Natalie Portman and Casey Affleck earn Best Actor honors but La La Land takes home Best Picture at 2016 Critics' Choice Awards
- La La Land earned Best Picture after leading the award show with 12 nominations
- Musical also took home most awards of the night with eight including Best Director and Original Screenplay
- Portman won Best Actress for her portrayal of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in Jackie
- Affleck played Lee Chandler in drama Manchester By The Sea which earned him Best Actor
- Ryan Reynolds won Entertainer Of The Year and Best Actor in a Comedy
- Viola Davis was recipient of first ever See Her Awards as well as Best Supporting Actress for Fences
- Mahershala Ali won Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight, the film also took Best Acting Ensemble
- Zootopia won Best Animated Feature, Hacksaw Ridge was Best Action Movie and Deadpool was Best Comedy
Hollywood's award season kicked off in spectacular fashion at the Critics' Choice Awards ceremony on Sunday night, with Natalie Portman and Casey Affeck securing top honours.
The 35-year-old actress and 41-year-old actor won Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively, at the 22nd annual ceremony which was held at the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport in Los Angeles.
Natalie was recognized for her role as former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in biopic Jackie as Casey won for his portrayal of loner Lee Chandler in drama Manchester By The Sea.
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Big night: Natalie Portman won Best Actress as Casey Affleck took home Best Actor at the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards
Top honors: La La Land was given Best Picture as it captured eight awards total
However the last award of the night was given to Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling fronted musical La La Land as it took home Best Picture.
It was no easy task as there were very impressive contenders in the same field including: Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Lion, Loving, Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight and Sully.
No doubt many anticipated big wins for the musical set in modern day Tinseltown which landed 12 nominations, including best picture, best director for Damien Chazelle and nods for its stars, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.
Happy: During her acceptance speech, pregnant Portman thanked her husband and son and ended the speech by saying: 'This is really nice'
Helping hand: Jeremy Renner put his arm around Natalie as they walked off stage together
Rewarded: Casey won for his portrayal of loner Lee Chandler in drama Manchester By The Sea
Back in black: Nicole Kidman put on a leggy display as she presented the Best Actor gong
Gosling also scored a nod for Best Actor in a Comedy for his turn in The Nice Guys.
All in all the musical came away from the award show with eight gongs for the most of any project at the event.
La La Land also took home Best Song for City Of Stars written by Justin Hurwitz and Best Director taken home by Damien Chazelle during the aired portion of the programme.
During her acceptance speech, pregnant Portman thanked her husband and son and ended the speech by saying: 'This is really nice.'
Eyes on the prize: Director Damien Chazelle was presented with the Best Picture award for La La Land by John Travolta
Inspired: The director proudly accepted the last award of the night
Squad: Damian thanked the cast and crew for their work which included Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling
Proud: Emma gave the director a big hug at the end of his speech
Earned it: Damian also won Best Director
Stunning: The award was presented by William H. Macy and Kate Beckinsale
It was a competitive field as she was up against Amy Adams, Emma Stone, Annette Bening, Isabelle Huppert and Ruth Negga.
Affleck did not have an easy route to the win as he was pitted against Joel Edgerton, Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling, Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington.
Another one of the biggest honorees was Ryan Reynolds who received the Entertainer of the Year prize presented by Entertainment Weekly.
Handsome: Ryan Reynolds accepted the Entertainer of the Year award presented by Entertainment Weekly
Sweet: The handsome actor said: 'I would like to dedicate this to the Make A Wish Foundation and the Sick Kids Foundation in Toronto'
Respect: Ryan was also given the Best Actor in a Comedy award by Cuba Gooding Jr
As he was one of the biggest driving forces in the making of his hit superhero movie Deadpool, he accepted the prize and even dedicated it to all the sick children who were inspired by the film.
The handsome actor said: 'I would like to dedicate this to the Make A Wish Foundation and the Sick Kids Foundation in Toronto.'
Later on in the night he picked up his second award of the night as he won Best Actor in a Comedy for his work in Deadpool.
The Marvel action movie was also a bit of a surprise winner as it also took home Best Comedy later on in the evening.
