Veteran actor Jamie Lee Curtis was felicitated with an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by the American Film Institute at the conservatory’s commencement ceremony.
The event was held at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Saturday, reported Variety.
“If you look at the paper, I’m not supposed to be here,” Curtis stated as began her speech. “I am the underachiever who just was awarded this incredible honour.”
“I am, for you graduates, the representation of the underachiever who has achieved,” Curtis continued. “I am an artist, I can say it to you today. I could not tell you that when I was 19 years old and didn’t know what I was going to do. I can tell you I became an actor by accident. My parents became actors by accident.”
The award was presented to Curtis by filmmaker John Carpenter — who cast Curtis as Laurie Strode in the classic horror movie, marking her film debut.
“Jamie Lee was and is an instinctive actress,” Carpenter said of Curtis’ performance in the 1978 film. “She has quite a pedigree, her parents were famous movie stars [Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis]. And she herself was, and is, a force of nature.”
In her final words to the MFA graduates, Curtis told them to “stay open, stay free, stay engaged, stay absolutely enthusiastic. Don’t get lazy. Don’t think you deserve something more than you’re going to get. Fight for it. Work for it. Save the universe, please. God bless you all, thank you.”
She also took to Instagram on Saturday and expressed happiness on receiving such honour.
“I never thought in my life that I would get a degeee from an institution of higher learning like @americanfilminstitute and to have the maestro @johncarpenterofficial award it. Their students are our future in the arts and we are all so lucky that they attended such an important institution with its incredible leadership and faculty. I thank them all for their warm welcome and gracious reception,” she posted.
Previous recipients of honorary AFI degrees include Michelle Yeoh, Robert Altman, Maya Angelou, Saul Bass, Angela Bassett, Kathryn Bigelow, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Clint Eastwood, Rita Moreno, Spike Lee and Jodie Foster among others.