LOS ANGELES, February 24 -- Amid fanfare at the Oscard Award ceremony, Javier Bardem won the supporting-actor Academy Award on Sunday for his role in "No Country for Old Men."

Actor Javier Bardem accepts the Oscar for best supporting actor for "No Country for Old Men" during the 80th annual Academy Awards, the Oscars, in Hollywood February 24, 2008.  [Agencies]

Bardem plays a terrifying yet perversely amusing character in "No Country for Old Men," one of the favorites for Oscar gold.

"This is pretty amazing," he exclaimed, expressing thanks to, among others, his mother.

Earlier in the evening, the bloody musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" was honored with an Oscar for art direction. Italian production designer Dante Ferretti and his wife, set designer Francesca Lo Schiavo, shared the honor.

"The Golden Compass" led to an Oscar for visual effects.

The 80th Annual Academy Awards got underway beneath gray skies and drizzles at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles.