Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon

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"So now you hear 'Oscar® buzz,'" Oprah asks Joaquin and Reese. "Does it matter at all to you when you hear that?"

"It's very flattering just to hear you say that," Joaquin says. "It's obviously a great honor. It's strange. Before we even started making the movie I was talking to [Director James] Mangold and I said, 'This movie has already repaid me. This process, the preparation has been so fulfilling to me as an actor that no matter what happens—whether it's considered successful or critically acclaimed, I feel rewarded. And anything beyond that you start to feel greedy."

Reese agrees. "When you make movies," she says, "You just want people to see them. I'm always shocked when more than my mother shows up! ... When people love them and take them to heart, that's the biggest reward. And everything else is icing." The buzz was right. Both Reese and Joaquin were nominated for Academy Awards!