Mark Rylance won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in Bridge of Spies, beating out the odds-on favorite Sylvester Stallone to take the prize. Rylance portrayed a Russian spy in the film, convicted by the U.S. Government during the Cold War but up for a prisoner exchange between the two nations. Rylance, who has also won three Tonys out of four total nominations, more than held his own against star Tom Hanks. Grabbing the spotlight from Hanks in a Stephen Spielberg film is worth an Oscar in and of itself.
Still, Stallone walking away empty handed is slightly bittersweet. This was his first nomination since being nominated for both Best Screenplay and Best Actor for the original Rocky in 1977. It would have been a sentimental win for a fan favorite, and probably elicited a teary thank you speech as well. With any luck, the success of Creed means that Stallone will get another shot four years from now for his even better performance in Creed 2: The Creedening.
Mark Ruffalo, Christian Bale, and Tom Hardy were also nominated in the category for Spotlight, The Big Short, and The Revenant respectively. See the full list of Oscar winners here, and continue to follow along with all of our Oscars coverage throughout the night.
