[Music]what is this funny oh okay it's such anhonor to present this next award thefive men I'm still watching you the fivemen nominated in this category deliveredresonating evocative and captivatingperformances here are the nominees forperformance by an actor in a leadingroleChristian Bale American hustle BruceDern Nebraska Leonardo DiCaprio the wolfof Wall StreetChiwetel Ejiofor 12 years of slaveMatthew McConaughey Dallas buyers cluband the Oscar goes to MatthewMcConaughey[Applause][Music][Applause][Music][Applause]thank you thank you thank you thank youthank you to the Academy for this all6,000 members thank you to the othernominees all these performances wereimpeccable in my opinion I didn't see afalse note anywhere I want to thankshell Mark valet our director want tothank trade LetoJennifer Garner or worked with Daley umthere's a few things about three thingsto my account that I need each day one Imiss something to look up to another issomething to look forward to and anotheris someone to chase now first off I wantto thank God because that's who I lookup tohe's graced my life with opportunitiesthat I know are not of my hand or anyother human hand he has shown me thatit's a scientific fact that gratitudereciprocates in the words of a lateCharlie Lawton who said when you got Godyou got a friend and that friend is youto my family that's who and what I lookforward to to my father who I know he'sup there right now with a big pot ofgumbo he's got a lemon meringue pie overthere he's probably in his underwearhe's got a cold can of Miller Lite he'sdancing rightdo you dad you taught me what it meansto be a man to my mother who's heretonight who taught me and my two olderbrothers demanded that we respectourselves and what we in turn learnedwas then we were better able to respectothers thank you for that mama - my wifeCamilla and my kids LeviPeeta mr. stone the courage andsignificance you give me every day I goout the door is unparalleled you are thefour people in my life I want to makethe most proud of me thank youand to my hero that's who I chase nowwhen I was fifteen years old I had avery important person in my life come tome and say who's your hero and I said Igot to think about that give me a coupleof weeks I come back two weeks laterthis person comes out and says who'syour hero I said I thought about it youknow who it is I said it's me in tenyearsso I turned twenty five ten years laterthat same person comes Mingo so you're ahero and I was like not even close no nono she said why I said because my heroesme at 35 so you see every day every weekevery month and every year of my life myheroes always ten years awayI'm never gonna be my hero I'm not gonnaattain that I know I'm not and that'sjust fine with me because that keeps mewith somebody to keep on chasing so toany of us whatever those things arewhatever it is we look up to whatever itis we look forward to and whoever it iswe're chasing to that I say amen to thatI say all right all right all right heyjust keep letting himthank you