LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Daniel Day-Lewis won his second best actor Academy Award on Sunday for his lead role in "There Will Be Blood."

    In "There Will Be Blood," Day-Lewis plays a raging, conniving, acquisitive petroleum pioneer caught up in California's oil boom of the early 20th century.

    His part could scarcely have been more different than his understated role as a writer with severe cerebral palsy in 1989's "My Left Foot," film analysts said.

    "My deepest thanks to the academy for whacking me with the handsomest bludgeon in town," Day-Lewis said at the ceremony held at the Kodar Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

    Earlier in the evening, Austria's "The Counterfeiters" has been named best foreign language film at the 80th Academy Awards.