Matthew McConaughey accepts the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for “Dallas Buyers Club” during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday.When Matthew McConaughey uttered the G-word as he accepted his Best Actor statuette at Sunday night’s 86th annual Academy Awards, several small gasps were overheard and then only an uncomfortable silence.
“First off,” he said, “I want to thank God. ‘Cause that’s who I look up to. He has graced my life with opportunities that I know are not of my hand or any other human hand. He has shown me that it’s a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates.”
If you’re not clear on what a big deal this was, know this: God is not a star in Hollywood.
Indeed, according to an Associated Press count, God has only been thanked in 14 of the 100 Academy Awards acceptance speeches given over the last 30 years. Winners thanked the Academy more than that in 2013 alone.
And, according to a Slate.com analysis of Oscar speeches since 2002, Meryl Streep has been thanked more times than God during acceptance speeches over the last decade.