Showbiz

Jesse Eisenberg explains reason for Kieran Culkin’s absence from BAFTAs as he accepts the FIFTH acting award on his co-star’s behalf

Jesse Eisenberg explains reason for Kieran Culkin’s absence from BAFTAs as he accepts the FIFTH acting award on his co-star’s behalf

Jesse Eisenberg collected the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor on the behalf of his A Real Pain co-star Kieran Culkin on Sunday. 

Kieran, 42, was awarded the gong for his performance as Benji Kaplan in the film, which was written, directed and starred in by Jesse, 41. 

He beat off compeтιтion from his Succession screen brother Jeremy Strong, as well as Edward Norton, Yura Borisov, Guy Pearce and Clarence Maclin.

However, the actor was not in attendance at the ceremony, leaving Jesse to accept the prize for him and reveal it was the fifth award he’d accepted on Kieran’s behalf.

Taking to the stage, he joked: ‘Hi, thanks again. This is also the fifth award I’ve accepted on Kieran’s behalf. 

‘It confirms what I’ve thought which is that we share the same life but his is about 27% better than mine’.

Jesse Eisenberg collected the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor on the behalf of his A Real Pain co-star Kieran Culkin on Sunday

Jesse Eisenberg collected the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor on the behalf of his A Real Pain co-star Kieran Culkin on Sunday 

Kieran, 42, was awarded the gong for his performance as Benji Kaplan in the film, which was written, directed and starred in by Jesse, 41 (pictured together in the movie)

Kieran, 42, was awarded the gong for his performance as Benji Kaplan in the film, which was written, directed and starred in by Jesse, 41 (pictured together in the movie)

However, the actor was not in attendance at the ceremony, leaving Jesse to accept the prize for him and reveal it was the fifth award he'd accepted on Kieran's behalf

However, the actor was not in attendance at the ceremony, leaving Jesse to accept the prize for him and reveal it was the fifth award he’d accepted on Kieran’s behalf 

Explaining Kieran’s absence from the awards, Jesse revealed he had been forced to remain in New York to care for an ill family member.

He said: ‘Kieran would love to be here, we spoke this morning. He is in New York with a family member who is quite sick. 

‘He is so devoted as a dad that he tried to drop out of my movie two weeks before we started shooting because he didn’t want to leave his kids.

‘It’s real, it’s beautiful and it’s admirable his devotion to his family. He is one of these lovely people who is brilliantly talented, but who for some random luck of the cosmos, has his priorities in order.’

Jesse has previously collected Kieran’s gongs at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, National Society of Film Critics Award and National Board of Review Awards.

Later in the evening Jesse also collected Best Original Screenplay gong and shared an emotional speech on the stage. 

Picking up the movie’s second prize, he admitted: ‘I didn’t write anything because I didn’t think I’d win. I want to share this with my wife, who didn’t come because she didn’t think I’d win.’

Meanwhile Conclave has picked up four gongs so far at the 2025 BAFTAs including the unbelievable Outstanding British Film Award.

Explaining Kieran's absence from the awards, Jesse revealed he had been forced to remain in New York to care for an ill family member (Kieran pictured winning Golden Globe last month)

Explaining Kieran’s absence from the awards, Jesse revealed he had been forced to remain in New York to care for an ill family member (Kieran pictured winning Golden Globe last month)

Later in the evening Jesse also collected Best Original Screenplay gong and shared an emotional speech on the stage

Later in the evening Jesse also collected Best Original Screenplay gong and shared an emotional speech on the stage

Jesse has previously collected Kieran's gongs at the Golden Globes , Critics' Choice Awards  (pictured) National Society of Film Critics Award and National Board of Review Awards

Jesse has previously collected Kieran’s gongs at the Golden Globes , Critics’ Choice Awards  (pictured) National Society of Film Critics Award and National Board of Review Awards 

Up against a huge list of 10 nominees, Conclave came up triumphs in the very unique category – adding to their previous three gongs for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Director.

Read More BAFTAs 2025 winners: Conclave leads the victors as the film picks up THREE gongs including Outstanding British Film – as Zoe Saldana accepts Supporting Actress award with expletive-laden speech article image

Receiving the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film, director Edward Berger said: ‘It is a huge honour, outstanding British film, and I’m not even from here! I feel so welcome in your midst. We live in a time of crisis for democracy. Insтιтutions that used to bring us together are used to pull us apart.

‘Sometimes it is hard to keep the faith in that situation, but that’s why we make movies and that’s why we made this movie.’

