It's Oscar-Proven: Jared Leto Gives Good Speech

by Breanne L. Heldman

"Dallas Buyers Club" star Jared Leto isn't just Ellen DeGeneres-proclaimed prettiest person (and best hair-flipper) at the Oscars. He also might just be the best speech giver.

When the 42-year-old star picked up his statuette for Best Supporting Actor, he brought down the house - and the Internet - with his thoughtful and charming words thanking and sending well-wishes to people struggling everywhere.

"In 1971, Bossier City, Louisiana, there was a teenage girl who was pregnant with her second child. She was a high school dropout and a single mom, but somehow she managed to make a better life for herself and her children," he said. "She encouraged her kids to be creative, to work hard, and to do something special. That girl is my mother, and she's here tonight. And I just want to say, I love you, Mom. Thank you for teaching me to dream."

[Related: Complete List of 2014 Academy Awards Winners]

But the dreaminess didn't just end with the ode to his mother or his remarks of appreciation for his brother, Shannon Leto, a member of his band, 30 Seconds to Mars. He then took the opportunity to send a little love to places in the world facing difficult times.

"To all the dreamers out there around the world watching this tonight in places like the Ukraine and Venezuela, I want to say we are here and as you struggle to make your dreams happen, to live the impossible. We're thinking of you tonight," he said before thanking the members of the "Dallas Buyers Club" cast and crew.

He concluded with one more poignant acknowledgment: "This for the 36 million people who have lost the battle to AIDS and to those of you out there who have ever felt injustice because of who you are or who you love. Tonight I stand here in front of the world with you and for you."

Not surprisingly, the Twitterverse loved it:

He shared his joy backstage in the pressroom as well, allowing members of the media to touch his Oscar and even take selfies with it. "If you have swine flu, please don't touch it," he warned, adding, "Who's your favorite Oscar winner tonight?"

[Related: Jared Leto and June Squibb -- The Best Couple at the Oscars?]

Leto expressed some similar sentiments in his rousing — and much longer — speech Saturday at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, as well as thanking "all the women I've been with and all the women who think they've been with me," Wayne Gretzky, the inventor of the zipper, "the makers of vegan butter," and "the 7 billion people on the planet," among others.