Philippe Petit Balances Oscar on His Chin

Posted on February 23, 2009

Philippe Petit proved he hasn't lost anything since his days of walking on wires by balancing an Oscar on his chin. The documentary Man on Wire, which was about Philippe Petit's high-wire walk between the Twin Towers in 1974, won the Oscar in the documentary category.

James Marsh and Simon Chinn won the award but they let Petit come up and speak since the film was about him. Here's what Petit had to say:

The shortest speech in Oscar history: "Yes!" But I always the break the rule, I break my own rules very quickly and of course this film would have not been made without my Kathy. And also, Werner, I always carry the coin you gave me. And you were right. We won. So now it's time to thank the Academy for believing in magic.

Here's a clip of Petit balancing the oscar on his chin.

The impressively entertaining Petit also balanced a rose on his nose backstage.

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