Here's a closer look at the major winners of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.

Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Natalie was clearly a favourite at the ceremony, having swept all the major awards like Screen Actors Guild, the Golden Globe Awards and the British Academy Film Awards.

The actress enthralled the audience with her performance as a ballerina; she trained herself to play the role well.

Black Swan is psychological thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky, whose film The Wrestler was nominated at the Oscars in 2008.

Like Natalie, Colin Firth was also the favourite in the Best Actor category, having won at the SAG awards, Golden Globes and BAFTAs.

His performance as King Geroge VI was truly remarkable, and helped in getting the film the Best Picture Oscar as well.

This is the third time that a British film has won at the academy in a row.

Melissa Leo, who won the Best Supporting Actress for The Fighter, played mother Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale.

She won at the Golden Globes and SAG as well.

Before accepting the award, the actress bowed down to veteran actor Kirk Douglas, who was the presenter for the award.

Christian Bale, who played the role of Dicky Eklund in The Fighter, spoke to us at length about the character.

Incidentally, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon were asked to play the role but they opted out.

It was Mark Wahlberg, who co-starred in the film, who suggested Christian Bale for the role after meeting him at the preschool of their daughters, which both of them attended.

The King's Speech took home a total of four awards, among them Best Director for Tom Hooper.

Hooper is better known for his television costume dramas like Love in a Cold Climate, Daniel Deronda and I TV's Prime Suspect.

He made his feature film debut with Red Dust in 2004 and shifted back to television. In 2009, he made The Damned United, followed by The King's Speech.