From Rising Star Florence Pugh to Hugh Grant, British talent lead the Bafta nominations — and we’re on course to storm Best Actor and Director categories
BRITISH talent is on course to storm to victory at the Bafta awards, with war films leading the way.
Gary Oldman got a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, one of four Brits among the five hopefuls for a gong next month.
The London-born star, 59 – who won the category at Sunday’s Golden Globes — is up against Daniel Day-Lewis, Daniel Kaluuya and Jamie Bell. American Timothee Chalamet is the only non-Brit.
Home-grown directors Christopher Nolan, Joe Wright and Martin McDonagh will vie for the coveted Best Film prize for Dunkirk, Darkest Hour and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
All were born in London, along with Sally Hawkins who gets a nod as Leading Actress.
She plays a mute woman who falls for an amphibious creature in fantasy drama The Shape Of Water.
And Oxford actress Florence Pugh, 22, is up for the prestigious EE Rising Star award for her powerhouse performance in period drama Lady Macbeth.
Hugh Grant picked up a supporting actor nomination for his villainous turn in Paddington 2.
The movie is also in the running for outstanding British film, along with The Death Of Stalin, God’s Own Country and Lady Macbeth.
The 6,500-strong British Academy of Film and Television Arts dished out a huge snub to legendary US director Steven Spielberg.
His drama The Post, starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, got no mentions, despite six Golden Globe nominations and being tipped for an Oscar.
The Shape Of Water scooped the most nods for Baftas, which are Britain’s answer to the Oscars.
It has 12 nominations for the awards at the Royal Albert Hall on February 18.
Darkest Hour and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri both got nine and Dunkirk, eight.
Jo's host with most
JOANNA Lumley was confirmed as this year’s Bafta host hours after The Sun’s Bizarre column broke the news.
The Absolutely Fabulous star, 71, replaces Stephen Fry, 60, and will be the awards’ first woman presenter.
Joanna, who was in Paddington 2, said she agreed “indecently quickly”.
She added at the nominations announcement: “It’s just so unbelievably thrilling. I’ve been voting for BAFTA for so long”
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Bafta chairwoman Jane Lush addressed the Hollywood sexual abuse scandal as she announced the nominations yesterday.
Speaking after Tinseltown’s leading ladies wore black in protest at the Golden Globes, she said Britain’s Academy will publish a “unified set of principles and guidelines” on working practices in the industry.
She added: “We want to ensure the brave revelations become a watershed moment for lasting change in workplace of film and television.”