Sean Penn beat hot favourite Mickey Rourke to land the best actor Oscar.
Past winners Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Adrien Brody, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ben Kingsley paid tribute to the nominees.
Penn saw off Rourke, Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Sean Penn (Milk) and Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) to land the honour.
Joking about being given the award for portraying a gay man Penn said in his speech: "You commie, homo-loving sons of guns. I know how hard I make it to appreciate me often."
He acknowledged fellow nominee Mickey Rourke, whose acclaimed role in The Wrestler cemented a comeback after years away from the spotlight, saying, "He rises again and he's my brother"
Robert De Niro said in his tribute to Penn "How did he get all those straight parts for all those years?"