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Leonardo DiCaprio Wins First Ever SAG Award For Best Actor, Shares Sweet Moment With Kate Winslet

By Pam Wright
Published on: 03:31 PST, Jan 31, 2016

Leonardo DiCaprio has won his first SAG Award for Best Actor for his role as the bloodied, bear-battling trapper in The Revenant.

DiCaprio, 41, has been a heavy favorite this awards season and has already collected honors from the Golden Globes and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and many believe this SAG Award is a precursor for his first ever Oscar win.

Looking dashing, DiCaprio paused to receive an exuberant congratulatory hug and kiss from his Titanic and Revolutionary Road co-star Kate Winslet after Julianne Moore announced his name as the winner on Saturday.

Once at the podium, DiCaprio, who said he was truly “humbled” to be recognized by his fellow actors and took a moment to focus attention to the unique quality of the film.

“I just feel deeply honored that I’m getting to represent a film that I think is an artistic epic, the kind of film that we don’t see coming from the Hollywood studio system very often. And all this recognition means we’re going to see more films like this, so there’s a level of satisfaction.”

He also took a moment to thank his parent for their support.

“Thank you for listening to an overly ambitious, slightly annoying 13-year-old kid who wanted to go on auditions every day after school, I wouldn’t be standing here without you.”

Prior to the awards show, DiCaprio and Winslet captured the hearts of fans everywhere on the red carpet.

As Kate was being interviewed by E! News on the red carpet, she gave her longtime friend a sweet shout-out, saying she was so focused on Leo’s nominations this year that she never gave a thought that she might receive a SAG nomination for her role in Steve Jobs, which she lost to Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl.

“I’ve been so focused on Leo and him winning everything and being so excited for him.”

Winslet has been a constant supporter of DiCaprio throughout this awards season, previously saying that a win for the actor at the Academy Awards would be “amazing.”

“I think you can sort of feel it, and I think that everyone wants it for him,” Winslet said recently.

Leo’s win is not really surprising and according to Vanity Fair Magazine, the Oscar-buzz around DiCaprio’s performance in the film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu of Birdman fame, has been building from the moment he took on the role.

“DiCaprio is known for choosing challenging work, but The Revenant seemed like a new level, playing a man who is brutally attacked by a bear and then makes his way across miles of American wilderness to seek revenge. It’s a deeply physical, near-silent performance that required huge sacrifices for DiCaprio, from eating real bison liver to accepting gleeful abuse from Tom Hardy.”

According to Us Weekly, Leonardo DiCaprio was previously nominated for SAG Awards in 1997, 1998, 2005, 2007, and 2012.

For a list of all the winner’s at last night’s SAG Awards Show, check out the show’s website.

Next stop on the awards trail for Leonardo DiCaprio is the Academy Awards, which will air February 28 on ABC.

[Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Turner]

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