BAFTA 2023: Austin Butler, Cate Blanchett win awards for best acting

Cate Blanchett poses with her award for Best Leading Actress for ‘Tar’ during the 2023 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Film Awards at the Royal Festival Hall in London, Britain, February 19, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Henry Nicholls

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTAs) hosted its annual film awards ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in the Southbank Centre on Sunday. Austin Butler, who played the legendary singer Elvis in the movie of the same name, won the award for the Best Actor, while Cate Blanchett won the trophy for Best Actress for the movie Tar.

In his acceptance speech, Austin said, “This is truly extraordinary. To my fellow nominees, I am in awe of you. I am so grateful for all these times we’ve been able to spend together,” reported Variety.

“I want to thank the Presley family, I cannot thank you enough for your love. I hope I’ve made you proud,” he added. Elvis’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, died last month – shortly after the film won a trophy at the Golden Globes.

While accepting the trophy, Cate Blanchett said, “These remarkable performances break down the myth that women’s experience is monolithic.”

World War One epic All Quiet on the Western Front dominated at the BAFTAs, taking home seven awards, including best film. The film sets a new record for winning the maximum number of awards by a non-English film. The film led the nominations with 14 followed by The Banshees of Inisherin and Everything Everywhere All At Once, each with ten nods.

Irish actors Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan won best supporting actress and actor respectively for the movie The Banshees of Inisherin. The movie was also named an outstanding British film.

Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic took home four prizes – best casting, costume design, make-up and hair and best leading actor.