Dakota Fanning speech at Michelle Pfeiffer's handprint and footprint ceremony at the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival

MaximoTV

https://www.maximotv.com Actress Dakota Fanning gave a speech at Michelle Pfeiffer's handprint and footprint ceremony at the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, USA.  This video is available for editorial use in all media and worldwide. To ensure compliance and proper licensing of this video, please contact us at https://www.maximotv.com. ©MaximoTV #maximotv  🇺🇸

Transcript

00:00I am so incredibly honored to be here today to commemorate the first actress I ever worked with

00:09and a North Star for me, the one and only Michelle Pfeiffer. At six years old, I worked with Michelle

00:17on my first film, I am Sam. What a stroke of luck for me. The obvious things about Michelle are her

00:24undeniable talent and her otherworldly beauty, but the most obvious qualities, once you get to know

00:30her and work with her, are kindness and grace. She leads with a quiet strength, often soft-spoken,

00:38but never without meticulous thought. I saw her as this magical woman when I was six years old,

00:44and I am looking at her the same standing here today. I have told this story publicly before,

00:51but it is worth saying again in this forum. I turned seven on I am Sam, and I didn't have many

00:57scenes with Michelle, just a few, but she was there on my seventh birthday. I walked in that morning to

01:04a fully decorated trailer and was invited into hers to be showered in birthday Barbies.

01:12I could not believe what was happening. I was so excited, and as I have grown up, I have never,

01:18ever forgotten it. Not only because it was special and singular, not many can say Michelle Pfeiffer

01:25decorated their trailer and gave them Barbie presents on a movie set on their seventh birthday,

01:29but it set an example of the kind of person to be with a young actor on set, to go out of your way

01:37to make them feel seen and special. She created a memory that I will never forget, and a memory that

01:44became indelible to the foundation of my understanding of what it means to be a pillar in

01:49our industry. I had the privilege of working with Michelle again almost exactly 20 years later on

01:56The First Lady. Her transformation into Betty Ford was awe-inspiring, but the thing I am most grateful

02:03for from that experience was getting to know Michelle in a new way as a 27-year-old woman.

02:08She has given me precious advice, and we have laughed many times until we have cried.

02:15I cherish every moment I spend with you. The overt gestures are the fun stories to tell,

02:21but the way you conduct yourself in the quiet moments in between are the true landmarks of your

02:26character. I remember being a little girl and visiting this magical place of hand and footprints,

02:32placing my tiny hand into the hands of all the movie stars. This would have been very shortly

02:37before I met Michelle for the first time, and to think that I am here to be a part of this moment

02:42is surreal, to say the least. There is no one more deserving of being commemorated in this way

02:47than Michelle. Your brilliance on screen is only eclipsed by who you are as a human being.

02:55You have set an example of what is possible professionally, but the key to that success

02:59is inextricably tied to the caliber of your heart.

03:02I hope you feel seen today in the way you have always seen me and countless others. You are

03:08exceptional in all the ways to count. It is a joy to celebrate you, and I love you very much.

03:14Thank you very much.

Recommended

Category

Transcript

Recommended