Bafta Awards 2026: Robert Aramayo stunned to win Best Actor at the bafta awards 2026
Robert Aramayo was visibly stunned after being named Best Actor in a Leading Role at the bafta awards 2026, awarded on Sunday night at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The English actor, who also won the EE Rising Star Award, accepted the prize for his performance in I Swear.
Bafta Awards 2026 highlights
The ceremony took place at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London on Sunday night and was hosted by Emmy-winning actor Alan Cumming. The event was scheduled to air at 7 p. m. GMT in the UK and at 8 p. m. ET/PT in North America.
Aramayo's speech and Rising Star
Aramayo, 33, was unveiled as Best Actor in a Leading Role after competing against Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Timothée Chalamet, Jesse Plemons and Michael B. Jordan. He won the major category for his role in Kirk Jones's biographical drama I Swear, in which he portrays John Davidson, a Scottish man with severe Tourette syndrome.
Appearing tearful, Aramayo told the audience, "I absolutely can't believe it, I can't believe that I'm looking at people like you (Leonardo DiCaprio), in the same category as you, never mind that I'm stood here. " He added, "I honestly cannot believe that I have won this award. I really, really cannot. Everyone in this category blows me away. "
Aramayo thanked director Jones and campaigner Davidson, and recalled a drama-school memory: "When 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 behaviours, " he said, adding, "And 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. " To conclude, he said, "OK, I'm going to stop talking now. Thank you so so so so much. " Earlier in the evening, the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power actor also won the EE Rising Star Award, which is voted for by the public. Davidson was at the ceremony to help support the film.
After Aramayo's Rising Star win, host Alan Cumming apologised to anyone who may have been offended by Davidson's strong language: "Tourette's Syndrome is a disability, and the tics you've heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette's Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologise if you are offended tonight. " Davidson later "left of his own accord" during the second half of the ceremony.
Major winners and counts
One Battle After Another took the lead with six wins, including Best Film, Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson and Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn. Ryan Coogler's Sinners nabbed three wins, with Wunmi Mosak taking home Best Supporting Actress; the list elsewhere also records Wunmi Mosaku as a winner. Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein scored Best Costume Design, Best Production Design and Best Make-up & Hair.
Full winners and nominees
The published winners and nominees list included titles and names across many categories: Hamnet — WINNER; Marty Supreme; One Battle After Another — WINNER; Sentimental Value — WINNER; Sinners; 28 Years Later; The Ballad of Wallis Island; Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy; Die My Love; H Is for Hawk; I Swear; Mr Burton; Pillion; Steve; The Ceremony (Jack King, director and writer; Hollie Bryan and Lucy Meer, producers); My Father’s Shadow (Akinola Davies Jr., director; Wale Davies, writer); Pillion (Harry Lighton, director, writer); A Want in Her (Myrid Carten, director); Wasteman (Cal McMau, director; Hunter Andrews and Eoin Doran, writers); It Was Just an Accident; The Secret Agent; sirāt; The Voice of Hind Rajab; 2, 000 Meters to Andriivka; Apocalypse in the Tropics; Cover-Up; Mr. Nobody Against Putin — WINNER; The Perfect Neighbor.
Directors named among nominees and winners included Yorgos Lanthimos (Bugonia), Chloé Zhao (Hamnet), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another — WINNER), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value) and Ryan Coogler (Sinners). The acting lists showed Jessie Buckley, Hamnet — WINNER; Rose Byrne; Kate Hudson; Renate Reinsve; Emma Stone and Robert Aramayo, I Swear — WINNER. Other acting nominees and names included Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan, Jesse Plemons, Paul Mescal, Peter Mullan, Sean Penn — WINNER, Stellan Skarsgård, Benicio Del Toro and Jacob Elordi. Animated and other category winners included ArcoBoong — WINNER and Boong — WINNER in the listings; Frankenstein and Marty Supreme featured repeatedly in design and other category results.
Other ceremony moments
The evening's coverage also noted a range of unrelated headlines and moments: "Need extra hints for today’s Strands puzzle? Here are clues and spoilers for puzzle #722. " It was noted that LeBron James called out Jaylen Brown for "that s*** he said about Bronny at Summer League" in 2024 on Sunday night. "Showtime"-era Lakers figures including Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy attended Riley's statue ceremony. Kara Braxton spent a decade in the WNBA and won a pair of titles with the Shock. A line noted that Liu's not ready to retire from figure skating after securing dual Olympic gold and that the 2030 Games are a long way out. Other items listed included a travel suggestion line: "Looking for a place to relax and reconnect with your closest pals? These destinations should be at the top of your must-see list. " Sports notes included that The Longhorns won both the men's and women's titles; a high stick to the mouth cost Hughes two teeth, but his overtime goal lifted the U. S. to gold over Canada; the U. S. men's ice hockey team held up Gaudreau's No. 13 jersey and brought two of his children onto the ice as they posed to celebrate winning the gold medal in Milan Cortina; and the line, "It all comes down to this for Team USA and Team Canada. "
The bafta awards 2026 ceremony combined major competitive wins, personal moments in winners' speeches and a range of other headlines in a single evening at the Royal Festival Hall.
