And there is only one Laurence "The Fish" Fishburne!
Fierce!
Thank you so much for being here, Laurence Fish and for your kind, gracious, over the
top words.
Your support, your love...
It has been an honor and a privilege to have the chance to work with you and I am so grateful
for your friendship, mentorship, spirit, soul and wisdom that you share with me.
I am so grateful.
Thank you, man.
You are amazing!
You are the best of the best.
Laurence Fishburne.
To the TCL, the Chinese Theater...
It is a great honor to be here and to be invited to this remarkable, historical, magical place.
To be included amongst all of the incredible artists who have made their mark here over
the past ninety-two years, to be a part of this Hollywood tradition started by Sid Grauman
all those years ago and which continues to this day.
I thank you.
I thank you very much.
To Lionsgate, I thank you for your support and the opportunity to be here.
Thank you Joe and to all involved at Lionsgate.
I am very grateful.
And to be on the forecourt, in the front of this legendary movie palace with John Wick?
With John Wick?
That is so -- You swore!
– F*cking awesome!
I mean, I love John Wick!
Man, I love John Wick.
And to you, the director and our visionary of the film, Chad Stahelski -- To you, Ian
-- Where are you?
Lance...
Laurence...
Halle -- Where are you, Mark?
Mark.
Asia -- To the producers -- Basil, Erica.
Thank you.
To David, the co-director of the first John Wick.
The only way I am here is working with artists and people such as yourselves.
I am not here without working with such talented, beautiful artists and people.
The only way I am standing here is to have worked with such beautiful, wonderful artists
in the past.
I have been a part of some films that have been embraced and I am very grateful.
They have changed my life.
They have given me life.
They have provided life.
And I am very grateful to the people who have enjoyed these films.
Without your support, I am not standing here.
Actually most of the people who are standing or sitting here are not here without your
support.
Thank you.
I started acting when I was fifteen-years-old in Toronto, Canada and I traveled in my first
car when I was twenty years old across the country to Los Angeles, California... to Hollywood
- with a dream.
That dream!
A dream I share with - I am sure - so many here and probably with most, if not all, of
the artists memorialized and celebrated in this remarkable place.
The dream!
To be in pictures.
To be in movies.
To be in films.
To be in cinema... but first, I had to get an agent or a manager, and in my case it was
a manager - Erwin Stoff.
Erwin, without all of your belief and support and without all of what you did for me, I
would not be here.
Literally - I would not be here!
So, thank you.
I am forever grateful.
And then, Erwin introduced me to an agent.
Not just any agent, but a spectacular agent and a person Hildy Gottlieb.
Hildy, I thank you for believing in me and giving that kid a chance, an opportunity for
opportunity.
I will be forever grateful.
And I'd like to thank my agents who are here today.
Meredith...
Where are you, Meredith?
Meredith?
Where are you?
Hello, Meredith.
Chris and Keith - Thank you for being here and for all that you do for me and for helping
me to continue to have a career.
And to my agents in the past - Kevin, Jimmy and Patrick - I thank you.
I thank you very much.
I want to thank my stepfather Paul Aaron, who as a director shared with me his world
of the theater and film, who inspired him to dream and train as an actor and provided
the opportunity to get in that car and have a safe place to land, to start.
I want to thank all of the artists, teachers, agents and friends I had the opportunity to
work with and to learn with in Toronto, especially Rose Dubin, who oversaw the theater program
at the JCC where she created what was a haven for young artists to learn.
It's where I had the chance to play Mercutio at sixteen and where I was seen by an agent
and so started my professional career and my love of Shakespeare.
I want to thank my friends who are here today.
Claire, where are you?
Josh, Robert, Janie, Alexandra, Cheryl.
Cheryl?
Hello, Cheryl.
Cheryl -- I love you.
I love you all.
Thank you.
And I want to thank my mom!
Who, when I said to her, when I was fifteen -- "Is it okay if I am an actor?"
She said, "Do whatever you want to do, darling"... and so it began!
I love movies.
Gosh, I love movies!
I love watching them and I love making them.
It is an honor to be here today to celebrate - in this Hollywood hallowed ground - pictures,
movies, films, cinema!
With all of the artists who have made their mark here of the past, the present and the
future and with you.
Thank you.
Now let's go play in some cement.