British actor Robert Aramayo has won the Bafta for Best Actor, beating Hollywood heavyweights Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothée Chalamet. The 33-year-old from Hull took the prize at the ceremony held at London's Royal Festival Hall on Sunday night for his role in I Swear, portraying real-life Tourette's campaigner John Davidson.
Aramayo appeared visibly shocked as he accepted the award from presenter Kerry Washington. 'I absolutely can't believe this. I can't believe I'm here looking at people like you, in the same category as you,' he said, gesturing towards DiCaprio in the audience. 'Never mind being stood up here.'
The actor faced stiff competition from DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Michael B Jordan (Sinners), and Jesse Plemons (Bugonia). It was Aramayo's second win of the night, having earlier received the EE Rising Star Bafta for the same role.
In his speech, Aramayo recalled a visit from Hawke during his time at Juilliard, saying the actor's talk on longevity and avoiding self-destructive behaviours had a great impact on him. He also thanked the I Swear team, including director Kirk Jones and casting agent Lauren Evans.
I Swear is set in 1980s Galashiels and follows Davidson, who developed tics as a teenager that evolved into involuntary swearing. Davidson, awarded an MBE in 2019, was present at the ceremony, and his tics were initially mistaken for heckling by some viewers. Aramayo is best known for playing Elrond in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
