Sean Penn was declared Best Supporting Actor at the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards.
The 65-year-old actor fended off his One Battle After Another co-star Benicio del Toro, Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Paul Mescal (Hamnet), Peter Mullan (I Swear), and Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value) following his standout performance as Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw in the action-thriller movie.
However, Penn was not present to collect the gong, so 57-year-old Animals actress Gillian Anderson - who co-presented the prize with 48-year-old The Bride! actress Maggie Gyllenhaal - accepted it on his behalf.
Speaking live on stage at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday (22.02.26), Anderson quipped: "So I'm taking it."
Gyllenhaal noted: "We'll make sure he gets it."
Moments after, Paddington Bear announced that Boong had picked up the Children's and Family Film.
The 2024 drama fought off competition from Arco, Lilo + Stitch and Zootropolis 2.
Accepting the award, Lakshmipriya Devi - the director of the coming-of-age drama - expressed her hope for peace in Manipur, India.
She said: "We pray for peace to return to Manipur.
"We pray that all the internally displays children, including the child actors in the film, regain their joy, their innocence, and their dream once again.
"We pray that no conflict is ever formidable enough to destroy the one superpower that all of us have as human beings, that is, forgiveness.
"So thank you, BAFTA, for giving us not only an award, but this stage to express our hope."
Before Penn was announced as Best Supporting Actor, Sinners' Wunmi Mosaku was named Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Annie in the 2025 supernatural horror.
She beat Odessa A'zion (Marty Supreme), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Carey Mulligan (The Ballad of Wallis Island), Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) and Emily Watson (Hamnet) to win her first EE BAFTA Film Award.
