00:00Today, you will join that pantheon with star number 2825.
00:09Now, even though it's really a sacred place and a place of imagination,
00:14it's also a real place in the city of Los Angeles.
00:18And so on behalf of the City Council of Los Angeles and the council member who represents this district, Hugo Soto-Martinez,
00:26the city wishes to present you with a plaque, so now it's photo op time.
00:32Wait, let me put this down. I hope it doesn't. Oh.
00:36You can help it?
00:38We'll give it back.
00:40Okay.
01:14It is now my pleasure and honor to declare today, Naomi De,
01:20Naomi De in Hollywood.
01:28Thank you, Steve.
01:32Thank you, everyone.
01:34As soon as I learned that I was going to receive this honor,
01:38I felt overcome with gratitude for everyone who's helped me to get to this moment.
01:44So I'd like to highlight three special people.
01:47My mother, Miv, who taught me about the joys of make-believe.
01:54David Lynch, who taught me that art has no limits.
01:58And Ryan Murphy, who taught me there's still so much more to learn.
02:03My mom used to give my brother and I, she channeled through to us this creative spark.
02:09We used to peek through the windows of abandoned houses and imagine who lived there.
02:14And what would the house look like if we lived there?
02:17The first time I saw her acting up close, I was four years old,
02:20sitting in the front row watching my mom play Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.
02:26She was so gorgeous, gliding across the stage in her wig
02:29and talking in this funny voice in this special dress.
02:32And I kept waving at her.
02:35I was confused as to why she wasn't waving back at me.
02:38But finally she gave me this little hand gesture, a little wink, and went back to playing her part.
02:45But in that moment I understood the world of make-believe.
02:49And I wanted to be a part of it.
02:51From then on I signed up for the Shoreham Players in Kent every season.
02:56But I never thought that being in those skits or plays might just one day become a job.
03:01And I thought it was just a hobby like gymnastics or needlepoint or memorizing every word to Davey Bowie's songs.
03:08As a young adult I booked a few gigs here and there, mainly tampon commercials, some bit parts, a soap opera.
03:16But I dreamed for more. So I moved to America and I began landing a few roles.
03:21Some solid roles like Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle.
03:25And Children of the Corn for The Gathering.
03:29Now honestly I would have been happy just to be a working actor for the rest of my life, just making enough to cover the rent.
03:35But when I hit a run of bad luck I started bombing audition after audition.
03:41And the fewer jobs I booked, the more desperate I became.
03:44I wanted to give up.
03:46But then David Lynch entered my life.
03:51I'd just flown to New York City to see my mum and brother and I'd spent my last few pennies on theatre tickets.
03:57I was literally on the way to the theatre when I got a call saying,
04:01you've got to come back immediately to meet David Lynch.
04:04I'd broken plans before with fancy directors and they'd gone nowhere.
04:09So I was inclined to stay and see the play I'd spend money on.
04:13But David's brilliant casting director, Joanna Ray, here in the audience,
04:21had called me a few times before and persuaded me that this time the odds were better.
04:26The way David worked, he'd go through a pile of photographs and maybe pick out four or five people to meet.
04:33And if you're girl number three and he sees you and it's a fit, that's it.
04:37He doesn't meet anyone else.
04:39And so that moment changed my life forever.
04:42Thank you, Joanna.
04:45While my mother David and Ryan are the three influencers I most want to highlight,
04:54I have a few other people I want to thank just now.
04:58Peter Levine, my film agent, the longest man standing.
05:02He's the kindest person and he's seen me through thick and thin.
05:06Not only does he represent me, but he's taken the time to understand and curate my artistic appetite for decades.
05:14Thank you, Peter. I love you.
05:17Jason Weinberg, the fastest moving, fastest talking person I know.
05:23I'm so happy to call him my manager and my friend.
05:26He's the only person who can outlast me on the dance floor.
05:29And I've loved, loved raising our families together, Jason.
05:33I love you.
05:35Steve Warren, my sensitive, sweet, kind, sharp lawyer.
05:41I can turn to him for absolutely anything.
05:45We talk life, scripts, you name it.
05:47He's a champion for me and my whole family.
05:50I'm so glad that David led me to you.
05:53Robin Baum, my hardworking, no-nonsense publicist, the most elegant woman who's always a calm voice.
06:01She's seen me through all the highs and lows.
06:03Thank you for continuing to sound the trumpet about my career.
06:07Even if 90% of my interviews these days are about hot flashes.
06:13Howard Altman, my business manager.
06:16I'll never forget the first meeting in my trailer.
06:19I was dripping wet, fresh out of the well from shooting The Ring.
06:23Thank you for sticking with me, even though most of your clients are in Marvel movies with superhero, supersized paychecks.
06:30You must really like me or love a good challenge.
06:33Andrea Weintraub, my TV agent.
06:37She saved Robin from being the only woman on my team.
06:40Thank you for believing in me and expertly guiding my recent work into television.
06:45I'm so grateful for you.
06:48My first ever film agent, the OG, John Cann, back in Sydney, an early champion who sadly is no longer with us.
06:56He took me after one conversation.
06:59I remember running to the closest phone booth to scream down the line to my mom.
07:03He said yes.
07:05And my dear friend Nicole, an inspiration from the North Shore of Sydney, she made a dream seem tangible.
07:14Her encouragement along the way has always been my North Star.
07:19I love you, Nick.
07:20Thank you for your kind words.
07:23And there's so many more important people along the way.
