Daniel Day-Lewis winning Best Actor for "Lincoln"

This year, each of the lead

actor

nominees has brought to the big screen some of the most inspired and heartbreaking work we've ever seen in this category. In a normal year, any of these performances would have stood out as the most challenging. imaginative and ambitious of the year and that is why tonight the academy has had the difficult task of honoring the

best

among equals the nominees for lead

actor

in a motion picture are bradley cooper the bright side reproduction

daniel

day-

lewis

lincoln

jackman joaquin phoenix the master denzel washington flight and the oscar goes to

daniel

day-

lewis

daniel day-lewis is the first actor to win three oscars in the leading actor category oh, i really don't know how all this happened.

Emm, yes I know I have received so much. much more than my fair share of good luck in my life and I am very grateful to the academy for this beautiful honor. It's kind of strange because three years ago, before we decided to do a direct swap, I had actually committed to playing Margaret. thatcher um and uh meryl was stephen's first choice for

lincoln

um and I would like to see that version um and um stephen didn't have to persuade me to play lincoln but I had to persuade him that maybe if I went to do it, that Lincoln shouldn't be a musical um my fellow nominees my equals my

best

I'm very proud to have been included as one among you um when we got married 16 years ago uh or since we got married 16 years ago my my wife Rebecca has lived with some very strange men, I want That is to say, they were strange as individuals and probably even stranger if taken as a group, but luckily she is the versatile one of the family and has been the perfect companion for all of them.

I would like to thank you kathy kennedy our producer and through you kathy and through you our powerful team of co-conspirators at the top of that human pyramid there are three men to whom I owe this and much more tony kushner our beloved captain steven spielberg and the mysteriously beautiful mind, body and spirit of abraham lincoln for my mother, thank you very much