Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio finally bagged Oscars gold for his gruelling star turn in “The Revenant,” 22 years after his first Academy Award nomination.
DiCaprio edged out Bryan Cranston (“Trumbo”), Matt Damon (“The Martian”), Michael Fassbender (“Steve Jobs”) and Eddie Redmayne (“The Danish Girl”) to take the best actor statuette.
DiCaprio won a standing ovation as he accepted the award — one of the most highly anticipated moments of the night. He had been nominated six times in total, five of them for acting roles.
The 41-year-old film veteran thanked a long list of figures who have helped him in his career, including Martin Scorsese, before speaking on his passion — climate change.
“Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work together and stop procrastinating,” he said to applause.
“We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, the big corporations, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world,” he said.
