THE COMPETITION IS...

While the odds are in favour of Cate Blanchett winning another Best Actress in a Leading Role BAFTA for Tar next week, it is by no means a sure bet as she is up against a host of talent with equally outstanding performances. Here’s the competition…

Viola Davis last won a BAFTA in 2017 for her performance in Fences. She took home the Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of Rose Maxson, for which she also won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress.

This time round, she is up for Leading Actress for her performance in The Woman King, which is about the

Agojie — the all-female warrior unit that protected the

West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries.

Ana de Armas has also been given the BAFTA nod for her leading role as Marilyn Monroe in the film Blonde.

The movie — a fictionalised chronicle of the inner life of the actress — caused plenty of controversy when it finally landed on Netflix in September after more than a decade of troubled production.

While critics praised de Armas’ performance, they could not agree whether the uncompromising, nearly three-hour film is an artistic tour de force or another cruel layer of exploitation perpetrated against the 20th century icon.

Another actress who, if she wins will be adding a fourth lead actress award to her BAFTA collection, is Emma Thompson. She is nominated for her role as Nancy Stokes in Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, a comedydrama film, directed by Sophie Hyde and written by Katy Brand, which revolves around a woman who seeks a young sex worker (Daryl Mccormack) to achieve an orgasm.

The film was critically acclaimed with praise given to the performances, specifically Thompson ,who also received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

Next up is Michelle Yeoh who was nominated for a Leading Actress BAFTA for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

The comedy-drama film, written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, centres on a Chineseamerican immigrant (Yeoh) who, while being audited by the IRS, discovers that she must connect with parallel universe versions of herself to prevent a powerful being from destroying the multiverse.

Yeoh was last nominated for a Leading Actress BAFTA in 2001 for her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She has already won Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Golden Globe for her performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once so we have yet to see if a BAFTA will follow.

The final name on the list, which is perhaps lesser-known than her counterparts, is Danielle Deadwyler who has been nominated for her role in Till, a biographical drama film directed by Chinonye Chukwu.

It is based on the true story of Mamie Till-bradley (Deadwyler), an educator and activist who pursued justice after the murder of her 14-year-old son Emmett in 1955.

Despite receiving nominations in many other ceremonies, Deadwyler was controversially not the recipient of a nomination for Best Actress at the 95th Academy Awards, prompting the director of the film to criticise the film industry for “upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards Black women”.

The BAFTAS take place on Sunday, February 19.