Hosted by Alan Cumming, the winners of the 79th British Academy Film Awards were announced on February 22, 2026, at a star-studded ceremony held on the Royal Festival Hall in London. Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed motion thriller One Battle After One other, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which led the nominations with 14 nods, ultimately emerged because the night’s biggest winner, taking home six awards. Guillermo del Toro’s gothic horror Frankenstein and Ryan Coogler’s supernatural hit Sinners also stood out among the many top winners with three wins each.
Alongside several expected victories, the 2026 BAFTAs delivered a couple of surprises as well. Some critically acclaimed movies and widely praised performances were surprisingly ignored in some categories, leaving many fans disillusioned. Here’s a take a look at the largest snubs from this yr’s BAFTAs that nobody saw coming.
Timothée Chalamet – Best Actor in a Leading Role (for Marty Supreme)
The immensely talented Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet, who had already won the Golden Globe and Critics’ Alternative Award for his performance in Josh Safdie’s acclaimed sports drama Marty Supreme, was surprisingly ignored at this yr’s BAFTAs.
As a substitute, the Best Actor trophy went to English actor Robert Aramayo for his performance within the Scottish drama I Swear. While Robert Aramayo is undeniably a gifted performer, Timothée Chalamet’s loss likely left many cinephiles disillusioned, as he had widely been considered a fan-favorite contender on this category.
Timothée Chalamet in MARTY SUPREME pic.twitter.com/piko7teh4G
— 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕞𝕪𝕥𝕖𝕒🏓 (@timmostea) February 9, 2026
Leonardo DiCaprio – Best Actor in a Leading Role (for One Battle After One other)
While One Battle After One other dominated the BAFTAs with multiple wins, including Best Film and Best Director (for Paul Thomas Anderson), Leonardo DiCaprio couldn’t take home the Best Actor trophy. Alongside Timothée Chalamet’s acclaimed act in Marty Supreme, the Oscar-winning star was also a serious frontrunner on this category, making his loss certainly one of the night’s more surprising outcomes for a lot of fans and movie buffs.
Leonardo DiCaprio on the 2026 BAFTA Awards. #LeonardoDiCaprio#BAFTAs pic.twitter.com/Av4PdmW80M
— Dean Salamouras (@DeanSalamouras) February 22, 2026
Paul Mescal – Best Actor in a Supporting Role (for Hamnet)
Jessie Buckley, who delivered a heartrending performance as William Shakespeare’s wife Agnes in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, won the Best Actress BAFTA. While each Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal brought audiences to tears with their performances within the film, the latter sadly went home empty-handed within the ‘Best Actor in a Supporting Role’ category. The award as an alternative went to veteran actor Sean Penn for his acclaimed performance as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After One other.
Paul Mescal and Gracie Abrams photographed by Greg Williams on the BAFTAs pic.twitter.com/TIiuB4w61L
— Paul Mescal Archive (@mescalarchive) February 23, 2026
The Secret Agent – Best Film Not within the English Language
One other omission which will have surprised many fans was Kleber Mendonça Filho’s widely acclaimed political thriller, The Secret Agent, failing to win the BAFTA for ‘Best Film Not within the English Language’ category. While the award ultimately went to the immensely praised Norwegian drama Sentimental Value, a deserving winner in its own right, The Secret Agent’s loss likely got here as an unexpected upset for a lot of film enthusiasts all over the world.
#TheSecretAgent is great cinema. A moving and beautifully crafted reflection on historical memory — a tribute to the erased and to the brand new generations of archivists and historians who fight to preserve a History that may at all times remain incomplete. Superb casting. Oscar-worthy. pic.twitter.com/sz4v6UHOkv
— Jeu de Regard (@JeudeRegard) February 22, 2026
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