I’m here to present to Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson. Brie is someone whose advocacy work expands to every part of her life, from the roles she chooses to play, the causes she chooses to spoke, and the people she chooses to have in her life. The first time I met Brie was through Time’s Up. We were a handful of actresses in the room sharing stories and I was immediately struck by her all-encompassing warmth, her completely unique way of seeing the world, and her razor-sharp intellect. She was in her twenties and had already directed a film, won an acting Oscar and could bench 350 pounds with her hips, which I saw on the video, it’s pretty amazing. And, not to mention she could light and heat a metropolis with the warmth of her smile. It became quickly clear that Brie would become a leader. She recognized the large injustice in representation in our industry immediately. At our first meeting, she already raised very specific issues to tackle, such as the representation among film critics and journalists. Then she had a plan of action that she worked tirelessly, and I mean tirelessly, to put into place. And suddenly, a practice that we had all become used to — namely, being interviewed by only white men — was questioned at every junket, every premiere. — Natalie Portman presents the award to Brie Larson at Variety’s Power of Women