Daniel Craig’s last outing as James Bond overlooked at Baftas as No Time To Die misses out on four awards
DANIEL Craig’s final outing as James Bond in No Time To Die failed in all but one of its five nominations at last night’s EE British Academy Film Awards.
The ceremony at London’s Royal Albert Hall was geared towards celebrating the spy franchise’s 60th year — with Dame Shirley Bassey opening the event with her 1971 title track Diamonds Are Forever.
Daniel, 54, will be pleased he chose to skip the prestigious 75th annual event as his film only scooped the gong for editing.
One concession for the franchise was that the first ever female 007, British actress Lashana Lynch, 34, won the Rising Star Award.
It was presented to her by pop superstar Lady Gaga, 35 — who lost out herself in the Best Actress category. Her role in House Of Gucci was beaten by Brit Joanna Scanlan, 60, for hit drama After Love.
Joanna broke down in tears backstage and said: “To be honoured by Bafta in film as a leading actress is the highest accolade I could ever aspire to.
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“I just never imagined I would receive this honour, genuinely.”
And Lashana, whose character Nomi is handed Bond’s active service number after he retires, gave a powerful speech revealing she’d received cruel messages over the film’s twist.
She said: “I encouraged the dislike, the non-support, because it reminded me of the work I need to do and the industry needs to do and the world needs to do in order for the people who do not support ideas like Nomi to become real.”
No Time To Die lost out to Belfast — Sir Kenneth Branagh’s black and white film about The Troubles — which took Outstanding British Film.
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In his speech, Sir Kenneth, 61, said: “Thank you to British cinema audiences for watching in tonnage the UK-Irish cinema film at a UK and Ireland cinema.
"All hail the streaming revolution, but all hail the big screen too — it’s alive. Long may they live together.”
Benedict Cumberbatch, 45, was overlooked for the Best Actor gong in favour of Will Smith, 53 — who won his first Bafta for King Richard. But Benedict’s film, The Power Of The Dog, landed Best Film and Best Director for Jane Campion, 67.
London-born director Jeymes Samuel, 42, won Outstanding Debut for his film, The Harder They Fall, while British costume designer Jenny Beavan, 71, was honoured for her work on the 2021 film Cruella.
Sci-fi film Dune was the biggest overall winner, picking up five Baftas out of a possible 11.
Coda, a film about the only hearing member of a deaf family, won the Adapted Screenplay gong.
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Actor Troy Kotsur, 53, who is deaf, picked up the Supporting Actor accolade for his part in the film.
Using an interpreter backstage he said: “I feel like I’ve been an outsider for so long. Now it seems filmmakers are thinking outside the box. Trust me. There’s some great work to come.”
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