Oscars 2017: Casey Affleck Wins Best Actor For 'Manchester By The Sea'

Casey Affleck took home the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Manchester by the Sea at the annual star-studded event on Sunday night.

The actor was nominated alongside Hacksaw Ridge's Andrew Garfield, La La Land's Ryan Gosling, Captain Fantastic's Viggo Mortenson and Fences' Denzel Washington.

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"I think we're the only two brothers to win Academy Awards," said Affleck backstage, of his famous brother Ben. "I've learned a lot from him; he's been through a lot in this business."

Affleck, 41, earned the statuette for his portrayal of disaffected handyman who is named guardian to his teenage nephew (played by Lucas Hedges) following his brother's death. The Kenneth Lonergan-directed weeper earned Affleck glowing reviews and marked his industry breakthrough; the movie grossed $61.5 million worldwide on an estimated $8.5 million budget.

The movie was distributed by Amazon Studios, the film wing of billionaire-owned e-commerce platform Amazon.

Affleck's Oscar comes after a flurry of awards and positive press for the actor, little of which touched on the fact that two separate women accused Affleck of verbal and sexual harassment in 2010 when working on Joaquin Phoenix mockumentary I’m Still Here. Producer Amanda White and cinematographer Magdalena Gorka sued Affleck for what they alleged was verbal and physical  harassment. Affleck denied all claims at the time and has continued to do so; the parties settled out of court for undisclosed amounts. (Some have pointed out that prior rape accusations against director Nate Parker sunk his 2016 movie, Birth of a Nation, which was expected to fare well at awards shows, whereas past allegations did little to harm Affleck's odds.)

It is Affleck's second Oscar nomination and first award. He was odds-on favorite to win the category.