Oscar-Winning Film Editor Paul Rogers Has Twitter in Frenzy Over His Leading Man Looks

Was a star born at the Oscars on Sunday when film editor Paul Rogers took to the podium to accept his award for Best Editing? You might think so from the way social media responded.

While Rogers is happily married – he even had a character named after his wife in "Everything Everywhere All At Once" – the suavely handsome techie had many swooning as he accepted his award.

His natural charm and ease made for one of the best acceptance speeches of a night filled with strong ones.

"This is my second film, y'all, this is crazy," Rogers said during his acceptance speech, which drew laughs from the live audience. "Avatar: The Way of Water" stars Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver presented the award. He was up against some serious competition, including Eddie Hamilton for "Top Gun: Maverick," Jonathan Redmond and Matt Villa for "Elvis," Monika Willi for "Tár," and Mikkel E.G. Nielsen for "The Banshees of Inisherin."

His "y'all" was also perfectly authentic: Rogers is an Alabama native.

Rogers thanked the Daniels, as well as the cast, saying it was his honor to work with them. He thanked his wife ("the most incredible woman in the room") and his mom, as he awaited her scream, which she delivered on cue.

"Dan and Daniel..." the Homewood High School graduate continued, "We're not here because of the incredible, wonderful, strange, beautiful movies you make. We're here because you guys are incredible, kind, generous, strange, sexy people. And if all of this goes away, we're still here with you."

Rogers studied film at the now-defunct College of Santa Fe where he discovered he wanted to pursue the craft of film editing. "He began his career editing documentaries for public television before moving to Los Angeles where he met 'Everything Everywhere' directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. In 2014, they collaborated on the music video for DJ Snake's hit song 'Turn Down For What.' Rogers has previously edited one other feature film, 'The Death of Dick Long,' which was also directed by Daniel Scheinert," reports the website HITC.

In a pre-Oscar interview with CNBC Make It, Rogers said that working as an editor on narrative films such as "Everything Everywhere All at Once" wasn't where he initially thought he would doing while studying. "That's not how I saw my career going," Rogers told CNBC Make It. "The type of films and work I'm interested in didn't seem like it fit that narrative."

But when Rogers began to get demands from his fellow students while at college to utilize his editing skills, he realized that this would be his career. "Since then, Rogers has enjoyed a widely varied career, and has graduated from editing on an old school Steenbeck to using Adobe Premiere Pro," writes CNBS Make It. "He spent years in his home state of Alabama editing documentaries for public television before eventually moving to Los Angeles where he met 'Everything Everywhere' directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert."

"We never in our wildest dreams thought it was an Oscars type of film," Rogers told CNBC Make It. "I mean, it was a joke between us when we cut the butt plug fight scene of 'oh, yeah, this scene is for the Oscar voters for sure.' " The film was a word-of-mouth success after its initial release a year ago after its premiere at South By Southwest (SXSW). As of March 12, 2023, "Everything Everywhere All at Once" has grossed $73.8 million in the United States and Canada and $34.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $108 million.

But despite his success in Hollywood, it is the craft that satisfies Rogers. "I like to think that if I stayed at public television in Alabama I would be just as happy and satisfied with my career," Rogers reflected. "I don't think that there's one recipe for success. If you can earn a paycheck and support yourself and your family if you have one, that is the definition of success in this industry."