Emma Stone Opens up About the Two Most Iconic Scenes in Movie History

While she’ll forever cherish the experiences she had working on the likes of The Amazing Spider-Man and Easy A, these movies are a far cry from the surreal titles she has attached herself to in recent years.

Thanks to a recurring partnership with Yorgos Lanthimos, she has entered a phase of her career defined by bold, boundary-pushing art. The pair just seem to understand one another perfectly, resulting in unforgettable performances in The Favourite and, of course, Poor Things, which won Stone an Oscar.

She can do musicals—whether we liked it or not, La La Land was everywhere in 2016—but she can also transform into someone unrecognisable, as Bugonia recently demonstrated. You’ll struggle to find someone as versatile as Stone these days, and it’s no surprise that she has already begun racking up Oscar nominations with enough speed to make Meryl Streep a bit nervous.

While Streep remains the titan with 21 nods, Stone has already reached seven at 37 years old, recently surpassing Streep’s own record as the youngest woman to hit that milestone. Clearly, Stone knows what makes a good film—an Oscar-winning one, even—so it’s no surprise that the two scenes she has identified as some of the greatest in Hollywood are stone-cold classics.

The first is an iconic monologue delivered by Peter Finch in Sidney Lumet’s Network, which famously earned the actor a posthumous Oscar. When asked about a role that reminds her of what great acting is, she pointed to Finch’s raincoat-clad storm onto the camera.

His character, Howard Beale, becomes increasingly erratic as he breaks down on live TV, and the speech in which he exclaims I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore! has gone down as one of the most iconic in cinema history.

Stone noted that Finch didn’t just play the role, but that he just was that part and was clearly meant to play Howard Beale. She finds inspiration in performances where an actor seems truly destined for a specific character.

The other scene that Stone cherishes takes us back to the 1930s. The actor adores a good Charlie Chaplin movie, but in particular, she’s obsessed with the closing moments of City Lights.

She confessed to the interviewer that she often watches the ending alone on YouTube and finds herself in tears. The romantic film, which follows Chaplin’s Tramp as he falls for a blind flower seller, concludes with a sequence Stone describes as the most beautiful thing.

She is specifically moved by the way Chaplin looks at the woman after she regains her sight, noting he has so much love in his eyes. The silent interaction, where she realises his identity, and they share a brief, poignant exchange about her being able to see, remains her favourite ending of all time.

For Stone, these moments represent the pinnacle of cinematic emotional power and the standard she strives for in her own work. Currently, Stone is enjoying a highly successful year so far, having most recently led the nominations at the 79th BAFTA Film Awards on February 22.

She dazzled on the red carpet in London in a custom Louis Vuitton gown, celebrating her Lead Actress nomination for the sci-fi dark comedy Bugonia. The film, which marks her fourth collaboration with Lanthimos, follows a conspiracy-obsessed man who kidnaps a CEO he believes is an alien.

Beyond the awards circuit, Stone is staying busy with several high-profile upcoming projects. She is set to star in Plastic Man, a unique DC Studios project where she will appear alongside Tom Hiddleston, expected in 2027.

With her production company, Fruit Tree, continuing to produce daring content, it is clear that Stone’s influence behind the scenes is growing as rapidly as her acclaim in front of the camera.

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