LOS ANGELES — Robert Downey Jr. won best supporting actor at the Academy Awards, notching his first Oscar and handing the 58-year-old actor a crowning moment in an up-and-down career.

Downey’s illustrious second act culminated Sunday with a win for his supporting turn in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” Downey Jr., 58, had been nominated twice before (for “Chaplin” and “Tropic Thunder”).

“I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the academy, in that order,” said Downey, the son of filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.

Protest and politics intruded on an election-year Academy Awards on Sunday, where demonstrations for Gaza raged outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and early awards went to “Poor Things,” “The Zone of Interest” and “The Boy and the Heron.”

Protests over Israel’s war in Gaza snarled traffic around the Academy Awards on Sunday, slowing stars’ arrival at the red carpet and turning the Oscar spotlight toward the ongoing conflict. Some protesters shouted “Shame!” at those trying to reach the Dolby Theatre.

Jonathan Glazer, the British filmmaker whose chilling Auschwitz drama “The Zone of Interest” won best international film, drew connections between the dehumanization depicted in his film and today.

“Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims, this humanization, how do we resist?”

Several attendees, including Billie Eilish and Finneas, best song nominees for “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie,” wore pins for Gaza. Ava DuVernay and Ramy Youssef were also among those wearing pins.

“Oppenheimer,” the blockbuster biopic, was widely expected to overpower all competition — including its release-date companion, “Barbie” — at an Oscars that could turn into a coronation for Christopher Nolan.

But it took more than 90 minutes into the show for “Oppenheimer” to win an award. Instead, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein-riff “Poor Things” ran away with three prizes for its sumptuous craft, including awards for production design, makeup and hairstyling and costume design.

Jimmy Kimmel, hosting the ABC telecast for the fourth time, opened the 96th Academy Awards with an monologue that drew a few cold looks (from Robert Downey Jr., Sandra Hüller and Messi, the dog from best-picture nominee “Anatomy of a Fall”). But Kimmel, emphasizing Hollywood as “a union town” following 2023’s actor and writer strikes, drew a standing ovation for bringing out teamsters and behind-the-scenes workers — who are now entering their own labor negotiations.

The night’s first award was one of its most predictable: Da’Vine Joy Randolph for best supporting actress, for her performance in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” An emotional Randolph was accompanied to the stage by her “Holdovers” co-star Paul Giamatti.

“For so long I’ve always wanted to be different,” said Randolph. “And now I realize I just need to be myself.”

Though Randolph’s win was widely expected, an upset quickly followed. Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” won for best animated feature, a surprise over the slightly favored “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Miyazaki, the 83-year-old Japanese anime master who came out of retirement to make “The Boy and the Heron,” didn’t attend the ceremony. He also didn’t attend the 2003 Oscars when his “Spirited Away” won the same award.

Best original screenplay went to “Anatomy of a Fall,” which, like “Barbie,” was penned by a couple: director Justine Triet and Arthur Harari. “This will help me through my midlife crisis, I think,” said Triet.