Oscars 2017: Viola Davis receives standing ovation as she wins Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

VIOLA Davis received a standing ovation and cheers as she won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role in Fences.

The actress - who has been nominated twice before for Doubt and The Help - had been the frontrunner for the prize all through awards season.

Holding her statue she said: "There is one place that only people with the great potential are gathered and that is the graveyard.

"People ask me all the time 'What kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola? And I say exhume those bodies, exhume those stories, of people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost.

"I became an artist and thank god I did because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life."

Paying tribute to her co-star and director Denzel Washington, she said: "Oh captain, my captain, Denzel Washington, thank you for putting two entities in the driving seat, August Wilson and God and they served me well."

Moonlight star Mahershala Ali won the first Oscar of the 89th Academy Awards, scooping the best supporting actor prize.

Ali embraced the film's director Barry Jenkins on his way up to the stage where he buttoned his tuxedo jacket, saying: "My grandma would want me to button up."

He added: "Wow, I want to thank my teacher and my professors, they told me is that it's not about you, it's about the characters, you are in service to your character and your stories, I'm so blessed to have had this opportunity."

The actor welcomed his first child Bari Najma on February 22 and thanked his wife Amatus Sami-Karim saying: "My wife was in her third trimester doing awards seasons, we just had a daughter four days ago. I just want to thank her for being such a soldier through this process."

Marhershala's award ended up being held passed around a group of tourists who found themselves walking through the ballroom for one of the night's unexpected skits.

The ceremony kicked off with host Jimmy Kimmel thanking President Donald Trump for making the Oscars appear less racist.

The talk show host said he knew the country was divided and he had been encouraged to say something that would unite people.

He said the ceremony was being watched around the world by "countries that now hate us" adding: "The country is divided right now, I've been been getting advice that I need to say something to unite us.

"Let me say something. I can't do that. There is only one Braveheart in this room and he's not going to do that either."

He added: "I want to say thank you to President Trump. Remember last year when it seemed like the Oscars were racist? It's gone!"

Referring to nominated films Hidden Figures and La La Land, he added: "Black people saved Nasa and white people saved jazz, that's what you call progress."

However there was chaos before the show even started after a huge cityscape prop piece crashed to the floor during rehearsals.

Other winners on the night included Emma Stone for Best Actress and Casey Affleck for Best Actor.

The night ended in complete shock after La La Land were wrongly announced as the winner for Best Picture, only for Moonlight to be revealed as the true victors.

Got a story? email digishowbiz@the-sun.co.uk or call us direct on 02077824220