Six times Oscar nominee, Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Oscar for the survival epic movie The Revenant . Named the best actor at the 88th Academy Awards, DiCaprio was also the highest-paid male Oscar nominee this year and is believed to have a net worth of $245 million. He is believed to have been paid $20 million for portraying the character of Hugh Glass.
Our Long National Nightmare is Over: Leonardo DiCaprio FINALLY Wins an Oscar https://t.co/HXsTyeGA8E pic.twitter.com/fBrsm2DPTy
— Bravo (@BravoTV) March 1, 2016
Beating out the competition from Matt Damon for The Martian , Bryan Cranston for Trumbo , Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl, and Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs , DiCaprio’s riveting performance finally paid off with something that he had not yet experienced — an Oscar.
Considered a favorite during all of his nominations, Leonardo was again tipped to win this year, which he finally did, saying that he was overwhelmed by the support he’d received. The win also saw DiCaprio overtake Ellen DeGeneres for the most-tweeted Oscar moment with 440,000 per minute, reported The Inquisitr .
“It all feels incredibly surreal,” DiCaprio told reports backstage.
“It’s surreal because you can’t reach out and physically meet everybody. You hear it on the internet, you hear it from other people and the truth is, we always strive for the best of what we do and this year in particular I’ve been overwhelmed with such support.”
Having been nominated previously for his roles in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape , The Aviator , Blood Diamond, and The Wolf of Wall Street , DiCaprio’s win was a long time coming. Leonardo DiCaprio’s net worth soars high to $245 million, most of which comes from his acting career.
Perhaps a bit biased but how awesome was @LeoDiCaprio ‘s acceptance speech? #climatechange #extinction pic.twitter.com/C7cqmrOCbc
— WildCats Conservation Alliance (@ConserveWildCat) March 1, 2016
Thanking his crew, friends, family, and co-stars, DiCaprio took time to highlight global warming in his speech and turn the attention to the global issue that has had a considerable impact on Earth.
“I am so grateful to the Academy for their recognition of this film. Making ‘ The Revenant ‘ was one of the most rewarding and collaborative experiences of my life. None of this would have been possible without Alejandro’s talent, vision and determination. Our dedicated crew also deserves to share in this moment. Together, they have created a truly unique cinematic experience. Congratulations to all of my fellow nominees this season. Thank you to the Academy.”
“Making The Revenant was about man’s relationship with the natural world, a world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history,” he explained. “Our production moved to the southern tip of this planet just to find snow. Climate change is real, it is happening right now, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire species.”
“I do not take this night for granted,” concluded DiCaprio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncgFQAISaGo
Did you see @LeoDiCaprio ‘s mom when he won at the #Oscars last night? https://t.co/RtCB0WXFuI pic.twitter.com/GU5NPZ5ORg
— Yahoo Entertainment (@YahooEnt) March 1, 2016
Leonardo DiCaprio brought his mother along as his date and had some time to speak about his journey to prominence. He said:
“I grew up in East Los Angeles, and my parents took me to auditions every day after school. They listened to me. You know, they listened to this kid who was overly ambitious and said he wanted to be an actor…. They listened to a young child’s dreams, and I could never be more thankful.”
The 41-year-old star already has tons of awards to his name for his role as Hugh Glass, who was attacked by a bear and left alone in the wilderness, moving about 200 miles to find people who left him alone.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s award was among the three for The Revenant , which also bagged wins in the best director and best cinematography category. The win also leaves a lot of space for DiCaprio’s net worth to soar further.
[Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]