When awards season ends, commencement season begins, when Hollywood's top talent and executives don robes and tassels to impart wisdom on a new crop of graduating students. THR looks back on their best commencement speech moments, as a slew of stars take to the podium for 2015 graduations (see the full list here).
"A lot of you will become the quiet heroes of our country — however, those of you who go on to work for Big Pharma or Philip Morris, you will be the loud antiheroes, and someone is certain to make an AMC series glamorizing you, so congratulations. But basically, either way, you can't go wrong."
— Mindy Kaling, Harvard (2014)
"Here’s the thing about changing the world. It turns out that’s not even the question, because you don’t have a choice. You are going to change the world, because that is actually what the world is. You do not pass through this life; it passes through you. You experience it, you interpret it, you act, and then it is different. That happens constantly. You are changing the world. You always have been, and now, it becomes real on a level that it hasn’t been before."
—Joss Whedon, Wesleyan (2013)
"The challenge of life, I have found, is to build a resume that doesn’t simply tell a story about what you want to be but it’s a story about who you want to be; it’s a resume that doesn’t just tell a story about what you want to accomplish, but why; a story that’s not just a collection of titles and positions, but a story that’s really about your purpose. Because when you inevitably stumble, and find yourself stuck in a hole, that is the story that will get you out."
— Oprah Winfrey, Harvard (2013)
"Your diploma does not represent the end of your education, but the beginning of your continuing education. Continue to listen and learn, with humility not hubris. Because that diploma you hold in your hands today is really just your learner’s permit for the rest of the drive through life. Remember, you don’t have to be smarter than the next person, all you have to do is be willing to work harder than the next person."
— Jimmy Iovine, USC (2013)
"I guarantee that you will come upon countless times in which the last thing you’re gonna want to say is, 'YES AND.' You will experience loss, heartache, the death of a loved one, you’ll probably have to say goodbye to a lover, you’ll experience rejection, maybe have to deal with a bad diagnosis. You’ll age. The trick isn’t to avoid these times or pretend they’re not happening; you can’t. What you’ll need to do is step up to them courageously and embrace them. Allow these experiences to permeate your being and weave them all into the fabric of your life. They will not only soften you and strengthen you, and you will open your heart to compassion."
— Jane Lynch, Smith College (2012)
"Don't ever forget that you're a citizen of this world, and there are things you can do to lift the human spirit, things that are easy, things that are free, things that you can do every day. Civility, respect, kindness, character. You're too good for schadenfreude, you're too good for gossip and snark, you're too good for intolerance—and since you're walking into the middle of a presidential election, it's worth mentioning that you're too good to think people who disagree with you are your enemy. Unless they went to Georgetown, in which case, they can go to hell."
— Aaron Sorkin, Syracuse (2012)
"The world might say you are not allowed to do that. I waited a long time on the world before I gave myself permission to fail. Please, don't even bother asking. Don't bother telling the world you are ready. Show it. Do it."
— Peter Dinklage, Bennington College (2012)
"Fear is whispered in our ears and shouted in our faces. Faith must be fostered by the man or woman you see everyday in the mirror. The former forever snaps at our heels and delays our course; the latter can spur our boot heels to be wandering, stimulate our creativity and drive us forward. Fear or faith, which will be our master?"
— Tom Hanks, Yale (2011)
"Those are the decisions are going to have to make, when to compromise how to compromise, if to compromise at all. You’re the big hot stuff right now but you’re entering into a whole new group and you have to hold your own. You cannot hold your own if you’re rigid. You have to be able to serve."
— Whoopi Goldberg, Savannah College of Art and Design (2011)
"No specific job or career goal defines me and it should not define you. In 2000, I told graduates to not be afraid to fail, and I still believe that. But today, I tell you that whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come. The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality."
— Conan O'Brien, Dartmouth (2011)
"There are very few rules to improvisation, but one of the things I was taught early on is that you are not the most important person in the scene. Everybody else is. And if they are the most important people in the scene, you will naturally pay attention to them and serve them. But the good news is you’re in the scene too. So hopefully to them, you’re the most important person, and they will serve you. No one is leading, you’re all following the follower, serving the servant. You cannot win improv. And life is an improvisation. You have no idea what’s going to happen next and you are mostly just making things up as you go along.”
