I'd like to dedicate this award to all the women before me that never had the chances that I've had, the survivors, the pioneers and the outcasts. My blood, my tradition. And I'd like to thank all the people in this industry who've respected my choices and have not been afraid of the power and dignity that that entitled me to.

This is a second act for me, and you give me that. I wanna thank you for this. I'm so grateful and proud. I just wanna to dedicated this (the award) to anyone else out there, who is trying to get a second act, because you can do. (Speech after receiving the British Academy Film Awards for the Best Director)

I need to be more vocal because it's my duty - not for myself but for everyone else out there, for any other east Asian who does want to make it in the arts. If they're not represented on our screens or stages then how are they supposed to look up to anyone, or be inspired and feel like they can do what they want to do? It's important for east Asians to know they don't have to be a lawyer or a doctor and they should just do whatever they want to do.

I'm empowered to stand here thanks to the ensemble of actors, men and women, who I shared the screen with and who in ways they will never understand made me a better actor.

I am one of only a handful of actors in this country who are not just talented, but have taken the trouble to learn the best ways of making any role they are cast in as real as it can be for the viewers

Profound thanks to Columbia Pictures and the lovely forms of Lisa Henson, Gary Wiggan, and Mark Canter for hiring a first-time writer; to James Shamus for his rare intelligence; to Sidney Pollack for asking all the right questions, like 'Why couldn't these women go out and get a job?' Why, indeed. To the cast and crew, for being impeccable. To my friend and my teacher, Lindsay Doran, for being the single most frustrating reason why I can't claim all the credit for myself. And finally, I would like with your permission to dedicate this Oscar to our director, Ang Lee. Ang, wherever you are, this is for you. [Beaming smile]

…as an actor, trying to do the best you can on a film, you think, do I say thank you or fuck you?

I have been honoured to receive several award nominations and other recognitions for my work which is truly humbling. I deeply cherish every single one and I am greatly encouraged and uplifted by them.

This award is not just for me, but also for others who continue to stand up for press freedom.

I am more than ever awed and overwhelmed by the monumental talents it was my great, great privilege to work for and with. There is therefore no way I can thank you for this beautiful award without thanking all of them, because it is they who helped and honed, triggered and taught, pushed and pulled, dressed and photographed — and with endless patience and kindness and gentleness, guided and nurtured a totally unknown, insecure, inexperienced, skinny broad into a marketable commodity. I am proud to have been in a business that gives pleasure, creates beauty, and awakens our conscience, arouses compassion, and perhaps most importantly, gives millions a respite from our so violent world. Thank you, Screen Actors Guild and friends, for this huge honor — and for giving me this unique opportunity to express my deepest gratitude and love to all of those who have given me a career that has brought me nothing but happiness.

It was important not only to me personally, but also for all of us who were involved, that it sets an example of Asian excellence for a more prominent presence in Hollywood, and also globally.