Oscar winner for Best Actor for the movie "The Artist" Jean Dujardin addresses the audience onstage at the 84th Annual Academy Awards on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California. AFP PHOTO Robyn BECK
HOLLYWOOD – Jean Dujardin won the Oscar for best actor on Sunday for his role in silent movie “The Artist,” becoming the first Frenchman to win an acting Oscar.
The Gallic actor beat four fellow nominees including Hollywood A-listers George Clooney and Brad Pitt, who had been nominated for “The Descendants” and “Moneyball,” respectively.
Earlier, France’s Michel Hazanavicius took home the Oscar for best director for silent movie “The Artist,” at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony.
The 44-year-old, who triumphed over veterans including Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen, had already won a series of gongs for his black-and-white homage to the silent movie era.