Watch Matthew McConaughey acceptance speech VIDEO: Winner of Best Actor Academy Award at Oscars 2014

The 86th Annual Academy Awards took place tonight, and Matthew McConaughey won the Best Actor award, beating Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Bruce Dern and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

See his acceptance speech below:

McConaughey's performance as HIV sufferer Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club has been critically acclaimed. Like fellow actor Christian Bale, he changed his physique dramatically and dropped his weight to take on the role of the AIDS sufferer.

Critics predicted that McConaughey will be the Best Actor winner this year, but he faced fierce competition with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Dicaprio was also a fan favorite to win after his impressive take on Jordan Belfort on The Wolf of Wall Street.

McConaughey had competition from British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who also tipped for the award for his role as Solomon Northup in 12 Years A Slave.

The 2014 Oscars award ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood tonight, Mar. 2, 2014.