Who? The British actor, already named the recipient of the Rising Star award earlier in the evening for his endearing performance as real-life Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson in \u201cI Swear\u201d (releasing stateside April 24), may have been shaken by his big win, but no one was more surprised than the audience. Screams, cheers and cries of \u201cOh, my God\u201d resonated throughout the theater. In a stacked category that also included American actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan, Jesse Plemons and Ethan Hawke, BAFTA voters opted to reward one of their own.<\/p>\n
\u201cI honestly cannot believe that I won this award,\u201d Aramayo said, speaking through tears and pure shock. He expressed admiration for all of his fellow nominees, but singled out Hawke in particular.<\/p>\n
\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 Aramayo recalled. \u201cAnd it had a really great impact on everyone in that room. So to be in this category with you tonight is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In an upset, Robert Aramayo won the award for leading actor for his performance in \u201cI Swear.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Stuart Wilson \/ BAFTA \/ Getty Images for BAFTA)<\/p>\n
\u201cI Swear\u201d ultimately took home three awards, two for Aramayo and one for casting. But the film had a strong, sometimes controversial presence in the room beyond its trophies: In the film, Aramayo portrays Davidson, a notable advocate for Tourette syndrome awareness who suffers from the disorder. Davidson himself attended the BAFTA Awards and his frequent, involuntary outbursts punctuated host Alan Cumming\u2019s introduction and several of the early award presentations.<\/p>\n
When \u201cSinners\u201d stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo<\/a> presented the first award of the night, for special visual effects, Davidson could be heard shouting the N-word. It was edited out of the broadcast on BBC One and Davidson left his seat midway through the ceremony, but Cumming later addressed the situation to viewers.<\/p>\n \u201cYou may have heard some strong, offensive language tonight, but if you\u2019ve seen the film \u2018I Swear,\u2019 it\u2019s about the experience of a person with Tourette syndrome,\u201d the host explained. \u201cThe tics you have heard tonight are involuntary \u2014 that means the person who has Tourette syndrome has no control over their language and we apologize if it has caused offense.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cTraitors\u201d<\/a> host proved himself to be an amiable, good-natured BAFTAs anchor, changing his flamboyant, sequined suits several times, once to an ornate white ensemble in honor of the costume category. He was the ideal choice for an awards show that tends to avoid overt politics. Cumming hinted at ongoing global disquiet without going too far or getting too pointed.<\/p>\n \u201cLies, corrupt leaders, poisoning and persecution of a race,\u201d Cumming said, summing up the plot of \u201cZootopia 2,\u201d<\/a> adding, \u201cToo soon, Disney. Come on, people. Cut us some slack here. Whatever happened to escapism?\u201d<\/p>\n Winners kept their political views to a minimum. The ceremony was edited and aired on a delay, and this year the BBC announced early that it was on especially high alert for any comments that were perceived as scandalous.<\/p>\n Director David Borenstein, accepting the documentary award for \u201cMr. Nobody Against Putin,\u201d reflected on \u201chow quickly totalitarianism can take over a school, a workplace, a government, and how our complicity becomes fuel in that fire.\u201d He thanked his co-director and subject Pavel Talankin for \u201cshowing me that no matter how dark things get, whether it\u2019s in Russia or the streets of Minneapolis, we always face a moral choice.\u201d<\/p>\n Akinola Davies Jr., who won the prize for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer for \u201cMy Father\u2019s Shadow,\u201d concluded his speech by shouting \u201cFree Palestine\u201d\u2014 a line that did not make the edited broadcast on the BBC. It did rouse huge cheers in the room.<\/p>\n Later in the evening, Donna Langley, chair of Universal Pictures, was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship \u2014 the ceremony\u2019s equivalent of a lifetime achievement award \u2014 for her contributions to the film industry. The honor was bestowed on her by Prince William, who attended with his wife, Princess Catherine.<\/p>\n \u201cMy hope is that those of us who help tell stories for a living continue to find inspiration to make popular art that carries over into people\u2019s everyday lives,\u201d Langley said. \u201cAnd reminds us that decency is a superpower.\u201d<\/p>\n An actor in costume as Paddington Bear presents at the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards.<\/p>\n (Scott Garfitt \/ BAFTA via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Moments of sweetness and sincerity marked these BAFTA Awards, thanks in part to the presence of Paddington Bear. The character, here played by a costumed actor, arrived courtesy of \u201cPaddington the Musical,\u201d which opened last year on the West End. He received more audible gasps than Kylie Jenner when he strolled onstage to present the children\u2019s and family film award to \u201cBoong.\u201d Paddington was led off stage in an adorable moment.<\/p>\n \u201cPaddington \u2014 so cute,\u201d Cumming sighed as he departed. \u201cI just want to take him home with me. And it wouldn\u2019t be the first time I\u2019ve taken home a South American bear.\u201d<\/p>\n Although there were some notable upsets, like \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d taking the cinematography prize over such widely anticipated nominees as \u201cTrain Dreams\u201d<\/a> and \u201cSinners,\u201d many of the winners felt inevitable. Paul Thomas Anderson scored the trifecta of adapted screenplay, director and best film for \u201cOne Battle After Another.\u201d His speeches went further off the cuff with each subsequent win. \u201cI feel like the prettiest girl in the room right now,\u201d he quipped, accepting the director trophy.