Tearful Zoe Saldana accepted Best Supporting Actress award with a expletive-laden speech for her Mexican movie Emilia Perez.

The award-winning actress, 46, was quickly pulled off camera for swearing as she shouted ‘f***, f***, f***’ when the countdown hurried her.

Zoe was in floods of tears as she accepted the award, admitting it is ‘so validating and a true honour’ to be honoured an award after being previously told by dialect coaches ‘that her British accent wasn’t going to work’.

Listing off her thank yous, Zoe said: ‘Oh my god I’m getting a countdown. F*** f*** f***!’

The Mexican movie, which has received mixed reviews despite its starring cast including Selena Gomez, is up for a staggering 11 nominations. 

The biggest night in British film returned with actor David Tennant as host and an array of guest presenters on hand to deliver awards throughout the night. 

BAFTA 2025 WINNERS

BEST FILM

Anora

The Brutalist

A Complete Unknown

Conclave – WINNER

Emilia Pérez

 

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM 

Bird

Blitz

Conclave – WINNER

Gladiator II

Hard Truths

Kneecap

Lee

Love Lies Bleeding

The Outrun

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

 

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER 

Hoard – Luna Carmoon (director, writer)

Kneecap – Rich Peppiatt (director, writer) – WINNER

Monkey Man – Dev Patel (director)

Santosh – Sandhya Suri (director, writer), James Bowsher (producer), Balthazar De Ganay (producer) [also produced by Alan McAlex, Mike Goodridge]

Sister Midnight – Karan Kandhari (director, writer)

 

BEST CHILDREN’S AND FAMILY FILM

Flow

Kensuke’s Kingdom

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – WINNER

The Wild Robot 

 

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

All We Imagine As Light

Emilia Pérez – WINNER

I’m Still Here

Kneecap

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY 

Black Box Diaries

Daughters

No Other Land

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – WINNER

Will & Harper

 

BEST ANIMATED FILM 

Flow

Inside Out 2

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – WINNER

The Wild Robot

 

BEST CHILDREN’S AND FAMILY FILM 

Flow

Kensuke’s Kingdom

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

The Wild Robot

 

BEST DIRECTOR 

Anora – Sean Baker

The Brutalist – Brady Corbet – WINNER

Conclave – Edward Berger

Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve

Emilia Pérez – Jacques Audiard

The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY 

Anora

The Brutalist

Kneecap

A Real Pain – WINNER

The Substance

 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

A Complete Unknown

Conclave – WINNER

Emilia Pérez

Nickel Boys

Sing Sing

 

BEST LEADING ACTRESS 

Cynthia Erivo – Wicked

Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez

Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths

Mikey Madison – Anora – WINNER

Demi Moore – The Substance

Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun

 

BEST LEADING ACTOR  

Adrien Brody – The Brutalist – WINNER

Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown

Colman Domingo – Sing Sing

Ralph Fiennes – Conclave

Hugh Grant – Heretic

Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS 

Selena Gomez – Emilia Pérez

Ariana Grande – Wicked

Felicity Jones – The Brutalist

Jamie Lee Curtis – The Last Showgirl

Isabella Rossellini – Conclave

Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez – WINNER

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR  

Yura Borisov – Anora

Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain – WINNER

Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing

Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown

Guy Pearce – The Brutalist

Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice

BEST CASTING 

Anora – WINNER

The Apprentice

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Kneecap

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 

The Brutalist – WINNER

Conclave

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

Nosferatu

 

BEST EDITING  

Anora

Conclave – WINNER

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

Kneecap

 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN 

Blitz

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Nosferatu

Wicked – WINNER

 

BEST MAKE-UP AND HAIR 

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

Nosferatu

The Substance – WINNER

Wicked

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE 

The Brutalist – WINNER

Conclave

Emilia Pérez

Nosferatu

The Wild Robot

 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN 

The Brutalist

Conclave

Dune: Part Two

Nosferatu

Wicked – WINNER

 

BEST SOUND 

Blitz

Dune: Part Two – WINNER

Gladiator II

The Substance

Wicked

 

BEST VISUAL SPECIAL EFFECTS 

Better Man

Dune: Part Two – WINNER

Gladiator II

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Wicked

 

BEST BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION 

Adiós

Mog’s Christmas

Wander to Wonder – WINNER

 

BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM  

The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing

Marion

Milk

Rock, Paper, Scissors – WINNER

Stomach Bug

 

RISING STAR AWARD (VOTED FOR BY THE PUBLIC) 

Marisa Abela

Jharrel Jerome

David Jonsson – WINNER

Mikey Madison

Nabhaan Rizwan

 

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