07:26Kate Driver, Jennifer Grey, Lorena Spencer, Gretchen Rush, Daniel Crane, to name a few.
07:33Thank you for all your love and support.
07:35Also, some important collaborators.
07:37I want to thank Liz Himmelstein, my long-time dialect coach.
07:42She coached me for free on Mulholland Drive.
07:45And she's the one that makes work seem like play.
07:49And that is truly the best feeling.
07:51Mary Sweeney, the editor of Mulholland Drive.
07:55Thank you for keeping me in the movie.
07:58Gore Verbinski, who made me a scream queen.
08:03And Alejandro Gonzalez, who gave me not one but two incredible parts.
08:09My buddy and brother, Edward Norton, working with you on Painted Veil and Birdman together.
08:18We had such an incredible time.
08:20I truly, truly love you.
08:22We used to sit around and just listen to everything he had to say.
08:26He could talk and talk and talk.
08:29In fact, the only person who talks more than you is my husband.
08:35Thank you for talking here today.
08:37Actually, you didn't talk as much as I thought you would.
08:41Thank you, Ed. I love you.
08:46I love you so much.
08:48It's a real honor.
08:50And thank you so many more to my fantastic friends and collaborators.
08:55Jack Black.
08:56Yay.
08:57Kyle McLaughlin.
09:00And Laura Dern.
09:03Sean Penn.
09:04Bill Murray.
09:05Tim Roth.
09:06Elle Fanning.
09:07Susan Sarandon.
09:08Thank you to my All's Fair sisters.
09:11Kim, Tayana, Glenn.
09:13And here today, Sarah and Nisi.
09:16Thank you, my girls.
09:18Also, thank you to Tanase, Lou, and Sarah, part of the All's Fair team.
09:24A special thanks to the folks at Disney, Hulu, and FX who've made today possible.
09:29Dana Walden.
09:30John Landgraf.
09:31Michael Hatcher.
09:32Stephanie Levinson.
09:33Sharon Klein.
09:35Kerry Burke.
09:36Craig Erwick.
09:37Thank you so much.
09:40But just quickly, back to David.
09:43So I got off that flight and went straight to Joanna's office.
09:46For months, I'd been going into those castings where I could barely get eye contact or a handshake.
09:51This was different.
09:53This director was looking me in the eye and beaming.
09:56He looked so happy to be there with me.
09:59I felt instantly calm.
10:01This was an exchange and I was in no rush to leave.
10:04He brought out the absolute best in me.
10:07And he saw things in me I'd never seen in myself.
10:10So much of what it means to be an actor I learned from him.
10:13He used to live just a few blocks from here.
10:16And I feel some sort of comfort knowing that he'll be a neighbor here in spirit.
10:21David was a true mentor.
10:23Someone I could always reach out to.
10:25He used to call me his buttercup.
10:27On King Kong, he told me,
10:29Naomi, anyone who sits in the hand of King Kong will be a movie star for life.
10:35Maybe this is what he was talking about.
10:40And then there's Ryan Murphy.
10:44You know, it's not every director in Hollywood who's casting multiple women in the same project.
10:51But Ryan is.
10:53Ryan is a true champion for women.
10:56Who's not only become the architect of this new phase of my acting career,
11:01he's also become a dear friend along the way.
11:04Thank you for your beautiful words today, Ryan.
11:07Not only does he hire a lot of women, but he also gives us phenomenal parts.
11:13And recently, yes, I've become a bit of an advocate for my non-Hollywood life,
11:23and people call me the menopause lady.
11:26I consider today a moment where those two worlds collide.
11:30This honor is a testimony to the fact that a woman's viability does not end when she turns 40, 50, or 60, or 70, or onwards.
11:41And Ryan Murphy knows that.
11:43Am I right, ladies?
11:46Keep doing it, Ryan, please.
11:49This has truly been the most exciting time of my life.
11:53I recently got married for the first time.
11:56And my husband, Billy, whose talent is just extraordinary, has shown me phenomenal love and support.
12:07Marrying him might just be the kindest and nicest thing I've ever done for myself.
12:13I'm so proud of my kids.
12:16My son, Sasha, a freshman at USC, is here straight from class.
12:21He rolled in.
12:23And he's blossoming into the kindest, most charismatic young man.
12:27My daughter, Kai, a high school senior who's both fierce and fearless.
12:32And my stepson, Will, about to graduate from college, a young artist following in his father's footsteps and his whole family's footsteps.
12:39I love you guys so much.
12:41I share this with you.
12:43And to my late nana, the matriarch of our family, she taught me the value of hard work.
12:48There were goats to milk and chickens to feed.
12:51And she used to say to me, get off your dinger and get it done.
12:55And my brother, Ben, who's always been with me every step of the way, a witness to each other's lives.
13:02And it was his headshot, by the way, that helped me land Mulholland Drive in the first place.
13:09I love you, Ben.
13:10Thank you to my other family in the audience.
13:13Jean-Ann, Ruby, Gabby, Winston.
13:16Your support means the world.
13:17And to the incredible group of women in my life.
13:20So many women.
13:21I adore you.
13:23And including Emma and Bruna, who flew in from Australia, for Christ's sake.
13:27Also, to my dad.
13:32I miss you.
13:34I wish you were here.
13:36And lastly, I'd just like to say thank you to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for this great, great honor.
13:43The greatest of my life.
13:44And thank you for giving it to me now at exactly the right time.
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