeches into the shampoo bottle and into combs over the years.”

“This sort of felt like the thing I always wanted to say and I never thought in my life I’d actually be on a stage and say it.”

Moore won the award for his film The Imitation Game. The first person to congratulate him was star Keira Knightley followed by her co-star Benedict Cumberbatch. Moore then went onto the stage to accept his award and give his unforgettable speech.

“Here’s the thing. Alan Turing never got to stand on a stage like this and look out at all of these disconcertingly attractive faces. I do! And that’s the most unfair thing I’ve ever heard.”

“So in this brief time here, what I wanted to do was say this: When I was 16 years old, I tried to kill myself because I felt weird and I felt different, and I felt like I did not belong. And now I’m standing here…and so I would like this moment to be for this kid out there who feels like she’s weird or she’s different or she doesn’t fit in anywhere. Yes, you do. I promise you do. Stay weird, stay different and then, when it’s your turn, and you are standing on this stage, please pass the same message to the next person who comes along. Thank you so much!”

Graham said to the press later that night the he battled with depression since high school. He told the press, via The Huffington Post, that though he’s not gay, he still felt a connection with Alan Turing.

“I’m not gay, but I’ve never talked publicly about depression before or any of that, and that was so much of what the movie was about and it was one of the things that drew me to Alan Turing so much. I think we all feel like weirdoes for different reasons. Alan had his share of them and I had my own and that’s what always moved me so much about his story.”

Moore said that even though he’s a writer, it was hard to put together a quick speech in his head. He knew that he wanted to say “something meaningful” during his acceptance speech.

“It was hard. I’m a writer — when am I ever going to be on television? This was my 45 seconds in my life to get on TV and I might as well use it to say something meaningful.”

The Imitation Game follows the real story of British mathematician Alan Turing, who helped solve the Enigma code during World War II, according to the news source. After the war, Turing was prosecuted for homosexuality in Britain and he later committed suicide in 1954 at 41 years old.

The Inquisitr reported last December that The Imitation Game received a lot of criticism. Some critics took an issue with how the personality and life of Alan Turing was rendered in the film. They didn’t like that he was written as a “weak” and “whiny” character. However, box office numbers beg to differ, as the critically acclaimed movie grabbed moviegoer’s hearts.

Do you think The Imitation Game deserved its win? What did you think of Graham Moore’s acceptance speech at the 2015 Oscars?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN1SaF5LNGs

[Images: Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

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