U.S. President Donald Trump faced a bit of humor during the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony in London on Sunday, thanks to host David Tennant.
The Scottish actor (Doctor Who, Inside Man) praised The Brutalist in his opening monologue, calling it “a film of remarkable architecture, the boldest architecture in film this year,” with the exception of Donald Trump’s hairstyle, portrayed by Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice.
“Donald Trump claimed he hasn’t watched The Apprentice — since it’s rated 15 [British film rating]. It’s not on Nickelodeon,” Tennant quipped, adding that he had mentioned Trump’s name three times. “It’s like Beetlejuice – I’ve summoned him.”
He then continued, “Speaking of villains…” which elicited laughter and applause from the audience.
The Vatican drama Conclave, directed by Edward Berger and featuring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, leads this year’s BAFTA nominations with 12, ahead of Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez with 11, and Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist with nine.
Rich Peppiatt made BAFTA history with his Irish hip-hop biopic about the Belfast-based rap trio Kneecap, tying the record for nominations for a debut filmmaker with six nods.
Tennant welcomed an enthusiastic crowd to the BAFTA Awards, marking the biggest night in British film for the second consecutive year.
Notably absent from the attendees at Sunday’s BAFTA Awards was Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón, who received a leading actress nomination. However, her awards campaign faltered after controversial posts surfaced from her X (formerly Twitter) account. The star, the first trans actor nominated for an Oscar, issued an apology, but tensions reportedly escalated between Gascón and Netflix over the film’s Oscar prospects. Consequently, she was entirely removed from the awards campaign.
