BAFTAs Film winners: Robert Aramayo wins best leading actor, Aussies miss out

Marty Supreme's Timothée Chalamet has run away with most of the best actor gongs this season in the run-up to what many have predicted will be his first Oscar. 

But Chalamet was pipped at the post at the BAFTAs by Robert Aramayo's performance as Scottish Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson in the biographical film I Swear.

"I absolutely can't believe this while looking at people like you," Aramayo said, pointing to Leonardo DiCaprio, whom he also beat.

"I honestly cannot believe I have won this award. 

"When I was in school, Ethan Hawke gave a talk on longevity as an actor, about protecting your instrument and avoiding self-destructive behaviours. So to be in this category with you tonight is incredible."

Davidson, who was also at the BAFTAs, was given a shout-out by Aramayo as he accepted his rising star award, which acknowledges new talents in the acting industry.

"John Davidson is the most remarkable man I've ever met," he said. 

"He's so forthcoming with education, he believes there's so much more to know about Tourette's."

I Swear has been collecting rave reviews, particularly for Aramayo's performance, since its UK debut last year. The film opens in Australian cinemas on March 26.

Australian leading actress hopeful Rose Byrne lost out to Hamnet's Jessie Buckley, while One Battle After Another's Sean Penn won supporting actor over Jacob Elordi's performance in Frankenstein.

Cumming charms

Cabaret star Alan Cumming led the BAFTA film proceedings this year, making sure to acknowledge up top that, "Watching films this year was like having a collective breakdown," touching on the child death in Hamnet.

"Whatever happened to escapism? I'm exhausted," he said.

"It's almost as though, I don't know, there are events going on in the real world that are influencing filmmakers. Anyone else, like you Americans in particular?"

The stage star then led the audience in a nice, cleansing primal scream, which about a quarter participated in.

Other highlights of Cumming's hosting included handing double Oscar-winner Emma Stone some hula hoops ("a kind of glutinous ring with salt on it") in a snack bit and asking Prince William to acknowledge his costume change.

Sinners sees a little light

After spending most of the season in nominations jail (lots of nominations, spotty wins), Ryan Coogler's evocative hybrid horror musical Sinners finally got a few moments in the sun at the BAFTAs.

Early in the awards, the supporting actress award went to Wunmi Mosaku, who gave a knockout performance in Sinner as Annie and has been largely ignored even in terms of nominations up until the BAFTAs.

"Through her I deepened my belief in my potential, my capacity to love and hope in the darkest moments of grief and in the face of this harsh world."

Coogler took home original screenplay, a category he has dominated for most of the season, but missed out on director and best film, with the latter going to Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another.

Sinners also picked up the BAFTA for original score for composer Ludwig Göransson.

Welcome to the stage… Huntrix

Cumming mentioned that KPop Demon Hunter single Golden has been listened to 4 billion times (but what's one more?), as AJAE, Nuna and Ami — the singing voices of Huntrix — took to the BAFTAs stage to perform the song for the first time outside the US.

Despite being the hot favourite to take home best original song at the upcoming Academy Awards, Golden was not eligible for the BAFTAs due to the film not having a theatrical release that met eligibility requirements. Streamer Netflix appealed, claiming the film's later theatrical run should have been accepted as an "exceptional circumstances", to no avail.

But there seemed to be no love lost as the Huntrix singers, clad in red and gold, floated across the BAFTAs stage, complete with backup dancers and pyrotechnics.

See the list of BAFTA winners below.

Where does this leave us for the Oscars?

Don't make the mistake of thinking Robert Aramayo's surprise BAFTA best actor win means big changes for the equivalent Oscar, mostly because Aramayo is not nominated for the Academy Award like many of his BAFTA category peers, which means safe money is on Timothée Chalamet, who has been the frontrunner for most of the season.

Paul Thomas Anderson's best director and best film wins for One Battle After Another at the BAFTAs further solidify the film's chances for the big two at the Oscars. But OBAA's win is Sinners' loss, despite Coogler taking the BAFTA for best original screenplay and the vampire screamer being the most-nominated film in Oscar's history.

However, it was spectacular to see Sinner's Wunmi Mosaku receive some well-deserved love for her performance as Annie at the BAFTAs, which gives her run at the Oscar more steam in a category that has also been passed around various winners this year.

It's a similar case for best supporting actor, which was given to an absent Sean Penn for his turn as a psychotic army man in One Battle After Another at the BAFTAs. 

Stellan Skarsgård, who picked up the Golden Globe for this category, has been a light favourite. But considering Penn's win today and Jacob Elori's surprise Critics Choice win, the chance for an Australian upset is there.

If only it were the same case for best leading actress, which was won by Hamnet's Jesse Buckley at the BAFTAs in a trend that has been fairly consistent all season. 

Rose Byrne had steam early on after winning a slew of smaller industry awards for her performance in If I Has Legs I'd Kick You. But another loss to Buckley doesn't look good for her chance at the Academy Award.

Best film

• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another — WINNER
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners

Outstanding British film

• 28 Years Later
• The Ballad of Wallis Island
• Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
• Die My Love
• H is for Hawk
• Hamnet — WINNER
• I Swear
• Mr Burton
• Pillion
• Steve

Director

• Bugonia, Yorgos Lanthimos
• Hamnet, Chloé Zhao
• Marty Supreme, Josh Safdie
• One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson — WINNER
• Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier
• Sinners, Ryan Coogler

Leading actor

• Robert Aramayo, I Swear — WINNER
• Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
• Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
• Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
• Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
• Jesse Plemons, Bugonia

Leading actress

• Jessie Buckley, Hamnet — WINNER
• Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
• Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue
• Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another
• Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
• Emma Stone, Bugonia

Supporting actor

• Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
• Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
• Paul Mescal, Hamnet
• Peter Mullan, I Swear
• Sean Penn, One Battle After Another — WINNER
• Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value

Supporting actress

• Odessa A'zion, Marty Supreme
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
• Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners — WINNER
• Carey Mulligan, The Ballad of Wallis Island
• Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
• Emily Watson, Hamnet

Original screenplay

• I Swear
• Marty Supreme
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners — WINNER

Adapted screenplay

• The Ballad of Wallis Island
• Bugonia
• Hamnet
• One Battle After Another — WINNER
• Pillion

Film not in the English language

• It Was Just an Accident
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value — WINNER
• Sirat
• The Voice of Hind Rajab

Animated Film

• Elio
• Little Amelie
• Zootropolis 2 — WINNER

Documentary

• 2000 Meters To Andriivka
• Apocalypse In The Tropics
• Cover-Up
• Mr Nobody Against Putin — WINNER
• The Perfect Neighbour

Original score

• Bugonia
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners — WINNER

Cinematography

• Frankenstein
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another — WINNER
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

Click here to see the full list of 2026 BAFTA nominees.