Leonardo DiCaprio beats Matt Damon, Michael Fassbender to win "Best Actor"

chibumga izuzu

February 19, 2016 5:58 PM

After a long wait, Leonardo DiCaprio has finally won his first Oscar award, and he earned it for his role in "The Revenant."

The actor won the award for his role in the 2015 American historical drama film, "

DiCaprio bested the likes of Matt Damon (The Martian), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl) and Bryan Cranston (Trumbo) for the honor.

Following an expected applause, DiCaprio thanked his fellow nominees, the cast and crew of "The Revenant," saying, "I don't take this night for granted."

He ended his speech with a big note on the environment:

"Climate change is real, it is happening right now, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire speices and we need to work collectively and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world... who speak for all of humanity," the actor said.

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"The Revenant" is a 2015 American survival drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and based in part on Michael Punke's novel with the same title, which is inspired by the experiences of frontiersman and fur trapper Hugh Glass in 1823.

The films stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass, a trapper seeking revenge for the murder of his son. It also earned him his fifth Oscar nomination as an actor.

The 2016 nomination was the actor's fifth Oscars nomination and 1st win.