Who was the first Black actor to win a Bafta?
Diversity and representation have come on leaps and bounds in the movie business, but there always needs to be somebody willing to make history. When it comes to the Baftas, a Black actor won an acting award in a leading role years before it happened for the first time at the Academy Awards.
Hattie McDaniel famously won an Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for her performance in Gone with the Wind, but it would be more than 20 years before another Black performer was recognised by the most prestigious ceremony on the annual calendar.
That moment came when Sidney Poitier was named ‘Best Actor’ for Lilies of the Field in 1963, which marked his second nomination. When he was shortlisted for the first time, Dorothy Dandridge was the only other Black star to have ever been recognised in a leading category, but the iconic star had already made history on the other side of the pond.
For playing Noah Cullen in 1959’s The Defiant Ones, Poitier found himself in the running for ‘Best Actor’ at both the Oscars and the Golden Globes, but he also became the first Black thespian to win a Bafta after he was named ‘Best Foreign Actor’ by the United Kingdom’s pre-eminent awards gala.
Starring alongside Tony Curtis – who was nominated in the same category for the film – Poitier was on towering form as the other half of the central duo, two prisoners on a chain gang who mount their escape despite being chained together. Although they’re initially distrustful of each other for a number of reasons both personal and systemic, a mutual respect gradually forms between the opposing personalities.
A huge part of Poitier’s legacy was the way he broke down barriers, because even though he rose to prominence at a time when racial tensions in the United States were high, there’s absolutely no way such a monumental talent could be denied. He was a ground-breaker, a trailblazer, and an inspiration to multiple generations of Black actors who dreamed of following in his footsteps, and his status as being the first to win an Oscar in a leading role and any performative Bafta speaks volumes to his standing.
It would be the only time he’d ever win a trophy from Britain’s premiere awards body. Still, he nonetheless earned six nominations in the space of ten years after his turns in Edge of the City, A Raisin in the Sun, Lilies of the Field, A Patch of Blue, and In the Heat of the Night found themselves contending for the ‘Best Foreign Actor’ prize.
In recognition of his prolific decade as a fixture of the Baftas race, Poitier was awarded the organisation’s ‘Fellowship’ award in 2016 to mark his indelible association with the event.
