Leonardo DiCaprio ended years of disappointment while Spotlight was the surprise winner of best picture on an Oscars night dominated by the diversity controversy.
Hollywood heartthrob DiCaprio beat Eddie Redmayne, Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon and Michael Fassbender to take home the best actor gong for his role in The Revenant at the 88th Academy Awards.
The star was first nominated for an Oscar 23 years ago in a supporting role, and has since been nominated four more times for acting, including this year, but had never won until now.
SCROLL DOWN FOR FULL LIST OF WINNERS
Newspaper drama Spotlight was the underdog in the best picture category but was triumphant in beating favourite The Revenant to the coveted award.
Thought of as the top honour handed out by the Academy, Spotlight was not widely expected to win best picture and the film won only one other award on the night, taking the gong for best original screenplay.
Such a sparsely-awarded best picture winner has not appeared since 1952's The Greatest Show On Earth.
Spotlight is about the Boston Globe's investigative reporting on sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests.
The film, which was nominated for six Oscars, looks at the scandal in Boston, and the collusion and reluctance of the local community to face up to it.
Host Chris Rock did not shy away from the diversity issues plaguing this year's awards and opened the ceremony by declaring Hollywood is "racist" and admitting he considered boycotting the ceremony because of the absence of black nominees.
The comedian, who welcomed the audience in the Dolby Theatre to the "white People's Choice Awards", cracked a series of jokes about the race issue and added the controversy over police shootings of black suspects in the US to his targets.
The most awards of the night went to Mad Max: Fury Road, which managed to take home six Oscars in total, followed by The Revenant with three and Spotlight winning two.
British singer Sam Smith picked up the best original song Oscar and dedicated his award to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
Smith co-wrote the song Writing's On The Wall with fellow Briton Jimmy Napes for the latest James Bond movie, Spectre. He follows in the footsteps of Adele, who won the Oscar in 2013 for the Bond instalment Skyfall.
An emotional Smith took to the stage with Napes and said: "I read an article a few months ago by Sir Ian McKellen and he said no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar. I want to dedicate this to the LGBT community all around the world. I stand here tonight as a proud gay man and I hope we can all stand together as equals one day."
Celebrating his win backstage, Smith said he wished he could discuss his triumph with former Bolton School pupil Sir Ian.
He told the Press Association: "I wish I had his number, I don't know him, I just love Gandalf."
The stars of Steve Jobs, directed by Radcliffe's Danny Boyle, missed out on Oscars glory.
Best picture
Winner: Spotlight
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Best actor
Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant
Bryan Cranston - Trumbo
Matt Damon - The Martian
Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl
Best actress
Winner: Brie Larson - Room
Cate Blanchett - Carol
Jennifer Lawrence - Joy
Charlotte Rampling - 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn
Best supporting actor
Winner: Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies
Christian Bale - The Big Short
Tom Hardy - The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight
Sylvester Stallone - Creed
Best supporting actress
Winner: Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl
Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara - Carol
Rachel McAdams - Spotlight
Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs
Best director
Winner: Alejandro Inarritu - The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson - Room
Tom McCarthy - Spotlight
Adam McKay - The Big Short
George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road
Best adapted screenplay
Winner: The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room
Best original screenplay
Winner: Spotlight
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Straight Outta Compton
Best animated film
Winner: Inside Out
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There
Best foreign language film
Winner: Son of Saul - Hungary
Embrace of the Serpent - Colombia
Mustang - France
Theeb - Jordan
A War - Denmark
Best animated short
Winner: Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay's Super Team
We Can't Live without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow
Best cinematography
Winner: The Revenant
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
Sicario
Best costume design
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
The Revenant
Best documentary feature
Winner: Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
Best documentary short
Winner: A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
Last Day of Freedom
Best editing
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
The Big Short
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Best live action short
Winner: Stutterer
Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)
Shok
Best make-up and hair
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
The Revenant
Best original score
Winner: The Hateful Eight, Ennio Morricone
Bridge of Spies
Carol
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Best original song
Winner: Writing's on the Wall, Sam Smith - Spectre
Earned It, The Weeknd - Fifty Shades of Grey
Manta Ray, J Ralph & Antony - Racing Extinction
Simple Song #3, Sumi Jo - Youth
Til It Happens To You, Lady Gaga - The Hunting Ground
Best production design
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
The Martian
The Revenant
Best sound editing
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Best sound mixing
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
Bridge of Spies
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Best visual effects
Winner: Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel