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