Robert Aramayo pulled off one of the all-time BAFTA upsets on Sunday night when he beat a line-up of Hollywood all-stars — Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Timothée Chalamet, Jesse Plemons and Michael B. Jordan — to take home the leading actor award for his performance as real-life Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson in Kirk Jones’ “I Swear.”
“I absolutely can’t believe it, I can’t believe that I’m looking at people like you, in the same category as you, never mind that I’m stood here,” the tearful actor, who also stars as Elrond in Prime Video’s “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” said to his fellow nominees. “I honestly cannot believe that I have won this award. I really, really cannot. Everyone in this category blows me away.”
Aramayo went on to thank a number of people including director and writer Jones as well as Davidson, before sharing an anecdote about Hawke from his schooldays. “When I was in school, Ethan Hawke came in to speak to us at Juilliard and he gave an amazing talk on longevity as an actor, about protecting your instrument and avoiding self destructive behaviors,” the younger actor recalled. “And it had a really great impact on everyone in that room. So to be in this category with you tonight is incredible. Thank you Ethan.”
Still in shock, he wrapped with: “OK I’m going to stop talking now. Thank you so so so so much.”
Earlier in the evening Aramayo also won the EE Rising Star Award while “I Swear” casting director Lauren Evans won the casting award. Co-star Peter Mullan was nominated for supporting actor while the film was nominated for outstanding British film although it lost out in the category to “Hamnet.”
Set in 1980s Scotland, “I Swear” follows John Davidson, a young man with severe Tourette syndrome, which can present with tics and outbursts involving cursing, as he navigates rejection from his family and society at a time when the condition was barely understood, and his eventual emergence as a national advocate for the disorder.
Davidson was present during the first half of the BAFTA ceremony, where the audience included William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, but after a number of involuntary outbursts he left midway through. BAFTAs host Alan Cumming apologized to anyone who was offended and thanked the audience for their understanding.
The BAFTA win marks Aramayo’s first BAFTA Film Award nomination. Aramayo had already won the British Independent Film Award for best lead performance and the ALFS Breakthrough Performer of the Year at the London Critics Circle Film Awards ahead of the BAFTA ceremony.
“I Swear” will be eligible for the Oscars next year after only getting a U.S. release recently. After premiering at TIFF last September it got a U.K. release in Oct. 2025.
For his BAFTA leading actor victory, Aramayo beat out Chalamet in “Marty Supreme,” DiCaprio in “One Battle After Another,” Hawke in “Blue Moon,” Jordan in “Sinners” and Plemons in “Bugonia.
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