The actor took home the trophy for Best Supporting Actor at the 88th Academy Awards for his role in Bridge of Spies, defeating a slew of competitive nominees, including: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Mark Ruffalo and Sylvester Stallone. Stallone was favored to win the Oscar for his portrayal of Rocky Balboa in Creed, almost four decades after first starring as the iconic Philly boxer in 1976’s Rocky, but Rylance edged him out instead.
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The annual film gala was held at the Dolby Theatre here, and the award was handed to Rylance by last year’s Academy Award victor Patricia Arquette.
In his acceptance speech, Rylance thanked his fellow nominees and director Steven Spielberg, who he called an “honor” to work with.
“Fury Road” has so far won six awards at the Oscars.
Rock wasted no time in taking on #OscarsSoWhite and diversity issues that had been in the news since the nominations were announced in mid-January.
It was the first Oscar for 56-year-old Rylance, an acclaimed British stage actor and playwright.
With a leading 12 nominations, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, 20th Century Fox’s The Revenant has the epic qualities that traditionally appeal to the 6,200 voters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I said, ‘Ryan, how do you want to handle this?
“It’s a wonderful time to be an actor and I’m proud to be part of it”.
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The first awards of the evening went to “Spotlight” for original screenplay and “The Big Short” for adapted screenplay.
