Mahershala Ali Wins Best Supporting Actor Honors at the 2017 Oscars

Congrats to Mahershala Ali for his Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor for his work as the drug dealer Juan. In his acceptance speech, Ali said “I had so many wonderful teachers and they taught me it wasn’t about you — it’s about these characters you’re serving and I’m so blessed to have this opportunity.”

READ MORE: All of IndieWire’s Oscars Coverage

This category was a showdown between young talent like Lucas Hedges for “Manchester by the Sea” and Dev Patel for “Lion” and seasoned pros like Michael Shannon for “Nocturnal Animals” and Jeff Bridges for “Hell or High Water.”

Meanwhile, Mahershala Ali was the frontrunner for this award after his many previous wins during the award season, including the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance (though he surprisingly lost the Golden Globe to “Nocturnal Animal’s” Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who wasn’t even nominated by the Academy in this category).

READ MORE: Oscars 2017: Why Mahershala Ali Will Beat Jeff Bridges for Supporting Actor

The Academy Awards were held February 26 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. For all of IndieWire’s coverage from the ceremony, click here.

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