The 85th Academy Awards promised lots of upsets and surprises, and they delivered.

The night’s big winner was Argo, the fact-based drama about a mission in which the CIA teamed up with Hollywood producers for a rescue during the Iran Hostage Crisis. Although the film received seven nominations, it was initially discounted as a serious contender because its director Ben Affleck was not nominated.

But the picture began racking awards from industry and critics’ groups and wound up winning three big Oscars, including Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay. In an unusual move, Jack Nicholson recounted the titles of the nominees in the main prize in the company of First Lady Michelle Obama, who appeared via satellite from the White House to celebrate the importance of the arts and announce the winning film.

And Affleck, who also produced Argo, got his chance to take the stage anyway.

“I know what you’re thinking: The three sexiest producers alive,” said Grant Heslov, standing between his two co-producers, Affleck and George Clooney.

“I want to acknowledge Steven Spielberg who is a genius and a tower among us,” said a visibly thrilled Affleck, who got emotional while thanking his wife Jennifer Garner.

“I was here 10 years ago and I really didn’t know what I was doing,” Affleck said of his previous Oscar win for co-writing Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon. “I was just a kid. And I am [back], because so many people extended themselves to me when I couldn’t get a job. It doesn’t matter how you get knocked down in life. All that matters is that you have to get up.”

Argo is only the fourth in Oscar history to win the big prize without a Best Director nomination.

Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln headed into the night with the most nominations — 12 — but the film wound up winning only two Oscars, including Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, whose performance as the 16th President was an uncanny bit of acting that helped turn a talky historical drama into a commercial and critical hit.

“I really don’t know how any of this happened. I do know that I received more than my share of good fortune in my life,” said Day-Lewis, who became the first actor to win this category three times. The actor joked that Meryl Streep had been Spielberg’s first choice to play Lincoln. “I’d like to see that version.”

Ang Lee’s visually groundbreaking Life of Pi won four Oscars, including Best Director for Ang Lee. This marks the second time the filmmaker has won this category without a Best Picture prize to match (the first was 2005’s Brokeback Mountain).

A breathless Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for her portrayal of a mentally unbalanced widow in the cracked romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook — the film’s only win out of eight nominations.

Another surprise was Christoph Waltz’s victory in the Supporting Actor race for his performance as the loquacious bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained (this is Waltz’s second Oscar in the category; he previously won for another Tarantino film, 2009’s Inglourious Basterds).

“We participated in a hero’s journey — the hero here being Quentin,” Waltz said in reference to the controversy that surrounded the film’s graphic depiction of slavery. “You scaled the mountain because you’re not afraid of it. You slayed the dragon because you’re not afraid of it, and you crossed the fire because it’s worth it. I borrowed my character’s words: Sorry, I couldn’t resist here.”