Stars including Lady Gaga and Jessie Buckley are leading a female charge for honours at this year’s BAFTAs with 70 women nominated for awards.
Gaga, who wowed critics in House of Gucci, faces competition for the leading actress award from stars including Tessa Thompson for Passing and Licorice Pizza’s Alana Haim.
Buckley, currently wowing West End audiences in Cabaret, is shortlisted for supporting actress for The Lost Daughter alongside Ruth Negga whose performance in Passing sees her nominated in the same category.
She said: “Making this film surrounded by these incredible women was an absolute gift. I’m so grateful for every second of it and to Bafta for this recognition of The Lost Daughter.”
The best director shortlist is an equal split between men and women with Jane Campion among the favourites for The Power of the Dog.
Her film also gets a leading actor nomination for Benedict Cumberbatch – one of eight for the critically-acclaimed western while science-fiction epic Dune has the most nominations with 11 with both up for best film alongside Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast,Licorice Pizza and Don’t Look Up.
Cumberbatch said he was “deeply humbled and grateful” for his nomination.
He said the role “took me a long way from anything familiar to me and this recognition of that work feels like completing the circle and coming home”.
He also payed tribute to Campion hailing her as “our amazing leader”.
The leading actor category includes nominations for Will Smith, for his portrayal of the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard, Mahershala Ali in Swan Song and Leonardo Di Caprio in Don’t Look Up.
Also nominated is Stephen Graham for Boiling Point where he plays a charismatic chef at work in a high class London restaurant.
Missing from the list is Daniel Craig who said goodbye to James Bond in No Time to Die though the film itself gets five nominations including Outstanding British Film. There is also no recognition for Dame Judi Dench though two of her co-stars in Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical drama – Caitriona Balfe and Ciarán Hinds – are in the running for supporting actress and supporting actor respectively.
They are among 70 female nominees – the highest number in five years – which BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar said was part of a celebration of “a remarkable range of creative work”.
There is also more new talent recognised with 19 of the 24 nominees in the performance categories receiving their first BAFTA nomination including C’mon C’mon star Woody Norman who is up for Best Supporting Actor aged 11 – making him the youngest nominee this year.
Mr Majumdar said: “Two years ago, we launched a wide-ranging review into our voting, membership and campaigning processes and I want to thank the BAFTA members and the wider industry for embracing these changes. Our goal is to level the playing field for awards entries so that more films and the true diverse range of exceptional creative talent in the UK and internationally is represented and celebrated.”
The nominations were announced today by AJ Odudu and Tom Allen at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly in London and the ceremony, hosted by Rebel Wilson, will be at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday March 13 and be shown on BBC One.
