Leonardo DiCaprio wins the 2016 Oscar for Best Actor for The Revenant

Leonardo DiCaprio is officially the 88th annual Academy Awards' leading man!

Julianne Moore presented the The Revenant star and five-time nominee with the statuette for Best Actor on Sunday night.

Leonardo DiCaprio. Photo: Getty

DiCaprio, 41, was met with a standing ovation from his peers, including longtime friend and two-time costar Kate Winslet.

"The Revenant was a product of the tireless efforts of the incredible cast and crew I got to work alongside," he said, thanking costar and "brother" Tom Hardy: "Tom, your fierce talent on the screen can only be surpassed by your friendship off screen."

DiCaprio, who started his speech in tears, also expressed back-to-back Best Director Oscar winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu, saying, "as the history of cinema unfolds, you have forged your way into history these past two years."

"Making The Revenant was about mans relationship with the natural world, a world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history," said DiCaprio, an ardent activist. "Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating ... for the billions and billions of underprivileged people who are most affected by this, for our children's children and for those people out there who's voices have be drowned out by the politics of greed."

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"Let us not take this planet for granted," he concluded. "I do not take tonight for granted, thank you so very much."

DiCaprio triumphed over Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Matt Damon (The Martian), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), and Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl).

Leonardo DiCaprio embraces Kate Winslet. Photo Getty.

Redmayne took home this award last year for his performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

Chancellor Agard and Naja Rayne write for People