LOS ANGELES, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Gary Oldman, 59, won the Best Actor at the 90th Academy Awards here on Sunday for "Darkest Hour."

Oldman's phenomenal performance as Winston Churchill made a strong impression on the audience. The Joe Wright-directed period piece follows Churchill as a new British prime minister torn between negotiating a peace treaty with Nazi Germany, and rallying his nation to fight.

In his acceptance speech, Oldman appeared near to tears. "The movies, such is their power, captivated a young man from South London and gave him a dream," said Oldman."Put the kettle on, I'm bringing Oscar home."

The English actor and filmmaker beat other contenders, including Timothee Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name), Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) and Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.).