Brie Larson has won the Academy Award for Actress in a Leading Role. Eddie Redmayne presented the award, which was one of the more foreseeable wins of the night. Larson won for her role in Room, director Lenny Abrahamson's dark drama based on Emma Donoghue's novel about a mother and son held captive in a shed for six years. Larson picked up honors for her performance at The Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Critics' Choice Awards, the BAFTA Awards, and yesterday's Independent Spirit Awards. Since Room's premiere at the Telluride Film Festival last September, Larson has been considered far and away the front-runner for the gold (well, bronze).
Larson beat out Saiorse Ronan (Brooklyn) and Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), as well as previous Academy Award winners Cate Blanchett (Carol) and Jennifer Lawrence (Joy). While accepting her first Academy Award, she took a moment to thank her nine-year-old co-star Jacob Tremblay, calling him "my partner through this in every way possible." She also thanked "the moviegoers and the people who go to the theater, " as well as the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals.
