Leonardo DiCaprio finally has his Academy Award. The "Revenant" star and four-time runner-up for an acting Oscar was named best lead actor at Sunday's 88th annual Academy Awards for his performance in director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's survival and revenge drama.
In the process, DiCaprio also ended a streak of Oscar futility that had spawned something of a mean-spirited meme in the often-uncharitable online echo chamber. Though previously nominated for his performances in 2013's "The Wolf of Wall Street, " 2006's "Blood Diamonds, " 2004's "The Aviator" and 1993's "What's Eating Gilbert Grape, " DiCaprio came home empty-handed each time, to the apparent delight of the Internet.
Sunday night, he finally quieted the snarkverse with his big win.
In "The Revenant, " DiCaprio plays real-life frontiersman Hugh Glass, who crawled some 200 miles through a frozen wilderness to find civilization after being mauled by a bear and left for dead in 1823.
In the weeks leading up to Sunday night's show, the 41-year-old actor had taken home a string of pre-Oscar prizes for his performance, including the BAFTA, the Critics' Choice Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the Golden Globe and raft of critics awards. With that near-sweep of Hollywood's award season, he went into Sunday night's show as a hands-on favorite to win.
What's more, he delivered.
DiCaprio's fellow nominees in the category included Bryan Cranston of the New Orleans-shot "Trumbo"; Matt Damon of "The Martian"; Michael Fassbender of "Steve Jobs"; and last year's winner, Eddie Redmayne of "The Danish Girl."
