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Mahershala Ali Scores His First Oscar for 'Moonlight'

This is epic.

This has arguably been Mahershala Ali's year, and it just got better.

The actor, who starred as Juan in the critically acclaimed film Moonlight, just won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film. In a powerful speech, he said, "I want to thank my teachers, my professors...one thing that they consistently told me is that ... it wasn't about you, it's not about you, it's about these characters. You're a servant. You're in service to these characters."
He also celebrated another huge moment in his life, which happened just a few days ago. "I want to thank my wife who in her third trimester during awards season," he said. "We just had our daughter four days ago."

This is the actor's first Academy Award. He earned the Screen Actors Guild Award earlier this year in the category for Oustanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in the film. He also won a Critics Choice Award in the same category for his performance in the film.

Get the latest news on Hidden Figures, another film Ali starred in, in the BET Breaks video, above. Also, check out Ali's Oscar speech below.

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