BAFTAs 2012 nominations: biggest snubs

The 2012 BAFTA nominations have been announced, with awards heavyweights ‘Life Of Pi’, ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘Lincoln’ leading the way. As usual however, BAFTA voters threw a few surprises into the mix, with several contenders unexpectedly ignored.

[Related story: Skyfall nabs surprise eight BAFTA nominations]
[Related story: The biggest Oscar shocks]

Sam Mendes for ‘Skyfall’

First up, ‘Skyfall’ shocked us all by picking up eight well-deserved nominations - a surprise as Bond is traditionally ignored at award shows. ‘Skyfall’ only got one Golden Globe nomination, for example. However 007’s latest adventure picked up nods for ‘Outstanding British Film’, Roger Deakins’ superb cinematography and the supporting roles played by Judi Dench and Javier Bardem. Despite the BAFTA love-in though, Sam Mendes, the director who masterminded what many consider the best ‘Bond’ in decades (perhaps even ever?) was frozen out of the incredibly competitive and frankly quite random ‘Best Director’ category. Speaking of which…

Steven Spielberg for ‘Lincoln’

‘Lincoln’ picked up a whopping ten nominations (including ‘Best Film’), more than any other movie, but director Steven Spielberg was also surprisingly snubbed in the ‘Best Director’ category. A huge shock considering he’s odds-on favourite to scoop the same prize at the Oscars. It could have been Michael Haneke who took his spot, with BAFTA voters keen to acknowledge the art house master’s stunning ‘Armour’ this year. They also handed a surprise ‘Best Actress’ nod to the film’s star Emmanuelle Riva.

Quvenzhane Wallis for ‘Beasts Of The Southern Wild’

One surprise name missing from the ‘Best Actress’ category though was Quvenzhane Wallis, the six-year-old star of the critically-acclaimed ‘Beasts Of The Southern Wild’. When it first appeared at Cannes last year, the diminutive actress was praised by critics for her naturalistic performance and immediately compared to young Anna Paquin, who won an Oscar aged 11 for ‘The Piano’ back in 1994. Wallis’ awards odds have lengthened since, but we still expected her to be in the running.

Leonardo DiCaprio for ‘Django Unchained’

Was the wrong ‘Django Unchained’ star given a ‘Best Supporting Actor’ nomination? Christoph Waltz made the shortlist for his well-spoken German bounty hunter, but we preferred Leonardo DiCaprio’s turn as slave owner Calvin Candie; an impressive, against-type performance that veered effortlessly from charming to smarmy to pure evil.

Daniel Craig for ‘Skyfall’

The biggest BAFTA snub though, if you believe Twitter at least, was Daniel Craig’s omission from ‘Best Actor’. Seasoned award watchers will tell you that it would have been a far bigger shock if he was nominated, however, Dench and Bardem did get acting nods. Perhaps more surprisingly, Craig WAS nominated for ‘Best Actor’ in 2007 for ‘Casino Royale’ (losing out to Forest Whitaker), and many consider ‘Skyfall’ to be the superior film.

Do you think BAFTA voters got it right this time? Let us know below…