Big moment: As the prize is aimed at fighting bias against women in the media, the 51-year-old actress inspired as she talked about the struggles of being a woman in the industry including fluctuating in weight for roles
Iconic: Another standout honoree was Viola Davis who was the recipient of the first ever See Her Award presented by Amy Adams, which resulted in one of the most emotional moments of the night
Sense of humor: She also began the acceptance speech by joking: 'Thank you. It's hard to accept being a role model for women when you're trying to lose weight.'
Wonder in white: Amy Adams looked gorgeous as she presented the prize to the veteran actress
Another win: Later in the night Viola was given the Best Supporting Actress gong by Kevin Hart
Another standout honoree was Viola Davis who was the recipient of the first ever See Her Award presented by Amy Adams, which resulted in one of the most emotional moments of the night.
As the prize is aimed at fighting bias against women in the media, the 51-year-old actress inspired as she talked about the struggles of being a woman in the industry including having to fluctuate in weight for her roles.
She said: 'I truly believe that the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are and I just recently embraced that at 51.'
Viola also began the acceptance speech by joking: 'Thank you. It's hard to accept being a role model for women when you're trying to lose weight.'
Dapper: The first presenter of the night was Justin Timberlake
Big winners: The 35-year-old actor gave the first gong of Best Ensemble Cast to the performers in Moonlight
It was quite the night for the veteran actress as she later took home the Best Supporting Actress gong for her role in Fences.
The event was hosted by comedic actor TJ Miller as many wonder if he would continue hosting the gig after an alleged incident.
As the Silicon Valley star was arrested earlier this week after a run-in with an Uber driver, many wondered if he would address the incident on-stage.
Big moment: Mahershala Ali accepted the award for Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight
Emotional: The talented actor teared up while thanking his wife
Quite the future ahead of him: Lucas Hedges accepted the Best Younger Actor award
During the opening monologue he did repeatedly say he was going to address 'the elephant in the room' but it was never that alleged run-in as he deflected to jokes about Donald Trump and even performed a choreographed dance.
Despite the number, the monologue did feel a bit off-beat with the funniest gag being his background dancers mimicking his every move as he performed his bits.
The first presenter of the night was Justin Timberlake who even poked fun at the interesting opening segment by joking: ''How about TJ's monologue? it made so much sense.'
Man of the hour: TJ Miller was host of the show after his arrest earlier this week
Showing off: He came out in an interesting outfit as his body was painted
Back-up plan: After doing a dance number TJ told some interesting jokes
Altogether now: His backing dancers mimicked his moves during his monologue
First man: TJ later dressed up as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in a gag
Having a blast: Natalie Portman portrayed the former Fist Lady in the film Jackie as she had a laugh during the gag
Chopped: TJ ended the show with his head on a platter
The 35-year-old actor gave the first gong of Best Ensemble Cast to the performers in Moonlight.
Barry Jenkins' coming-of-age drama was tied with Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi thriller Arrival as they had the second most nominations with 10 each.
The Critics' Choice Awards nominees and winners are selected by members of The Broadcast Film Critics Association.
The BFCA has approximately 250 members - comprised of critics working in television, radio and online media.
Golden girl: Bryce Dallas Howard was among the presenters at the star-studded event
Dynamic duo: James Marsden and Lily Collins hit the stage together
They have been conducting the Critics' Choice awards since 1995 and are considered to represent most fully - out of awards handed out by film critics - the general public's taste.
This is the 22nd year the ceremony has taken place and it is often seen as one of the best indicators for how films will fare in awards season.
Over the last 10 years, eight of the Best Picture winners have gone on to take the same accolade at the Academy Awards.
Looking good: Common presented Best Song
Reunited: Cuba Gooding Jr and Nia Long hit the stage to present as they previously starred together in Boyz N TheHood
Stunners: Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer had fun as they presented
From the years 2000 to 2013 the Critics' Choice Awards' pick for Best Picture also saw these films crowned at the Oscars: 12 Years a Slave (2013), Argo (2012), The Artist (2011), The Hurt Locker (2009), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), No Country for Old Men (2007), The Departed (2006), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Chicago (2002), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Gladiator (2000).
While for Best Actor the Critics' Choice named 12 out of the 13 Oscar winners during that same span of years.
The annual awards ceremony also predicted, by choosing its own winners, eight Best Actress winners at the Oscars in that 13 year stretch.
Handsome contest: Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling posed for a picture backstage
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