Motivational speeches in films can be make or break.
A rousing speech, coupled with a soaring musical score and everyone's on their feet cheering along. It'll give you the drive you need to get up out of the seat, chase your dreams and beat the odds.
Here's the ten best motivational speeches in film history.
10. COACH CARTER - "You men played like champions... you never gave up."
If ever there was a man to demand respect with an authoritative voice, it's Samuel L. Jackson. Based on the true-life story of Coach Ken Carter, the film follows his dogged determination and willingness to push his students harder, both on and off the court. The finale sees Carter talking to his team and letting them know that it's OK to get knocked down and pushed back - just so long as that doesn't stop them.
9. BRAVEHEART - "You've come to fight as free men... and free men you are!"
In the face of insurmountable odds with a slim chance of victory, most would turn and head for the hills. But when you've got Mel Gibson's highly-Hollywood-ised version of William Wallace on your side, you're going nowhere. In the crowning point of Braveheart, Wallace addresses the free men of Scotland before the Battle of Stirling and urges them on, motivating them that their dream of a free and independent Scotland is worth all. Trivia time! That entire scene was filmed on the Curragh Plains in Co. Kildare with actual soldiers from the Reserve Defence Forces making up the numbers.
8. RUDY - "Since when are you the quitting kind?"
Whatever about chasing your dreams and failing, there's something much worse in never trying at all. That's the focus of this speech from 1993's sports drama, Rudy. Sean Astin plays a young college football player who's been fighting uphill to make his way through Notre Dame College and onto the football team. However, when a new coach replaces his original coach, Rudy's put on the bench and, in a fit of anger, he quits the team. It's then that he meets Fortune, the groundskeeper, who chastises him for quitting so easily and reveals something about himself that forces Rudy on. A key scene in a brilliant sports movie.
7. MIGHTY DUCKS 2 - "Ducks fly together."
Who amongst us didn't want to lace up ice-skating boots after seeing The Mighty Ducks or the follow-up, Mighty Ducks 2? It's all down to Coach Gordon Bombay and his winning, inspirational speeches. This one especially, from D2, shows us that winning isn't everything - it's about winning the right way. Also, keep an eye out for a Daredevil castmember on the Ducks' team. DUCKS FLY TOGETHER!
6. WE ARE MARSHALL - "You've gotta lay that heart on the line, men."
Matthew McConaughey is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the finest actors working today. Although he went through a long phase of starring in insipid romantic comedies, there's one glint of a brilliant movie during that period - We Are Marshall. Based on the true story of the aftermath of a horrific plane crash that claimed the lives of an entire college football team, McConaughey manages to convince the college to continue the program after the tragedy. In one of the final scenes in the film, McConaughey talks about facing tragedy and powering through adversity. It's a brilliant scene and reminds us that McConaughey is a force of talent.
5. ROCKY BALBOA - "It ain't about how hard you hit..."
Although Rocky Balboa didn't win over critics in the same way as Creed, one of the best scenes in the film sees Sylvester Stallone imparting some hard-learned advice to his son, Milo Ventimiligia. It says a lot that Stallone both directed and wrote this scene and there's a sense that he's addressing himself as much as anyone. There's a brilliant featurette about how Stallone made Rocky back in 1975, about how he was almost broke and his last, final shot was his script for Rocky. Almost 40 years on, he hasn't lost that drive.
4. INVICTUS - "Listen to your country!"
It's a short scene, but when you see it in context, it makes absolute sense. Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, bloodied and out of breath, urging his team on and with the country at their backs. In 1995, South Africa was still a deeply divided country with a bloody history and racial tensions between the Afrikaners and the indigenous people. However, Nelson Mandela's support of the Springboks and his encouragement of the team under Pienaar drove the team on to victory against New Zealand.
3. REMEMBER THE TITANS - "Let's rule it like titans!"
Denzel Washington knows how to command a scene, but it's this moment towards the middle of Remember The Titans that we see Washington pull both the team together and the audience in. It's a short little scene, but again like Invictus, when seen in the context of the film, it's just brilliant. Denzel plays a coach in an American football team, working with a desegregated team and trying to get them to pull together. After a grueling training camp, he sends them out for their first match with a motivational speech that'd get anyone pumped.
2. HOOSIERS - "Remember what got you here."
Hoosiers is an oft-overlooked sports drama with a brilliant central performance by Gene Hackman. This scene, towards the finale of the film, talks about how it's not about winning or losing - it's about remembering the effort and the drive that go you there in the first place and honouring that commitment. You can see the honesty and the intensity in Hackman's performance, but it's all so understated compared to anything on this list that it's quietly powerful.
1. ANY GIVEN SUNDAY - "The inches we need are all around us."
If anyone can deliver a speech, it's Al Pacino and Oliver Stone. Whether it's Platoon, Wall Street, even Scarface, Oliver Stone knows how to write a speech and Al Pacino knows how to deliver it. This rousing speech from Any Given Sunday is often quoted and shared and it's easy to see why. It's heartfelt, brutally honest and compelling. Al Pacino's character, a beaten-down, world-weary coach, tries to impart his own experiences to the team whilst acknowledging that it's easy to be dismayed, but that giving up should never be an option.
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