Mahershala Ali and Regina King took home the Oscars 2019 for the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, at the 91st Academy Awards.

Mahershala Ali got his career’s second Oscar in the category as he was chosen for the award this year for his role in Peter Farrelly’s biographical comedy-drama “Green Book”. Regina King got her first Oscar in the category for her performance in Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk”.

In Green Book, Ali plays Dr Don Shirley, an African-American jazz pianist and composer who is on a cross-country tour and hires a white driver (Viggo Mortensen) as a bodyguard while travelling through the racially-divided Southern states of America.

Ali, 45, had earlier got an Oscar in 2016 for playing Juan in “Moonlight” by Barry Jenkins.

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James Bond star Daniel Craig and Charlize Theron presented him the trophy at the award ceremony conducted without a host.

Dedicating the award to his grandmother, Ali said: “She has been my ear my entire life, telling me that if first don’t succeed, try, try again, that I could do anything I put my mind to. Always, always pushing me to thinking positively. I would not be here without here.”

The actor also paid tribute to Dr Shirley, saying he tried to capture his essence.

Other nominees in the category were Adam Driver (“BlacKkKlansman”), Sam Elliott (“A Star Is Born”), Richard E Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) and Sam Rockwell (“Vice”).

Ali has previously won best supporting actor awards at Golden Globe, SAG and the Critics’ Choice for his “Green Book” role.

Ali stars in HBO’s “True Detective”.

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Regina King’s Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category came for the role of Sharon Rivers that she played in “If Beale Street Could Talk”, a film based on the novel by James Baldwin. It’s a love story of two young African-Americans, Tish (Kiki Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James), who strengthen their bond through an unexpected pregnancy and a wrongful imprisonment. King, 48, plays Sharon Rivers, a fierce advocate for her daughter Tish and fights to prove Fonny’s innocence.

As she received her first Oscar, an emotional Regina King called Baldwin “the greatest artist of our time”.

“This is a little surreal. James Baldwin birthed this baby and Barry nurtured her and surrounded her with so much love and support. So it is appropriate for me to be standing here because I am an example of what it looks like when support and love is poured into someone,” she said in her speech.

Other nominees in the category were Emma Stone (“The Favourite”), Rachel Weisz (“The Favourite”), and Marina de Tavira (“Roma”).

King was accompanied by mother Gloria at the ceremony, and thanked her for teaching her that “God is always leaning”.