Colin Firth and Natalie Portman were named Best Actor and Actress at last nights (14.01.11) VH1 Critics Choice Awards.

The British actor took away the trophy for his role as Britain's stammering King Edward VI in 'The King's Speech', while Natalie was awarded for her portrayal of ballet dancer Nina Sayers in 'Black Swan'.

Accepting her award, Natalie thanked director Darren Aaronofsky not only for his work on the film, but for introducing her to fiance, choreographer Benjamin Millepied, with whom she is now expecting a baby.

Addressing Darren, she said: "You are responsible for getting me skinny and indirectly responsible for getting me very fat, as you introduced me to my love."

The awards are one of the first of the season, and seen by many as an indicator as to who will triumph at the Golden Globes - held tomorrow (16.01.11) - and the Oscars.

Referring to the spate of awards shows in coming weeks, Colin said: "I will be wearing this around my neck to give me magical powers as we all enter the fray again."

Meanwhile the biggest winners of the night were 'Inception' and 'The Social Network', with the former - a psychological thriller starring Leonardo Di Caprio - taking home six awards, including Best Action Movie, and the latter taking home the prestigious Best Picture accolade.

'The Social Network' was directed by David Fincher and stars Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, and gives a fictional account of the establishment of social networking site, based around the story of internet site Facebook.

Other award winners included Christian Bale and Melissa Leo, who scooped Best Supporting Actor and Actress respectively for 'The Fighter', about boxer Dicky Ward, and Hailee Steinfeld, who was named Best Young Actor for her part in cowboy remake 'True Grit'.

Complete List of Critics' Choice Winners:

Best Picture

'The Social Network'

Best Actor

Colin Firth, 'The King's Speech'

Best Actress

Natalie Portman, 'Black Swan'

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, 'The Fighter'

Best Supporting Actress

Melissa Leo, 'The Fighter'

Best Acting Ensemble

'The Fighter'

Best Director

David Fincher, 'The Social Network'

Best Original Screenplay

David Seidler, 'The King's Speech'

Best Adapted Screenplay

Aaron Sorkin, 'The Social Network'

Best Animated Feature

'Toy Story 3'

Best Young Actor/Actress (Under 21)

Hailee Steinfeld, 'True Grit'

Best Action Movie

'Inception'

Best Comedy Movie

'Easy A'

Best Picture Made For Television

'The Pacific'

Best Foreign Language Film

'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'

Best Documentary Feature

'Waiting For Superman'

Best Song

'If I Rise' (Dido and AR Rahman), 127 Hours

Best Score

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, 'The Social Network'

Best Visual Effects

'Inception'

Best Cinematography

'Inception'

Best Costume Design

'Alice in Wonderland'

Best Makeup

'Alice in Wonderland'

Best Sound

'Inception'

Best Art Direction

'Inception'

Best Editing

'Inception'

The Joel Siegel Award:

Matt Damon

The Music and Film Award

Quentin Tarantino