Daniel Day-Lewis has made Oscar history after becoming the first man to win the best actor trophy three times.
The British-born actor was honoured for his portrayal of President Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s historical drama.
He spent a year preparing for the role and, in his customary method, remained in character during the production.
Accepting his Oscar Sunday night from Meryl Streep, Day-Lewis said: “I really don’t know how any of this happened, I do know I’ve received more than my fair share of good fortune in my life.”
He joked Streep had been the first choice to play Lincoln and he had been committed to play Margaret Thatcher – the role that won Streep an Oscar last year – before tearfully thanking his mother.
He previously won in 1989 for My Left Foot and in 2007 for There Will Be Blood.
It was a good night for British talent with Adele winning the Oscar for best original song for her Bond theme Skyfall.
The tearful singer thanked her songwriting partner Paul Epworth for “believing in me all the time, and my man, I love you baby”.
She wowed the audience of A-listers in the Dolby Theatre with her first ever live performance of the 23rd Bond film’s title track.
Skyfall also won the trophy for best sound editing, which was tied with Zero Dark Thirty. It is only the third time in Oscar history that winners have been tied.
The night of British success started with Jacqueline Durran winning for her costume design on Anna Karenina and the make-up and hairstyling award went to Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell for Les Miserables.
The presentation of awards was broken up by a series of musical performances including Catherine Zeta-Jones singing All That Jazz from Chicago and Jennifer Hudson performing I’m Telling You from Dreamgirls.
And 76-year-old Dame Shirley Bassey took to the stage in a gold dress to sing Goldfinger which received a standing ovation.
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