The sun shone again on the career of Nigeria’s globally acclaimed actor Chiwetel Ejiofor as he won the best actor award at the 2014 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards yesterday in London.
Ejiofor, who won the big honour on account of his superlative acting in ‘12 Years a Slave’, the film that captured 19th-century American slavery, beat fellow shortlisted actors Bruce Dern, Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.
He thanked the film’s producer, Steve McQueen, for his “work, artistry and passion in this project,” saying: “This is yours, I know that … you know that. I’m going to keep it, that’s the kind of guy I am, but it’s yours.”
“Ejiofor was visibly moved and a little nervous. Few people will be surprised if the London-born actor is not having to do it all again at next month’s Oscars ceremony,” says The Guardian of London.
News express reports that Ejiofor on February 2 experienced another pre-Oscars boost by winning the best actor’s award at the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards in London.
BAFTA 2014 full list of winners
Best actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Best picture: 12 Years a Slave
Best British film: Gravity
Best director: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Best actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Best supporting actor: Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Best supporting actress: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Best original screenplay: American Hustle, Eric Warren Singer, David O Russell
Best adapted screenplay: Philomena, Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
Best foreign: The Great Beauty, Paolo Sorrentino, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima
Best documentary: The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer
Best animation: Frozen, Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Best cinematography: Gravity, Emmanuel Lubezki
Best editing: Rush, Dan Hanley, Mike Hill
Best production design: The Great Gatsby, Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn
Best costume design: The Great Gatsby, Catherine Martin
Best make-up and hair: American Hustle, Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell
Best sound: Gravity, Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro
Best original music: Gravity, Steven Price
Best special visual effects: Gravity, Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny
Best British short animation: Sleeping with the Fishes, James Walker, Sarah Woolner, Yousif Al-Khalifa
Best British short film: Room 8, James W. Griffiths, Sophie Venner
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer: Keiran Evans (Director/Writer), Kelly + Victor
The EE Rising Star award (voted for by public): Will Poulter