Adam Sandler’s AARP Movies for Grownups Career Achievement Speech

While Adam Sandler performs a more dramatic function in the current “Jay Kelly,” his speech at AARP’s Movies for Grownups Awards was all comedy. Sandler introduced down the home with a characteristically humorous deal with as he acquired the profession achievement honor at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills on Saturday. 

First greeting the viewers as his “silver-haired daddies” and “salt-and-pepper mommies,” Sandler said that many people in his life told him receiving an AARP award means he’s formally thought of outdated now. But, “It’s not because of this award,” Sandler continued. “I got 10 other reasons that let you know why.” 

The first cause? “The other day, I had to swallow a Viagra just to take a piss,” Sandler laughed. He joked that he has only one tastebud left (“Everything I eat now tastes like oatmeal”), his texts are so large they are often read by “anyone with a window seat on a Delta flight” and most of his high faculty reunion was spent with him saying “I’m so sorry to hear that.” “When I received the Academy Award screeners app, even though I press play on 44 different movies, I can only stay awake for a combined total of eight minutes,” said Sandler to raucous laughter. “To every one of you out there who are getting all the accolades, I must say I loved the first 30 seconds.” 

Sandler expressed gratitude to his household for supporting his goofiness after all these years in his speech. “Thank you to my lovely wife for staying with me even though no part of my body is where it used to be,” said Sandler. “Thank you to my two gorgeous children for not laughing every time I walk down the hallway shirtless.” 

To shut out, the actor thanked all the attendees in the room, including George Clooney, Kathy Bates, Noah Wyle, Laura Dern and more. “I promise to every one of you here tonight, I will make at least 50 more movies before I am dead. And at least 25 of them will be good.” 

Before Sandler took the stage, his longtime buddy Henry Winkler delivered an introduction for the star. Sandler could have outlined a era with comedic turns in beloved movies like “50 First Dates,” “Click” “The Wedding Singer” and “Bedtime Stories,” however “under that layer of comedy is this wonderful, sincere dramatic actor,“ Winkler said, pointing out Sandler’s excellence in “Uncut Gems” and “Jay Kelly.” “All the while, this man has never changed his Hawaiian shirt and sport shorts,” Winkler laughed. 

Sandler initially rose to fame for his stand-up comedy, getting his start on “Saturday Night Live” in 1990. Now a global film star, in 2025 alone, Sandler starred in each “Jay Kelly” and “Happy Gilmore 2.” 

“He is challenging the stereotypes of aging within Hollywood and across the country,” AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan told Variety about honoring Sandler. “People know him, people appreciate him. We laugh with him. We cry with him. We’ve seen all of the different characters that he’s been able to represent so successfully. And as we think about someone who’s had such an expansive career, we can think of no one better. He has a body of work that is representative of all the things that we can do as we age in this country.” 

In Netflix’s “Jay Kelly,” Sandler performs Ron Sukenick, Jay Kelly’s (George Clooney) agent and closest buddy. Sandler earned 2026 Critics Choice and Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actor for the function, and beforehand acquired a Critics Choice nomination in 2020 for best actor in Benny and Josh Safdie’s 2019 crime thriller “Uncut Gems.” Sandler also acquired the Chairman’s Award at the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Awards for his work in the movie “Jay Kelly.” 

The evening’s winners included George Clooney, who acquired the best actor award for “Jay Kelly” and Laura Dern, who acquired the best actress award for “Is This Thing On?” Regina Hall gained best supporting actress for her function in “One Battle After Another” and Delroy Lindo took dwelling the best supporting actor award for “Sinners.”

AARP’s Movies For Grownups Awards has celebrated leisure by and for people ages 50 and up for more than 20 years, working to fight ageism and acknowledge the expertise and experience of older actors and filmmakers. Alan Cumming, Tony- and Emmy Award-winning host of “The Traitors,” hosted the awards. The full ceremony will premiere on “Great Performances” on PBS and the PBS app on Feb. 22.