The 79th BAFTA Awards 2026 took place Sunday night at London’s Royal Festival Hall, hosted by “The Traitors” fan favourite Alan Cumming, and the night delivered exactly what awards season needed: genuine surprises. Paul Thomas Anderson’s political thriller “One Battle After Another” came in as the dominant force of the evening, walking away with six awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” each claimed three awards of their own. But the moment people will be talking about the longest came from a much smaller film that most people in the room did not see coming.
Robert Aramayo Stunned a Room Full of Hollywood Royalty
The biggest shock of the night happened when Robert Aramayo, star of the Tourette Syndrome advocate dramedy “I Swear,” not only won the EE Rising Star Award but then walked straight back up on stage and won Best Actor over TimothĂ©e Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael B. Jordan. Audible gasps were reported from the audience the moment his name was read out. Aramayo left the Royal Festival Hall holding two BAFTA statuettes in one night, with the film also claiming a third in the Best Casting category. He was the only British actor nominated in the leading actor category this year, a fact that had sparked real debate in the U.K. press in the weeks leading up to the ceremony. His win felt like the room correcting something it had been quietly frustrated about.
One Battle After Another and Sinners Made Their Own Kind of History
Six awards is a commanding performance by any standard, and “One Battle After Another” earned every one of them. Paul Thomas Anderson picked up his first ever Best Director BAFTA, a notable milestone for a filmmaker of his stature. Sean Penn, who was not even in attendance at the ceremony, won Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film, marking the veteran actor’s first BAFTA win. Over in the “Sinners” corner, Ryan Coogler became the first Black filmmaker to win in the Best Original Screenplay category at BAFTA Awards 2026, a historic first that he marked with an emotional and widely praised speech urging writers to let love motivate them. Wunmi Mosaku, the Manchester born actress, won Best Supporting Actress for the same film and drew one of the biggest cheers of the entire night when her name was called.
In BAFTA Awards 2026 Jessie Buckley, Hamnet and the British Film That Held Its Own
ChloĂ© Zhao’s “Hamnet” had a strong night of its own, winning Outstanding British Film and Best Actress for Jessie Buckley, who reportedly forgot a few of her fellow nominees during her speech and handled the slip with enough charm that the crowd loved her even more for it. Hamnet also made history as the most nominated film by a female director in BAFTA history, with 11 nominations in total. Frankenstein swept three craft categories for costume design, production design and make up and hair, making Guillermo del Toro’s film one of the technical champions of the evening even without major acting wins. Dame Donna Langley, chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment, received the prestigious BAFTA Fellowship, the highest honour the organization gives, presented by Prince William himself. Cumming kept the crowd loose throughout, handing British snacks to Chalamet and Kylie Jenner in the audience and gently roasting Paul Mescal for being on his phone.
Vestiworld Take
The BAFTA Awards 2026 sent a message that awards season is not locked in yet. Robert Aramayo winning Best Actor over a category that included DiCaprio and Chalamet is not just a fun story. It is the kind of result that keeps the race genuinely unpredictable heading into the Oscars. “One Battle After Another” is now firmly positioned as the frontrunner, but “Sinners” made history three times over in a single night and Jessie Buckley is now very much in the Best Actress conversation. The British debate over whether BAFTA even represents British cinema properly flared again this year and the institution clearly felt the heat. Aramayo’s double win was almost like the ceremony answering its own critics in real time. This is what happens when an awards show still has the ability to surprise itself.
For more stories like this, check out our Entertainment page.
Follow vestiworld.com on Twitter(now X) and Facebook for the latest news updates.
Stories You Might Like
Zelensky Assassination Was Already in Motion : Russia’s Secret Plan Before the War Even Began
India Women End 10 Year Drought With Series Clinching Win Over Australia in Adelaide
Friends Launch $250K GoFundMe for Eric Dane’s Daughters After Euphoria Creator Donates $27,000
