A spike-haired teenager in his debut film wrestled the Best Actor crown from the hands of Gladiator star Russell Crowe at the Bafta awards, Britain's equivalent of the Oscars.
Jamie Bell got the nod for his performance in Billy Elliot, where he plays a miner's son who swaps boxing gloves for ballet shoes and pirouettes his way to the Royal Ballet School.
Tom Hanks, Geoffrey Rush and Russell Crowe, the beaten heavyweight competitors, whooped and wolf-whistled as Bell made his way through the leopard-skin seats to collect his award.
"I was kind of thinking about not bothering coming, I thought what's the point?" the cheeky 14-year-old schoolboy said. "I'm hoping to go behind a camera eventually when I can reach the lens."
If he succeeds in this aim, he will be hoping to emulate the success of Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry, whose feature also won Best British Film.
"It's certainly not what we expected when we made the film ... It's been a surprise, a delight, an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish," Daldry said.
The Baftas, often criticised for being a purely British affair, attracted a record number of international stars this year and the two top movies were a Hollywood blockbuster and a Chinese love story.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Gladiator each picked up four awards at the glitzy ceremony in London's West End.
Gladiator, the year's blockbuster which wowed special-effects fans with its digitally rebuilt Roman Colosseum, snatched the title of Best Film and won awards for cinematography, editing and production design. But Ridley Scott missed out on Best Director to Ang Lee, whose Mandarin-language film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon attracted vast audiences around the globe.
"For a Chinese language film to get this far, I think it's phenomenal," Lee said.
His martial arts epic also picked up Best Foreign Language Film and awards for music and costume.
Michelle Yeoh, the female lead, said the film was a good showcase for China's cinematic potential, demonstrating its wealth of scenery and acting talent.
"China is trying to open up so much more to the rest of the world," she said.
Julia Roberts denied Yeoh the Best Actress award, with her performance in Erin Brockovich as an environmentalist who takes on a US corporation. Julie Walters' portrayal of a ballet teacher in Billy Elliot won her Best Supporting Actress, while Best Supporting Actor went to Benicio Del Toro for Traffic.
Perhaps the greatest honour of the evening went to Albert Finney, who followed in the footsteps of Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Caine to receive the Academy Fellowship, the highest accolade given by Bafta in recognition of a glittering cinematic career.
Asked if such an award suggested his imminent retirement, Finney replied: "Old actors don't retire, their parts just get smaller."
In earlier years the British film and television awards were presented on the same night. The events have been separated in an attempt to boost the film awards' prestige and publicity (they are timed for one month before the Oscars). The TV awards will be presented in May.
The Bafta winners were:
Best film: Gladiator
Best director: Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best actor: Jamie Bell, Billy Elliot
Best actress: Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich
Best supporting actor: Benicio Del Toro, Traffic
Best supporting actress: Julie Walters, Billy Elliot
Best film in a language other than English: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best British film: Billy Elliot
Audience award: Gladiator
Academy fellowship for lifetime achievement: Albert Finney
Best original screenplay: Cameron Crowe, Almost Famous
Best adapted screenplay: Stephen Gaghan, Traffic
Most promising British newcomer: Pawel Pawlikowski
Outstanding British contribution to cinema: Mary Selway
Best film music: Tan Dun, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best cinematography: John Mathieson, Gladiator
Best production design: Arthur Max, Gladiator
Best costume design: Tim Yip, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best editing: Pietro Scalia, Gladiator
Best sound: Almost Famous
Best special visual effects: The Perfect Storm
Best make-up and hair: Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Best short film: Shadowscan
Best short animation: Father and Daughter
- REUTERS
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