George Clooney has won his first Academy Award for his portrayal of a CIA operative in the geopolitical thriller 'Syriana'.
Clooney won the award for Best Supporting Actor at the 78th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.
He was also nominated in the Director and Original Screenplay categories for 'Good Night, and Good Luck.', losing out to 'Brokeback Mountain' on both counts.
"Wow. Wow. All right, so I'm not winning director," Clooney joked as he accepted his award.
He paid tribute to the "stellar performances and wonderful work" of his fellow nominees - Matt Dillon ('Crash'), Paul Giamatti ('Cinderella Man'), Jake Gyllenhaal ('Brokeback Mountain') and William Hurt for 'A History of Violence'.
Clooney gained more than 30 pounds to play US spy Bob Barnes and badly injured his back while filming a scene in which his character is tortured.
