Hollywood shut down on Sunday for the town’s biggest night, the 86th annual Academy Awards. Host Ellen DeGeneres stole the show, taking an epic celebrity selfie with Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts and more stars, plus passing out pizza to the audience while Brad Pitt distributed plates. However, some of the best 2014 Oscar moments were not captured onscreen, but backstage in the pressroom with the winners.

Jared Leto kicked off the night in a big way with his win for Best Supporting Actor in "Dallas Buyers Club." Leto did something no star ever does; he passed his award around the pressroom and let all the journalists hold it!

“Does anybody want to try it out for size? You can. If anybody wants to fondle, here! Pass it around,” said Leto. “I think this is the first person to ever give their Oscar away for an orgy in the press room.”

Journalists reached for the trophy as it was handed around the room, commenting on how heavy it was. (Yes, I actually got to hold Leto’s Oscar…and it was incredibly heavy!)

“If you guys want to get a selfie with the Oscar, go for it,” said Leto. “Now's your chance!”

Unfortunately, personal cameras are not allowed in the pressroom, so journalists could not Instagram a picture touching one of Hollywood’s most highly regarded honors. Still, Leto made every media member’s night by letting him or her meet his new shiny, gold man. 

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Lupita Nyong’o was another one of the most notable interviews of the evening. After celebrating her 31st birthday the night before, she handled her win with poise, eloquence and maturity.

“What I have learned for myself is that I don't have to be anybody else; and that myself is good enough; and that when I am being true to that self, I can avail myself to extraordinary things such as this, that I didn't think was necessarily possible,” said  Nyong’o. “You have to allow for the impossible to be possible.”

More major winners included Cate Blanchett for Best Actress in a Leading Role for “Blue Jasmine” and Matthew McConaughey for Best Actor in a Leading Role for “Dallas Buyers Club.” 

“I got a prize for excellence for the work I do in something that's not my job, it's not my hobby and it's not my fad; it's my career,’ said McConaughey. “That feels wonderful.”

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The biggest award of the night went to “12 Years a Slave” for Best Picture. 

“I love this movie. I think it's important, because it deals with our history,” said Brad Pitt, actor and producer. “It's important that we understand our history not for any kind of guilt, but that we understand who we were so we can better understand who we are now and why we're having the specific problems we're having or the successes we're having; and most importantly, who we're going to be.”

Steven McQueen, the film’s director, commented on how he used to dream about his future career in making movies when he rode on the bus past film studios as a child.

“Just go for it. Do it. Make it a reality. Just go! It's just one of those things where dreams do come true in that way. It's not a fantasy,” said McQueen. “It can actually be a reality.”

After over four hours of interviews, one theme clearly immerged from the backstage interviews with all the 2014 Oscar winners: if you can dream it, you really can do it.

Read more of Neon Tommy's Oscars 2014 coverage here.

Reach Contributor Tiffany Taylor here. Follow her on Twitter here.