LEONARDO WINS OSCAR 2016

Leonardo DiCaprio’s grueling work in “The Revenant” is paying off. Not only did it win him the Golden Globe for best lead actor in a drama, it also earned him a standing ovation from the audience. That honor wasn’t readily given. Only two others received it — Sylvester Stallone, for his supporting role in “Creed,” and Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient Denzel Washington.
In other words: Leo’s full-court press is working. At this point, you’ve probably heard the exhaustively rehashed story of how difficult the role was, but in case you haven’t, here are some highlights: DiCaprio, a vegetarian, had to eat raw bison liver. He had to spend hours in sub-zero temperatures. He had to lie on the snowy ground while ants crawled all over him.

[‘The Revenant’ is turning Leonardo DiCaprio into a legend]

In truth, the standing ovation was a little bit strange. After all, it’s not as if DiCaprio has never won a Golden Globe before. This was his third, and he won relatively recently, for “The Wolf of Wall Street.” But the crowd approval felt bigger than this particular prize. It was almost as if the audience was saying: We stand with Leo. It was almost like they were preemptively celebrating his (arguably) overdue Oscar win.