Jessie Buckley makes Bafta history with best actress win
jessie buckley extended her awards streak by winning the best actress prize at the EE British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards on Sunday, two days after she took the equivalent Irish Film and Television Academy award in Dublin — the first time an Irish performer has won Bafta’s best actress prize.
Jessie Buckley accepts on London’s South Bank
Jessie Buckley accepted the best actress Bafta at the Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank, appearing luminous in blue and saying, “This is nuts, ” after receiving the award from compatriot Cillian Murphy — a canny move by Bafta. Buckley was nominated for playing a wracked Agnes Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet and used her speech to salute other women in the craft: “This really does belong to the women past, present and future who taught me and continue to teach me how to do it differently. ”
A personal win: family and the road
Buckley spoke about juggling career commitments and family while managing awards season with notable commitments, telling the crowd she shares the win “with my daughter, who has been with me since she was six weeks old on the road with this. ” She added, “It’s the best role of my life being your mum and I promise to continue to be disobedient so you can belong to a world in all your complete wildness as a young woman. ”
Shocks in the actor categories
The night produced surprises in the acting races: Paul Mescal, nominated for playing William Shakespeare in Hamnet, lost out in best supporting actor to an absent Sean Penn, sinister as a messianic despot in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. Stellan Skarsgård had looked the favourite in that category, but Penn’s win was noted as opening the corresponding Oscar race up considerably.
Biggest surprise: Robert Aramayo’s double triumph
Perhaps the evening’s biggest shock came when Robert Aramayo, the young star of Kirk Jones’s drama I Swear, beat Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio to the best actor prize. I Swear tells the story of John Davidson, a courageous Scottish campaigner for those with Tourette syndrome; the film was a significant hit in the UK and Ireland but has barely registered with awards bodies elsewhere. The Yorkshireman, who also won rising star, appeared stunned by the prize.
Technical wins and Irish craftspeople
Richard Baneham took a second Bafta in special visual effects for Avatar: Fire and Ash; the Tallaght man said, “I have to say go raibh maith agat to Jim Cameron, our visionary director, ” and thanked “the crew in our stage and lab in New Zealand and in LA. ” Element Pictures, the Oscar-winning Dublin-based production company, were named as proud co-producers of Akinola Davies jnr’s My Father’s Shadow, which won outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer; Akinola Davies jnr shares that prize with his co-writer Wale Davies.
One Battle After Another dominates overall best film
Hamnet managed to win best British film but could not get past One Battle After Another for overall best film; One Battle After Another took six Baftas, including best director and best adapted screenplay, anchoring its haul across major categories.
Sinners, Mosaku and Oscar implications
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners triumphed in three categories — original screenplay, original score and, for British performer Wunmi Mosaku, best supporting actress — and the evening flagged shifting Oscar trajectories. Mosaku’s victory over Carey Mulligan and Teyanna Taylor was called a minor upset, prompting questions about whether Mosaku might now be edging in advance of Taylor, who is up for One Battle After Another, in the race for the Oscar. Mosaku said from the podium, “Thank you Bafta for this incredible honour, ” and added, “To my daughter, you are my greatest teacher. I am so proud of you, eve
The Baftas have reshaped several award races and leave the industry focused on the corresponding Oscar contests in the months ahead.
