Daniel Day-Lewis drank up Oscar success Sunday night, winning the Academy Award for best actor for his fierce portrayal of an oil man who steadily loses his mind in “There Will Be Blood.”

In contrast to Daniel Plainview, the stomping, snarling, larger-than-life anti-hero of Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic drama, Day-Lewis was quietly, eloquently humble as he accepted his award.

Day-Lewis walked up the steps to accept his trophy from Helen Mirren, then went down on one knee before her, head bowed. Mirren, last year’s best-actress winner for “The Queen,” picked up his cue, touching Lewis’s Oscar to his shoulders as she would a royal sword.

“That’s the closest I’ll ever come to getting a knighthood,” the Englishman said.

At this rate, that remains to be seen.

“My deepest thanks to the members of the academy for whacking me with the handsomest bludgeon in town,” the 50-year-old continued. “I’m looking at this gorgeous thing that you’ve given me and I’m thinking back to the first devilish whisper of an idea that came to him and everything since, and it seems to me that this sprang like a golden sapling out of the mad, beautiful head of Paul Thomas Anderson.”

Day-Lewis’ win seemed inevitable: He’d already taken home Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards, as well as top honors from critics groups across the country.

Despite the art-house nature of “There Will Be Blood,” Day-Lewis’ performance has seeped its way into popular culture. A line he bellows during the film’s stunningly violent climax _ “I drink your milkshake!” _ has become a bit of a catch phrase, inspiring parodies, YouTube videos and even mashups with the catchy Kelis dance tune “Milkshake.”

This is Day-Lewis’ second Academy Award for best actor; his first came for 1989’s “My Left Foot,” based on the true story of Christy Brown, a poor Irishman born with cerebral palsy who learned how to paint and write using only one limb.

Day-Lewis was up against four actors who gave formidable performances but never really had a chance.

George Clooney was quietly powerful _ and continued to show off the range he possesses in addition to his leading-man good looks _ as the title character in “Michael Clayton,” a disillusioned “fixer” at an upscale New York law firm. Any other year, he probably would have won.

Johnny Depp was a perfect fit for the dark musical “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” starring as a homicidal barber exacting revenge in 19th century London. Tommy Lee Jones had some subtly heartbreaking moments as a no-nonsense father investigating the death of his son, an Iraq war veteran, in “In the Valley of Elah.” And Viggo Mortensen was an intimidating figure to behold as a driver for the Russian mob in “Eastern Promises.”