Robert Downey Jr has won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in Oppenheimer, at the 96th Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Downey Jr plays Lewis Strauss, J Robert Oppenheimer’s nemesis in the Christopher Nolan-directed biopic of the pioneering atomic-weapons scientist, played by Cillian Murphy. It is Downey’s first Oscar win, having previously been nominated for best actor in 1993 for Chaplin, and for best supporting actor in 2009 for Tropic Thunder.

The actor was the favourite for the award, having already won a string of major best supporting prizes for the role, including the Golden Globe, Bafta, and Screen Actors Guild awards. However, he had to overcome a strong field, including Robert De Niro for Killers of the Flower Moon, Ryan Gosling for Barbie and Mark Ruffalo for Poor Things.

Downey Jr thanked his “terrible childhood and the Academy, in that order” as well as his “veterinarian … sorry … wife, Susan Downey. She found me a snarling rescue pet and loved me back to life. That’s why I’m here.”

Downey Jr’s “little secret”, he said, was that “I needed this job more than it needed me … I stand here before you a better man because of it.”

Read more about the 2024 Oscars:

• Here’s our news wrap and full list of winners – now read Peter Bradshaw’s verdict
• Al Pacino, British mothers and a codpiece envelope: the real winners and losers of the night
• Relive how the ceremony unfolded with our liveblog and get up to speed with the top viral moments and the best quotes of the night
• Have a gander at how the stars looked on the red carpet and at the show