Gary Oldman wins Best Actor Award of 90th Oscars

Gary Oldman, 59, won the Best Actor at the 90th Academy Awards on Sunday for "Darkest Hour."

Gary Oldman, winner of the award for best performance by an actor in a leading role for "Darkest Hour", poses in the press room at the Oscars on March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. [Photo: AP/Jordan Strauss]

Oldman's phenomenal performance as Winston Churchill made a strong impression on the audience. The Joe Wright-directed period piece follows Churchill as a new British prime minister torn between negotiating a peace treaty with Nazi Germany, and rallying his nation to fight.

In his acceptance speech, Oldman appeared near to tears. "The movies, such is their power, captivated a young man from South London and gave him a dream," said Oldman."Put the kettle on, I'm bringing Oscar home."

The English actor and filmmaker beat other contenders, including Timothee Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name), Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) and Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.).