Historic firsts at the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards
What's the story
The 2024 BAFTA Film Awards—held at London's Royal Festival Hall—turned out to be a memorable affair for reasons more than one. While Christopher Nolan and his team had the most splendid night with seven spectacular wins for box office giant Oppenheimer, the event redefined history with several new records and first wins. Here's how BAFTAs re-scripted archives on Monday night.
#1
Robert Downey Jr. previously won a BAFTA three decades ago
Robert Downey Jr. shattered Sir Anthony Hopkins's record for having the longest gap between two BAFTA victories, by clinching Best Supporting Actor for Oppenheimer, 31 years after his BAFTA victory for Chaplin. Previously, the record was set at 27 years, with Hopkins first winning the BAFTA in 1994 for Shadowlands and then in 2021 for The Father. Downey Jr. won the Golden Globe in the same category for Oppenheimer, too.
#2
'The Boy and The Heron' set this record
The critics' and audiences' favorite The Boy and The Heron went home with Best Animated Film title. This is a historically significant milestone because it's the first time a Japanese movie has won this honor in all these years! Directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli, it earlier clinched the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
#3
Da'Vine Joy Randolph became the sole non-white winner
Da'Vine Joy Randolph secured Best Supporting Actress for The Holdovers, making her the sole non-white winner in any acting category and further diversifying the winners' list. She competed with Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), Claire Foy (All of Us Strangers), and Rosamund Pike (Saltburn). Joy Randolph plays Mary, a grieving mother in Alexander Payne's The Holdovers. It's currently running in Indian cinemas.
#4
Cillian Murphy brought fame and prestige to Ireland
Oppenheimer's leading star Cillian Murphy became the first Irish actor to bag Best Actor in a Leading Role BAFTA. To snag this award, he whizzed past Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Colman Domingo (Rustin), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), Barry Keoghan (Saltburn), and Teo Yoo (Past Lives). In his acceptance speech, the 28 Days Later actor described his role as "a colossally knotty character."
#5
First BAFTA for Nolan
Acclaimed British-American director Nolan finally triumphed, earning Best Director for Oppenheimer after previous nominations in 2011 (Inception) and 2018 (Dunkirk). He was in contention with Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers), Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall), Alexander Payne (The Holdovers), Bradley Cooper (Maestro), and Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest). Nolan is also the frontrunner to win the Best Director Academy Award next month.
Almost there, but not quite
However, there were some missed opportunities, too
While the event witnessed several groundbreaking moments, some records remained unbroken. Thelma Schoonmaker could have been the first to win Best Editing thrice but lost to Susan Shopmaker for The Holdovers. Schoonmaker earlier won for Raging Bull and Goodfellas and this time, was nominated for Killers of the Flower Moon. Moreover, Oppenheimer, with its seven awards, fell short of tying the all-time record of nine set by Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid in 1971.