After a lifetime of making incredible movies, Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar on Sunday night. He took home the golden trophy for Best Actor for his role in The Revenant, which received 12 Academy Award nominations, the most of the night. This was also Leo’s 5th Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and 6th nomination overall. He recently won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA  for his performance in The Revenant as well, so many were confident that Leo would receive the coveted award.

After he received his nomination back in January he said, “I am so grateful to the Academy for their recognition of this film. Making The Revenant was one of the most rewarding and collaborative experiences of my life… None of this would have been possible without Alejandro’s talent, vision and determination. Our dedicated crew also deserves to share in this moment. Together, they have created a truly unique cinematic experience. Congratulations to all of my fellow nominees this season. Thank you to the Academy.”

If you’ve seen the movie, you know that the conditions were nothing short of grueling. When asked about his experience on set, Leo said, “I can name 30 or 40 sequences that were some of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. Whether it’s going in and out of frozen rivers, or sleeping in animal carcasses, or what I ate on set. [I was] enduring freezing cold and possible hypothermia constantly.” Additionally, when asked about his diet on set, he said “I certainly don’t eat raw bison liver on a regular basis. When you see the movie, you’ll see my reaction to it, because Alejandro kept it in. It says it all. It was an instinctive reaction.”

Leo’s fellow nominees included Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl and Matt Damon for The Martian, amongst many talented others. When Julianne Moore opened the card and announced that Leonardo DiCaprio won the award for the Best Actor in a Leading Role, the audience, and probably many people at home, erupted in cheers. During his acceptance speech, he made sure to congratulate his fellow nominees and thank all of the crew members and fellow cast in the Revenant. Leo also took time to address climate change by saying, “Climate change is real. It is happening right now… Let us not take this planet for granted, I do not take tonight for granted.”

The night was definitely one Leonardo DiCaprio will never forget, but I bet there are many more Academy Awards in his future.