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Which actor delivered the “I’m mad as hell” speech in Network?

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Sidney Lumet in a tuxedo holds his Honorary Academy Award and smiles backstage at the 77th Annual Academy Awards, with a gold Oscar statue in the background. — Sidney Lumet American director Sidney Lumet after receiving an Academy Award for lifetime achievement, 2005.

The actor who delivered the famous "I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore" speech in the film Network (1976) was Peter Finch.

Finch portrayed the unbalanced television newscaster Howard Beale in the film, a role that earned him an Academy Award. Notably, he became the first performer to receive an Oscar posthumously, as he passed away from a heart attack several months before the awards ceremony took place.1