Casey Affleck wins Best Actor after all

For Casey Affleck, the acting was ultimately enough to overcome the allegations.

Affleck won the Oscar for Best Actor on Sunday night for Manchester by the Sea, a powerfully subtle performance that made him the front-runner for the honor since the film premiered more than a year ago at Sundance. It was one of those performances that earned the "nominee" tag the minute the credits first rolled.

But in September, after old rape allegations took Nate Parker's Birth of a Nation out of the running, Mashable was first to resurface a pair of civil sexual harassment lawsuits -- settled out of court -- that had the potential to similarly haunt Affleck. Soon, many outlets followed suit, and some Oscar voters, women in particular, began saying privately that they could not support him.

Then at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the top honor went to Denzel Washington, for Fences. It began to look like Affleck was indeed vulnerable.

Instead, his name was called.

Affleck was humble and demurring in his acceptance speech: "Man, I wish I had something bigger and more meaningful to say ... I really love this community and I'm just dumbfoudned to be included."

Denzel Washington arrives at the 89th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday. Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty ImagesGetty Images

Affleck also shouted out Washington, an early mentor.

"One of the first people who taught me about acting was Denzel Washington, so. Thank you," Affleck said.