Oscars 2013 | Daniel Day Lewis wins record third Best Actor Oscar

Best Actor Oscar for 3rd Time

Daniel Day-Lewis won a record third Best Actor Oscar on Sunday for playing U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in "Lincoln."

The other nominees Sunday night were

• Bradley Cooper ("Silver Linings Playbook"),
• Hugh Jackman ("Les Miserables"),
• Joaquin Phoenix ("The Master") and
• Denzel Washington ("Flight").

Day-Lewis, 55, was the outright favorite to win the Academy Award for his quiet, intense performance as one of America's most revered presidents as he battled to end slavery and the U.S. Civil War. The British-born actor with dual Anglo-Irish citizenship won virtually every award in the run-up to Sunday's Oscar ceremony, including a Golden Globe, British BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild statuettes.

Known for months of meticulous preparation, Day-Lewis is already the holder of Best Actor Oscars for his roles as a paraplegic Irish writer in "My Left Foot" (1989) and a greedy early 20th century oil baron in "There Will Be Blood" (2007).

His win for "Lincoln" made him the first man to win three Best Actor Oscars in the 85-year history of the Academy Awards. The tall, intellectual actor also became the first person to win an Oscar for playing a U.S. President.

Accepting the award, Day-Lewis thanked the film's director, Steven Spielberg, and then paid tribute to the "mysteriously beautiful mind, body and spirit of Abraham Lincoln."

Day-Lewis chose to adopt a high-pitched speaking voice for Lincoln, in contrast to the dramatic, booming tones associated with the Civil War president in previous movies and TV portraits. But it was the humanity he brought to Lincoln that earned most critical praise and his success in bringing to life an American icon in a different, subtle way for a new generation.  

Daniel Day Lewis

Referring to his previous Oscar success with 1997's Good Will Hunting, he said:

"I never thought I would be back here and I am because of so many of you who are here tonight. It doesn't matter how you get knocked down in life, all that matters is that you get up."

Day-Lewis' immersive work as America's 16th president in "Lincoln" became one of the Oscar season's most celebrated turns from the moment the movie screened at the New York Film Festival in early October. The film was nominated for a total of 12 awards, including

• Best Picture,
• Best Director for Steven Spielberg,
• Best Supporting Actor for Tommy Lee Jones, and
• Best Supporting Actress for Sally Field.

When asked backstage if there's anyone he'd like to portray next, Day-Lewis said,

"I can't think of anyone right now because I need to have to lie down for a couple of years. No, I can't think of any. I really can't, no. It's really hard to imagine doing anything after this."

Other Oscars Awards 2013

• Jennifer Lawrence won best actress for her role as a troubled young widow in Silver Linings Playbook.
• Anne Hathaway won best supporting actress for her role as tragic factory worker Fantine in movie musical Les Miserables.
• British singer Adele won the Oscar for best original song for her Bond theme Skyfall, which she also performed during the show.
• Ang Lee won his second Oscar for directing Life of Pi. The film won four Oscars in total, more than any other film.
• Christoph Waltz won his second Oscar for best supporting actor in a Quentin Tarantino film.
• The best adapted screenplay Oscar went to Chris Terrio for Argo, while Pixar's Scottish adventure Brave won best animated feature.
• The award for costume design went to Briton Jacqueline Durran for Anna Karenina.
• Austrian drama Amour won the Oscar for best foreign language film.
• Ang Lee won Best Director.
• Zero Dark Thirty, which had faced controversy over torture scenes, took only one award for Sound Editing.
• Tarantino then won the Best Original Screenplay award.
• Scottish adventure Brave, was named Best Animated Feature and
• Searching for Sugar Man took the Documentary Feature prize.

Day-Lewis becomes the first actor to win three lead Oscars.

• Katharine Hepburn won four in the lead actress category.
• Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Ingrid Bergman andWalter Brennan have also won three statuettes in a mix of both the lead and supporting categories.

The 85th Academy Awards are being held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday night, in a televised ceremony hosted by Seth MacFarlane.
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