Casey Affleck and Emma Stone have picked up the top acting honours at the Academy Awards.
The 41-year-old actor beat off competition from the likes of Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling, and Viggo Mortensen to pick up the coveted Best Actor honour for his role in Manchester by the Sea at the Oscars on Sunday (26.02.17) and in his speech, he opened by thanking fellow nominee Denzel Washington.
The emotional star said: "It means so much to me, thank you. Dammit. One of the first people who taught me how to act is Denzel Washington and I just met him tonight for the first time.
"I’m only here because of all the talent and goodwill of so many people impossible to name."
And Casey – who also thanked the film’s director and producer Kenneth Lonergan and producer Matt Damon – admitted he was "dumbfounded" to even be nominated for the award.
He said: "I wish I had something bigger and more meaningful to say. I’m just dumbfounded that I’m included."
Meanwhile, Emma picked up the Best Actress prize for her role in ‘La La Land’, and paid tribute to her fellow nominees Meryl Streep, Ruth Negga, Isabelle Huppert and Natalie Portman in her speech.
She said: "To the women in this category – you were all so extraordinary and I look up to you and admire you.
"It has been the greatest honour to stand alongside you.."
She also thanked director Damien Chazelle and co-star Ryan Gosling.
She added: "I realise a moment like this is a huge confluence of luck and opportunity so I want to thank Damien Chazelle to be given the opportunity. Ryan Gosling, thank you for making me laugh and always raising the bar and being the best partner on this crazy adventure.
"To all the people that worked on this movie, I’m going to find you all individually and I’m going to thank you. I’m going to hug the hell out of you when the feeling re-enters my body. I still have a lot of growing and learning to do, and this guy (the Oscar statue) is a really beautiful symbol of continuing to do that."
Earlier in the evening, ‘La La Land’ filmmaker Damien took home the Best Director award, becoming the youngest person to ever win the honour, at the age of 32.
Speaking on stage at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre, he said he was "floored and honoured" to be nominated and also paid tribute to his partner Olivia Hamilton.
He said: "This was a movie about love, and I was lucky enough to fall in love while making it."
Casey Affleck and Emma Stone take top acting honours at Oscars