<\/p>\n Anderson paid tribute to his assistant director and producer, British-born Adam Somner, who died in November 2024 after wrapping production on the film. \u201cYou may think your greatest export is Alfred Hitchcock or Charlie Chaplin, but to me it was Adam Somner,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cHe made us all better.\u201d<\/p>\n The filmmaker grew particularly animated by the time the final award was announced, more than three hours after the ceremony began. \u201cAnybody that says movies aren\u2019t any good anymore can piss right off,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s awards season largely has been a race between two front-runners, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d and \u201cSinners.\u201d Both found success at the BAFTAs. Wunmi Mosaku won supporting actress for \u201cSinners,\u201d an emotional moment, while Sean Penn (not in attendance) won supporting actor for \u201cOne Battle After Another.\u201d Ryan Coogler won for his \u201cSinners\u201d original screenplay, becoming the first Black recipient in the category.<\/p>\n \u201cI come from a community that loves me,\u201d Coogler said. \u201cThey made me believe that I could do this, that I could be a writer. And it was amazing to be accepted into the community of film actors, the community of Los Angeles. For all the writers out there, when you all look at that blank page, think of who you love, think of anybody who you\u2019ve seen in pain that you identify with and wish they felt better, and let that love motivate you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHamnet,\u201d another strong Oscar contender, didn\u2019t leave empty-handed. The Chlo\u00e9 Zhao<\/a>-directed film won the prize for outstanding British film (17 people came onstage to accept it) and Jessie Buckley<\/a> won the leading actress award for her undeniable performance as Agnes, the grieving wife of William Shakespeare.<\/p>\n After forgetting her prepared remarks in her seat and finding her bearings, Buckley delivered one of the night\u2019s best speeches.<\/p>\n \u201cThis really does belong to the women past, present and future who taught me and continue to teach me how to do it differently,\u201d she said, acknowledging her fellow nominees Rose Byrne<\/a>, Kate Hudson<\/a>, Chase Infiniti, Renate Reinsve and Emma Stone. \u201cYou are all just radical and you are doing it for the naughty girls.\u201d<\/p>\n She dedicated the award to her daughter, who was 6 months old when Buckley began campaigning for \u201cHamnet.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s the best role of my life being your mum,\u201d she said. \u201cI promise to continue to be disobedient so you can belong to a world in all your complete wildness as a young woman.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the audience hurried out of Royal Festival Hall, rushing to find their seats at the dinner downstairs, Cumming offered a final thought. \u201cTonight we have welcomed people from all over the world,\u201d he said, \u201cpeople who look and sound and love differently for a celebration of stories and ideas and culture. In fact, a celebration of diversity and equality and inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd guess what?\u201d he concluded. \u201cNobody died. In fact, we laughed. A lot.\u201d<\/p>\n It was his most political statement of the night and the one that rang the most true.<\/p>\n A complete list of Sunday\u2019s winners<\/p>\n Best Film: \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d<\/p>\n Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d<\/p>\n Leading Actress: Jessie Buckley, \u201cHamnet\u201d<\/p>\n Leading Actor: Robert Aramayo, \u201cI Swear\u201d<\/p>\n Supporting Actress: Wunmi Mosaku, \u201cSinners\u201d<\/p>\n Supporting Actor: Sean Penn, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d<\/p>\n Outstanding British Film: \u201cHamnet\u201d<\/p>\n Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer: Akinola Davies Jr., \u201cMy Father\u2019s Shadow\u201d<\/p>\n Film Not in the English Language: \u201cSentimental Value\u201d<\/p>\n Documentary: \u201cMr. Nobody Against Putin\u201d<\/p>\n Animated Film: \u201cZootopia 2\u201d<\/p>\n Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d<\/p>\n Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler, \u201cSinners\u201d<\/p>\n Original Score: Ludwig G\u00f6ransson, \u201cSinners\u201d<\/p>\n Costume Design: Kate Hawley, \u201cFrankenstein\u201d<\/p>\n Production Design: Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau, \u201cFrankenstein\u201d<\/p>\n Special Visual Effects: Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett and Eric Saindon, \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash\u201d<\/p>\n Makeup & Hair: Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey, Mike Hill and Megan Many, \u201cFrankenstein\u201d<\/p>\n Editing: Andy Jurgensen, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d<\/p>\n Cinematography: Michael Bauman, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d<\/p>\n Casting: Lauren Evans, \u201cI Swear\u201d<\/p>\n Sound: Steve Speed, Nick Fry, James Evans, and Hugh Wan, \u201cF1\u201d<\/p>\n British Short Animation: \u201cTwo Black Boys in Paradise\u201d<\/p>\n British Short Film: \u201cThis Is Endometriosis\u201d<\/p>\n EE Rising Star Award: Robert Aramayo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0This year\u2019s BAFTA Awards had an unforeseen third-act twist. After a relatively calm ceremony on Sunday that primarily…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[197334,34317,223273,236,223274,30705,16457,88,2695,77739,223276,3590,223275,136036,10723,11946,54212],"class_list":{"0":"post-485289","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-bafta-awards","9":"tag-battle","10":"tag-calm-ceremony","11":"tag-celebrities","12":"tag-cumming","13":"tag-davidson","14":"tag-director","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-film","17":"tag-hamnet","18":"tag-paddington-bear","19":"tag-people","20":"tag-real-life-tourette","21":"tag-robert-aramayo","22":"tag-room","23":"tag-sinner","24":"tag-winner"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771831929_568_.jpeg\")
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