By Malcolm Venable,
Finally! Leonardo DiCaprio got his Best Actor Oscar Sunday, finally going home with a trophy after his fifth acting nomination for his turn in The Revenant.
Leonardo hustled to the stage quickly, launching into a subdued, suave speech that graciously put attention on others. As the room stood on its feet in congratulations, he complimented other nominees and said thank-yous to friends, including co-star Tom Hardy, who DiCaprio said has a “fierce talent on-screen” surpassed only by their friendship off-screen. He thanked director Alejandro G. Iñárritu for creating a “transcendent cinematic experience,” as well as mentors including Martin Scorsese and then, sweetly, his parents.
But his biggest takeaway was about climate change, calling it “the most urgent threat facing our species.” Acknowledging that The Revenant had to change its shooting locations in order to find snow, DiCaprio urged us to support world leaders and “stop procrastinating” – to not let policies get overrun by politics of greed.
“Let us not take this planet for granted,” he said in closing. “I do not take tonight for granted.”
