\n\tRobert Aramayo pulled off one of the all-time BAFTA upsets on Sunday night when he beat a line-up of Hollywood all-stars \u2014 Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, Jesse Plemons and Michael B. Jordan \u2014 to take home the leading actor award for his performance as real-life Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson in Kirk Jones\u2019 \u201cI Swear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI absolutely can\u2019t believe it, I can\u2019t believe that I\u2019m looking at people like you, in the same category as you, never mind that I\u2019m stood here,\u201d the tearful actor, who also stars as Elrond in Prime Video\u2019s \u201cLord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,\u201d said to his fellow nominees. \u201cI honestly cannot believe that I have won this award. I really, really cannot. Everyone in this category blows me away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAramayo went on to thank a number of people including director and writer Jones as well as Davidson, before sharing an anecdote about Hawke from his schooldays. \u201cWhen I was in school, Ethan Hawke came in to speak to us at Juilliard and he gave an amazing talk on longevity as an actor, about protecting your instrument and avoiding self destructive behaviors,\u201d the younger actor recalled. \u201cAnd it had a really great impact on everyone in that room. So to be in this category with you tonight is incredible. Thank you Ethan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tStill in shock, he wrapped with: \u201cOK I\u2019m going to stop talking now. Thank you so so so so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tEarlier in the evening Aramayo also won the EE Rising Star Award while \u201cI Swear\u201d casting director Lauren Evans won the casting award. Co-star Peter Mullan was nominated for supporting actor while the film was nominated for outstanding British film although it lost out in the category to \u201cHamnet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tSet in 1980s Scotland, \u201cI Swear\u201d follows John Davidson, a young man with severe Tourette syndrome, which can present with tics and outbursts involving cursing, as he navigates rejection from his family and society at a time when the condition was barely understood, and his eventual emergence as a national advocate for the disorder. <\/p>\n