Glitzy award ceremonies are infamous as much for embarrassing acceptance speeches as the gongs being given out.
Remember Gwyneth Paltrow’s blub fest at the 1990 Oscars when she almost flooded the front row with tears?
Sometimes, however, a star speaks from the heart, just as Blade Runner director Sir Ridley Scott did at the BAFTA’s when he credited teachers for turning his life around.
Telling the audience how he got a place at art college despite having only one GCE, Sir Ridley accepted his BAFTA fellowship by saying: “It is extraordinary what an enthusiastic teacher can do. Drawing the student out, igniting independence, encouraging the design of your own future.’’
And, if teaching professionals were in any doubt, he added that “teaching is the most important of all professions’’.
The filmmaker is not the only one to credit teachers for his success. Here’s the s1jobs roll call of celebrity thank-yous.
James McAvoy
The X-Men man and ex-Drumchapel boy thanked two Glasgow teachers in a promo clip for Waiting For Superman, a film that explores the failures of the US education system. He said: “Great teachers changed my life. Anne-Marie Dempsey, Craig Smith, thank you.’’
Colin Firth
The actor credits drama teacher Penny Edwards for steering him, saying: “The teaching and encouragement I received at college was fantastic.’’ Colin even brought Penny with him to receive an award at the Houses of Parliament.
Sir Patrick Stewart
When theatre and screen star Sir Patrick was knighted his English teacher Cecil Dormand was present at the ceremony, because he was the one who set Stewart on the path to acting: “He was the one who put a copy of Shakespeare in my hand and said, ‘Now get up on your feet and perform’.”
Minnie Driver
The Good Will Hunting and Phantom of the Opera star was in tune when she said: “I was fortunate to have a really good education and had an outstandingly good music teacher, who encouraged me to explore my love of music as a way to unscramble my block with maths.’’
Bill Gates
He may have been a dropout – from Harvard no less – but the Microsoft founder credits both his maths and drama teachers for their guidance, saying: “There’s no way there would have been a Microsoft without what they did.’’
Will you be the inspirational teacher for future stars? Find out with Education & Teaching vacancies from s1jobs.