Who was the 2016 Oscar winner for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards?

Introduction / Context:
The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, include the very prestigious category of Best Actor in a Leading Role. Film and current affairs questions frequently ask about famous Oscar winners, especially in recent years. The 2016 Oscars, which honoured films released in 2015, are memorable because a long awaited win finally came for a very famous Hollywood actor. This question asks you to identify that actor from the given options.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The year of the award is 2016.
• The category is Best Actor in a Leading Role.
• The options list Leonardo DiCaprio, Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, and Michael Fassbender.
• Only one of these actors won the Oscar in that year and category.

Concept / Approach:
Leonardo DiCaprio had been nominated for the Oscars multiple times but had not won until the 2016 ceremony, where he was awarded Best Actor for his performance in the film The Revenant. This win was widely celebrated and heavily covered in the media, making it a key memory point for exam takers. Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, and Michael Fassbender were also nominated for strong roles that year, but the trophy went to DiCaprio. Therefore, you must associate 2016 Best Actor with Leonardo DiCaprio and The Revenant.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the year 2016 and the Best Actor category. Step 2: Recall the memorable news that Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Oscar for The Revenant. Step 3: Recognise that Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, and Michael Fassbender were strong contenders but did not win. Step 4: Confirm in your memory that this was a leading role award, not a supporting actor award. Step 5: Choose Leonardo DiCaprio as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify your choice by remembering how social media and news channels reacted to DiCaprio win, with many posts and jokes about him finally receiving an Oscar after many years of nominations. Such strong cultural moments serve as excellent memory cues. Since none of the other options produced a similar global reaction in 2016, this makes Leonardo DiCaprio the safe and confirmed answer.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Bryan Cranston was nominated for his performance in Trumbo but did not win the Oscar.

Matt Damon was nominated for The Martian, yet he did not take the award that year.

Michael Fassbender was also nominated, for Steve Jobs, but again the final award went to DiCaprio.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is mixing up nomination lists with winners, especially when the nominations are high profile. Another pitfall is forgetting which year corresponds to which film season. To avoid this, link the win to a unique story or headline, such as DiCaprio finally winning after many tries, and connect that with the year 2016 and the movie The Revenant.

Final Answer:
The 2016 Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role was awarded to Leonardo DiCaprio.