'The Brutalist' star Adrien Brody crowned best actor at the Oscars

Brody's new Oscar came two decades after he was named best actor at age 29 for "The Pianist."

"Acting is a very fragile profession," Brody said on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. "No matter where you are in your career, it can all go away. I think what makes this most special is the awareness of that."

Zoe Saldana was named best supporting actress for her role as the fixer for a Mexican drug lord in the Spanish-language Netflix NFLX.O musical "Emilia Perez."

Speaking through tears, Saldana said her grandmother had come to the United States in 1961 and would be thrilled to see her win for a role in which she sings and speaks in Spanish.

"I am a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hard-working hands," she said.

Saldana also thanked her husband "with that beautiful hair."

Kieran Culkin, who started acting as a child, received the best supporting actor award for playing one of two cousins who travel to Poland to study their family's roots in "A Real Pain."

"I have no idea how I got here," Culkin said. "I've been acting all my life. I never felt like this was my trajectory."

"Anora," a story about a sex worker who gets a shot at a Cinderella story, landed the awards for original screenplay and film editing. The adapted screenplay award was given to "Conclave," a movie that imagines the secret proceedings to select a new pope.

Both films are considered candidates to win the top honor of the night, the best picture statuette.

The prize for best animated feature went to independent film "Flow," the first movie from Latvia to win an Oscar. Brazilian movie "I'm Still Here" received the best international feature award.

Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes are chosen by the roughly 11,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Nominees Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo opened the Oscars celebration with a "Wizard of Oz"-themed medley including the showstopping hit "Defying Gravity" from their film "Wicked."

Grande, Saldana, Selena Gomez and other stars wore shiny and sculptural gowns. Timothee Chalamet chose a canary yellow tuxedo, prompting a jab from the Oscars host, comedian Conan O'Brien.

"You will not get hit on your bike tonight," O'Brien said.

Midway through the show, O'Brien brought a group of Los Angeles firefighters to the stage and thanked them for their work during the January wildfires. He also invited them to deliver a few jokes.

"It's great to be back with Conan," said Pasadena Fire Captain Jodi Slicker. "Usually when he calls, he's stuck in a tree."