London Critics' Circle Winner Joaquin Phoenix Deflects Attention to Daniel Day-Lewis

Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor at the London Critics' Circle awards, which took place on Sunday, for his performance in "The Master." Though he was unable to be there, his acceptance speech was read aloud.

He wrote, "I struggle with the idea of winning awards for acting. Stating I'm Best Actor for something as subjective as film seems strange to me. To the uninitiated it implies I'm solely responsible for the creation of the character. I am not."

He thanked his co-stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, as well as their director Paul Thomas Anderson.

Phoenix has in the past been an outspoken critic of the Oscars, of the hype, the pretentiousness and the competition. He once called the ceremony "the stupidest thing in the whole world," while later admitting that they had greatly benefited his career. Phoenix can't entirely write off the Oscars, which was clear enough at the end of his acceptance speech, when he comically added, "P.S. There's an up-and-coming actor named Daniel who's in a movie called 'Lincoln.' You should check it out."

Day-Lewis is expected to win his third Oscar next month for his remarkable portrayal of pivotal U.S. president Abraham Lincoln.