After 22 years and six nominations, movie fans would say it’s about time Leonardo DiCaprio got his due. At the 88th Academy Awards ceremony last night, to a standing ovation, Leo finally got his hands around the statuette he so truly deserves, being named Best Actor for his gripping performance in ‘The Revenant’.
Contrary to expectations, the survival-epic starring DiCaprio did not get the Best Picture award, which instead went to ‘Spotlight’. Being the hot favorite with nominations in 12 categories, ‘The Revenant’ won three trophies. ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ turned out to be the big winner of the night, getting six Oscars in total.
Brie Larson, who was competing against acting heavyweights Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett and Charlotte Rampling, won the Best Actress award for her poignant portrayal of an abducted woman in ‘Room’, an intense drama based on the book by author Emma Donahue.
Best Supporting Actor awards went to Mark Rylance for Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed Cold War drama ‘Bridge Of Spies’, and to Swedish-born Alicia Vikander, who won her first Oscar for ‘The Danish Girl’, beating tough competition from Kate Winslet, Rooney Mara and Jennifer Jason-Leigh.