Will Smith Nabs Best Actor at the Academy Awards

In 2019, it was Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody. Then, it was Joaquin Phoenix for Joker, followed by Anthony Hopkins for The Father. And now, the Academy has crowned a brand-new winner.

Tonight, the 94th annual Oscars took place at two different Los Angeles locations: Dolby Theatre and Union Station. During the ceremony, Will Smith took home the statuette for Best Actor for King Richard.

He was up against a slew of worthy nominees, including Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth, Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos, Benedict Cumberbatch for The Power of the Dog and Andrew Garfield for Tick, Tick...Boom!

Smith was involved in a shocking altercation during the ceremony. At one point, Chris Rock made an insensitive joke about the hair of Smith’s wife, Jada (who has alopecia). This prompted the King Richard star to storm the stage and slap Rock before yelling a few censored words. He referenced the incident in his speech.

The Academy Award for Best Actor has been around since the Oscars debuted in 1929. Traditionally, the statuette is presented by last year’s Best Actress winner. Hopkins won the most recent award and was up against Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal, Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Gary Oldman for Mank and Steven Yeun for Minari.

Other previous winners include Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour, Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody, Phoenix for Joker, Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea, Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant, Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything, Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jean Dujardin for The Artist, Colin Firth for The King’s Speech , Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart, Sean Penn for Milk, Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood and Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland.

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