Brad Pitt thanks children as he wins first acting Oscar

Brad Pitt took a swipe at the Senate and thanked his children as he won his first acting Oscar.

He collected the best supporting actor prize for his turn as stuntman Cliff Booth in Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood.

Pitt previously won a best picture Oscar as the producer of 12 Years A Slave.

As he was handed his prize by Regina King, he referred to the former national security adviser who has reportedly written a book claiming US President Donald Trump told him he wanted to withhold aid to Ukraine until the country helped investigate former vice president Joe Biden and Democrats.

Pitt said: “They tell me I have only got 45 seconds, that is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week.

“I’m thinking maybe Quentin does a movie about it and in the end the adults do the right thing.”

He added: “This is incredible, really incredible. Thank you for this honour of honours.

“This is really about Quentin Tarantino, you are original, you are one of a kind, the film industry would be a much drier place without you.”

Paying tribute to his co-star Leonard DiCaprio, he said: “Leo, I’ll ride on your coattails any day man, the view’s fantastic.

“This is for my kids, who colour everything I do.

“Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, ain’t that the truth?”

The ceremony was opened by Janelle Monae, who appeared on the set of US children’s TV show Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood to perform the theme song, which appears in the film A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood.

She then moved into a song about the Oscars, where she was joined by Billy Porter, who performed Sir Elton John’s I’m Still Standing.

Appearing to refer to the lack of women nominated in the directing category, she said: “We are celebrating all the women who directed phenomenal films.

“I’m proud to be here as a black queer woman.”

The performance was greeted by a standing ovation.

Toy Story 4 won the best animated feature prize, while Hair Love was named best animated short.