Oscars 2016: Leonardo DiCaprio finally nabs elusive win as Aussies clean up for 'Mad Max: Fury Road'

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has finally bagged Oscars gold for his grueling star turn in The Revenant, 22 years after his first Academy Award nomination.

DiCaprio edged out Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Matt Damon (The Martian), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs) and Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl) to take the best actor statuette.

The 41-year-old film veteran thanked a long list of figures who have helped him in his career, including Martin Scorsese, before speaking on his passion - climate change.

"Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work together and stop procrastinating," he said to applause.

"We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, the big corporations, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world," he said.

Tom McCarthy's Spotlight won Best Picture while Brie Larson won Best Actress in a Leading Role for Room. 

She also took home the award at the Golden Globes last month.

Australian nominees hijacked the Academy Awards ceremony with Mad Max: Fury Road collecting six Oscars.

First came production designers Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson, and then the makeup and hairstyling team of Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin were called on stage.

A few minutes later, Australian film editor Margaret Sixel was a winner and moments later Aussie sound editor David White and sound mixer Ben Osmo won their categories.

Australian Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller missed out on the directing Oscar. The award for best director went to Alejandro Inarritu for The Revenant, the Mexican filmmaker's second straight win in the category after also claiming the Oscar last year for Birdman.

Spotlight co-producer Michael Sugar, in his acceptance speech, voiced hope that the film would send a signal to the Vatican whose treatment of survivors of abuse by priests came under harsh criticism in the movie.

"This film gave a voice to survivors. And this Oscar amplifies that voice, which we hope will become a choir that will resonate all the way to the Vatican," he said.

"Pope Francis, it's time to protect the children and restore the faith," he said.

Another producer, Blye Pagon Faust, said that "Spotlight" showed the importance of a robust media amid years of financial struggles for the industry in the United States.

"We would not be here today without the heroic efforts of our reporters. Not only did they affect global change, but they absolutely show us the necessity for investigative journalism," she said.

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight - *WINNER*

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Bryan Cranston - Trumbo

Matt Damon - The Martian

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant - *WINNER*

Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christian Bale - The Big Short

Tom Hardy - The Revenant

Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight

Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies - *WINNER*

Sylvester Stallone - Creed

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Cate Blanchett - Carol

Brie Larson - Room - *WINNER*

Jennifer Lawrence - Joy

Charlotte Rampling - 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara - Carol

Rachel McAdams - Spotlight

Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl - *WINNER*

Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Animalisa

Boy and the World

Inside Out - *WINNER*

Shaun The Sheep Movie

When Marnie Was There

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Carol

The Hateful Eight

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant - *WINNER*

Sicario

COSTUME DESIGN

Carol

Cinderella

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road - *WINNER*

The Revenant

DIRECTING

Adam McKay - The Big Short

George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road

Alejandro González Iñárritu - The Revenant - *WINNER*

Lenny Abramson - Room

Tom McCarthy - Spotlight

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Amy - *WINNER*

Cartel Land

The Look Of Silence

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight For Freedom

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Body Team 12

Chau, beyond the Lines

Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah

A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness - *WINNER*

Last Day of Freedom

FILM EDITING

The Big Short

Chau, beyond the Lines

Mad Max: Fury Road - *WINNER*

The Revenant

Spotlight

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Colombia - Embrace of the Serpent

France - Mustang

Hungary - Son of Saul - *WINNER*

Jordan - Theeb

Denmar - A War

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared

The Revenant

Mad Max: Fury Road - *WINNER*

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Thomas Newman - Bridge of Spies

Carter Burwell - Carol

Ennio Morricone - The Hateful Eight - *WINNER*

Johann Johannsson - Sicario

John Williams - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

ORIGINAL SONG

'Earned It' - Fifty Shades of Grey

'Manta Ray' - Racing Extinction

'Simple Song No. 3' - Youth

'Till it Happens to You' - The Hunting Ground

'Writing's on the Wall' - Spectre - *WINNER*

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Bridge of Spies

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road - *WINNER*

The Martian

The Revenant

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

Bear Story - *WINNER*

Prologue

Sanjay's Super Team

We Can't Live Without Cosmos

World of Tomorrow

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

Ave Maria

Day One

Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)

Shok

Stutterer - *WINNER*

SOUND EDITING

Mad Max: Fury Road - *WINNER*

The Martian

The Revenant

Sicario

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

SOUND MIXING

Bridge of Spies

Mad Max: Fury Road - *WINNER*

The Martian

The Revenant

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

VISUAL EFFECTS

Ex Machina - *WINNER*

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

Charles Randolph and Adam McKay - The Big Short - *WINNER*

Nick Hornby - Brooklyn

Phyllis Nagy - Carol

Drew Goddard - The Martian

Emma Donoghue - Room

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

Matt Charman, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen - Bridge of Spies

Alex Garland - Ex Machina

Pete Doctor, Meg LeFauce, and Josh Cooley - Inside Out

Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy - Spotlight - *WINNER*

Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff - Straight Outta Compton