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