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Leonardo DiCaprio has been named the Best Actor at the Oscars 2016.

The Hollywood star took home the gong at the 88th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night for his role as Hugh Glass in The Revenant .

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was the hot favourite going into awards season for his role as Hugh Glass in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's The Revenant.

He picked up his first Oscar for his leading role in revenge movie "The Revenant."

(Image: Getty)

DiCaprio, a bachelor with a string of supermodel girlfriends, has matured into one of the world's most admired and popular actors, as well as a champion of environmental causes ranging from marine reserves to the rights of indigenous people.

In his acceptance speech, DiCaprio, who received a standing ovation, said: "Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted."

DiCaprio added: "Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet to find snow. Climate change is

real, it is happening now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together, and we need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters and the big corporations but who speak for all of humanity."

(Image: Getty)

DiCaprio, 41, had been nominated four times previously for an Oscar over a career spanning 25 years. But he was favourite to finally take home the best actor Academy Award this year for his grueling portrayal of a fur trapper left for dead in an icy wilderness after being mauled by a bear.

Matt Damon was also nominated for his role in the emotional space epic, The Martian, as astronaut Mark Watney.

Former Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston was also nominated for his portrayal of Dalton Trumbo in Trumbo.

(Image: Getty)

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British actor, and last year's winner Eddie Redmayne was also up for the award for his role as Lilli Elbe in The Danish Girl.

Michael Fassbender rounded out the list of nominations for his performance in Steve Jobs as the late Apple founder.

(Image: Supplied by WENN.com)

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Chris Rock returned to host the ceremony and promised that he wouldn't shy away from the race controversy after a number of prominent black actors pulled out of attending due to the lack of diversity in the nominations.

The Revenant received the most nominations with twelve in total, with Mad Max: Fury Road coming in second with ten while for the second year running, a Alejandro G. Iñárritu-directed movie received the most nominations.

Antony Hegarty also became the second transgender person ever to be nominated for an Academy Award, following actress Angela Morley in 1976.