London - Leonardo DiCaprio paid tribute to the British and Irish actors who had inspired him after winning his first Bafta, as The Revenant cleaned up in three of the award ceremony's biggest categories.
DiCaprio won the award for Leading Actor at the British Academy Film Awards last night, his fourth nomination, putting himself in pole position to win his first acting Oscar. The Revenant was notoriously gruelling for the cast and crew, and especially its lead actor, who endured long hours of filming in tough weather conditions. DiCaprio had to swim in frozen rivers and eat raw bison liver.
"I have been so influenced by so many British actors," he said as he accepted the award, citing Tom Courtenay and Gary Oldman as well as Irish actors Peter O'Toole and Daniel Day Lewis.
The Revenant won five Baftas in total including Best Director for Alejandro González Iñárritu. He hailed his star from the podium saying: "Leo, your work, your talent, your commitment every day kept this film breathing."
Mad Max: Fury Road had a big night, winning four awards including Costume Design, Production Design and Editing.
The ceremony was held at the Royal Opera House and the Valentine's Day celebrations included a rather awkward "kiss cam" which focused on stars in the audience and asked them to embrace, to varying degrees of success. DiCaprio did get to smooch Dame Maggie Smith.
Brie Larson won the award for Best Actress for an extraordinary performance in Room as a mother held captive with her five-year-old son. She did not attend the ceremony as she was shooting the King Kong prequel Kong: Skull Island in Australia. Accepting the award on her behalf, the Irish director of Room Lenny Abrahamson said: "She is an extraordinary person," adding: "She's one of the best actors of her generation."
She beat Cate Blanchett, who has won three Baftas and was nominated for Carol, which was the biggest loser on the night. It was nominated for nine awards but did not win any.
Best documentary went to Amy, directed by Asif Kapadia, about the life of the singer Amy Winehouse, who died of alcohol poisoning at the age of 27. Kapadia said: "It was a pretty difficult film to make, but in the end it was all about Amy. We really fell in love with her when we were making the film and our aim and mission was really to try and tell the truth about her," he said, "to show the world what an amazing person she was, how intelligent, how witty, how beautiful she was, before it all got out of control and got a bit crazy."
Brooklyn, adapted by Nick Hornby from Colm Toibin's novel, won Outstanding British Film. One of its stars, Julie Walters, said the film "was a thrill to do", adding: "I read the book by chance years ago and loved it… The script was just perfect."
The British actor John Boyega, who rose to worldwide fame in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was named the Rising Star. He joked: "I haven't been doing this for a long time. It's a fluke." He also revealed that he starts work on Star Wars Episode VIII today at 6am, adding: "I'm running on fumes." Star Wars: the Force Awakens won Best Special Visual Effects.
There were few references to the controversy in the US over the lack of diversity among the Oscar nominees. Boyega was asked for his view and responded that it was "important the conversation continues. People should be the change they want to see".
Kate Winslet won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Joanna Hoffman in Steve Jobs, the biopic of the Apple founder. It was her third Bafta win, and came 20 years after the first for Best Supporting Actress in Sense and Sensibility, and she added: "It means more to me than ever."
She said it had been "an extraordinary year for female performances" and hailed the real Hoffman "a devoted and loyal friend to Steve Jobs".
Mark Rylance won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Bridge of Spies.
Sir Sidney Poitier received the Bafta Fellowship, the highest accolade Bafta bestows "in recognition of his outstanding career in film".
THE WINNERS: FULL LIST
Leading Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant
Leading Actress: Brie Larson - Room
Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs
Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance - Bridge Of Spies
Best Film: The Revenant
Outstanding British Film: Brooklyn
Director: Alejandro G Iñárritu - The Revenant
Documentary: Amy
Animated Film: Inside Out
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer: NajiI Abu Nowar (Writer/Director) Rupert Lloyd (Producer) - Theeb
Film not in the English Language: Wild Tales
Original Screenplay: Spotlight - Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
Adapted Screenplay: The Big Short - Adam McKay
Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road - Margaret Sixel
Production design: Mad Max: Fury Road
Costume Design: Mad Max: Fury Road - Jenny Beavan
Make-up and Hair: Mad Max: Fury Road - Lesley Vanderwalt, Damian Martin
Sound: The Revenant - Lon Bender, Chris Duesterdiek, Martin Hernandez, Frank A. Montano, Jon Taylor, Randy Thom
Special Visual Effects: Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Chris Corbould, Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan
Cinematography: The Revenant
Bafta for Original Music: The Hateful Eight - Ennio Morricone
British Short Film - Operator
EE Bafta Rising Star Award: John Boyega
Outstanding British contribution to Cinema - Angels costumes
Bafta Fellowship Award - Sir Sidney Poitier
Nick Clark, The Independent