— Stephen Colbert, Northwestern (2011)
"No matter what profession you choose, you all can make a choice to be aware of what is going on in your community. Choose to pay attention to issues of social justice and choose to make a real difference. Be the inspiration that fills the gap. You have so much power, so much opportunity; make sure this education, this amazing gift, doesn’t go to waste."
— John Legend, Kean University (2011)
"When you feel scared, hold someone's hand and look into their eyes. And when you feel brave, do the same thing. You are all here because you are smart. And you are brave. And if you add kindness and the ability to change a tire, you almost make up the perfect person."
— Amy Poehler, Harvard (2011)
"You will fail at some point in your life. Accept it. You will lose. You will embarrass yourself. You will suck at something. There is no doubt about it. … Never be discouraged. Never hold back. Give everything you’ve got. And when you fall throughout life — and maybe even tonight after a few too many glasses of champagne — fall forward. "
— Denzel Washington, University of Pennsylvania (2011)
"You don't have to be famous. You just have to make your mother and father proud of you, and you already have."
— Meryl Streep, Barnard (2010)
"Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy — they’re given after all. Choices can be hard. You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you’re not careful, and if you do, it’ll probably be to the detriment of your choices."
— Jeff Bezos, Princeton (2010)
"Pinocchio went out into the world. He went on his road filled with good intentions, with a vision. He went ready to do all the things he dreamed, but he was pulled this way and that. He was distracted. He faltered. He made mistakes. But he kept on. Pinocchio, in the end, became himself — because the little flame inside him, no matter what crap he went through, would not be extinguished. … We are Pinocchio over and over again — we achieve our goal, we become a level of ourselves, and then we want to go further. And we make new mistakes, and we have new hardships, but we prevail. We are human. We are alive. We have blood."
— Patti Smith, Pratt (2010)
"As you grow, you’ll realize the definition of success changes. For many of you, today, success is being able to hold down twenty shots of tequila. For me, the most important thing in your life is to live your life with integrity, and not to give into peer pressure; to try to be something that you’re not. To live your life as an honest and compassionate person; to contribute in some way. So to conclude my conclusion: follow your passion, stay true to yourself. Never follow anyone else’s path, unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path, and by all means you should follow that."
— Ellen Degeneres, Tulane (2009)
"Red Sonja, Hercules in New York, Last Action Hero. Those movies went in the toilet. But that's okay, because at the same time I made movies like Terminator, Conan, True Lies, Predator and Twins that went through the roof. So you can't always win, but don't afraid of making decisions. You can't be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision and you know that it is the right thing to do, and success will come. So don't be afraid to fail."
— Arnold Schwarzenegger, USC (2009)
"You should also know there are a lot of really mean stupid bosses out there. But there are also some really good ones that do good things. When you work for other people you'll find … that they do know what's best for them, and for the company. And you should listen to them and be respectful, but they don't know what's best for you. Only you know that. And whether you are working for yourself or someone else you should find that and know that. "
— Mike Judge, UC San Diego (2009)
"Given a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes."
— J.K. Rowling, Harvard (2008)
"How lucky to find you have the option of filling your life with your passions. And no, not everyone does. You have the privilege of creating meaning in your life so that others might also come to enjoy that privilege. Do not waste it trying to become someone you’re not. Use it to become who you are already."
— Jodie Foster, University of Pennsylvania (2006)
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. … Stay hungry; stay foolish."
— Steve Jobs, Stanford (2005)
"Sing the melody line you hear in your own head. Remember, you don't owe anybody any explanations, you don't owe your parents any explanations, you don't owe your professors any explanations. I used to think the future was solid or fixed, something you inherited like an old building that you move into when the previous generation moves out or gets chased out. But it's not. The future is not fixed; it's fluid. You can build your own building, or hut or condo, whatever; this is the metaphor part of the speech by the way. But my point is that the world is more malleable than you think and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape."
"As you set off into the world, don’t be afraid to question your leaders. But don’t ask too many questions at one time or that are too hard because your leaders get tired and/or cranky."
— Will Ferrell, Harvard (2003)
"Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women."
— Nora Ephron, Wellesley (1996)