Winslet, Penn win best actor Oscars
Posted: 23 February 2009 1241 hrs

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HOLLYWOOD : British star Kate Winslet made it sixth time lucky at the Oscars here Sunday, winning the best actress statuette after five previous nominations ended in defeat, while Sean Penn picked up his second best actor award for his portrayal of a trailblazing gay politician in the biopic "Milk".

Penn won his first Oscar in 2003 for his role in drama "Mystic River".

In his acceptance speech, 48-year-old Penn made an emotional plea for those who have voted against gay marriage to rethink their positions.

"I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for everyone," Penn said.

Other nominees for best actor included Mickey Rourke for "The Wrestler", Richard Jenkins for "The Visitor", Frank Langella for "Frost/Nixon" and Brad Pitt for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".

Winslet - who gained earlier Oscar nominations for her roles in "Sense and Sensibility" (1995), "Titanic" (1997), "Iris" (2001), "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004), and Little Children (2006) - won for her portrayal of former concentration camp guard Hanna Schmitz in "The Reader".

Winslet admitted she had been dreaming of Oscars gold for a very long time.

"I'd be lying if I haven't made a version of this speech before. I think I was probably eight years old and staring into the bathroom mirror and this would have been a shampoo bottle," she told the audience.

"It's not a shampoo bottle now," Winslet quipped. "I feel very fortunate to have made it all the way from there to here and I'd like to thank some of the people along the way who had faith in me."

Other nominees included Meryl Streep for "Doubt", Anne Hathaway for "Rachel Getting Married", Angelina Jolie for "Changeling", and Melissa Leo for "Frozen River".

- CNA/il