Frances McDormand joined the ranks of Julianne Moore to become only the second actress to win best female lead honors twice at the Spirit Awards.
The Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri star on Saturday took the stage at the awards ceremony and immediately relished in the fact that she could swear (IFC doesn’t censor swearing, as opposed to other networks that air various awards shows). “I continue to be amazed that you let me get to the microphone,” she said. “What are you, crazy?”
McDormand continued, “Do you know how hard it’s been not to swear over the last couple of months? Because this award convention goes on for fucking ever.”
The actress thanked her son and Three Billboards co-stars for putting up with her swearing, though she said the film’s director, Martin McDonagh, knows that a “well-placed ‘fuck’ makes a sentence sing like nothing else.”
McDormand also gave a shout-out to her “new friends,” one of whom she just referred to as “Chloe” (perhaps The Rider director Chloe Zhao), who she said she thinks she already has a contract with.
The actress also reflected on past Spirit Awards, saying she’s old enough to remember when it was a beach party. “I’m also old enough to have a little memory loss, so, maybe it wasn’t a beach party.” She imagined what the ceremony would be like if it was — wearing pajamas and slippers (which McDormand was), sitting on a beach blanket, playing volleyball and going to one of her “all-time favorite eating establishments,” Hot Dog on a Stick.
“And then, just think how much money we would have left over to make independent films,” she said, wrapping up her speech.
McDormand won out over Beatriz at Dinner‘s Salma Hayek, I, Tonya‘s Margot Robbie, Lady Bird‘s Saoirse Ronan, Oh Lucy!’s Shinobu Terajima and Life and Nothing More‘s Regina Williams.
McDormand already has won a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Award and more for her performance in Three Billboards and is up for an Oscar at Sunday night’s ceremony.
Last year’s best female lead win for Isabelle Huppert broke the four-year streak of the Spirit Awards’ winner also going on to take home the Oscar for best actress.
Nick Kroll and John Mulaney hosted the 33rd Film Independent Spirit Awards, which took place in Santa Monica and aired on IFC.
