Samantha Morton, the British actor (She Said, The Whale, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Walking Dead), writer (I Am…Kirsty) and director (The Unloved), received the BAFTA Fellowship, the British Academy’s highest honor at the BAFTA Film Awards in London on Sunday. But the outspoken star used her moment on stage to share very emotional words about children who live in poverty or who can’t live safely at home.
“For me, this is really nothing short of a miracle,” Morton said about receiving the honor, recalling how she was “hungry” and “cold” as a kid growing up in poverty.
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“Film changed my life, it transformed me,” she continued. “When I first saw Ken Loach’s Kes… I was forever changed” seeing “poverty, people like me, my life and my family on the screen,” she said. Her conclusion: “Representation matters.”
Like British director Loach, Morton has often criticized the ruling Conservative Party in the U.K. of hurting people and society with austerity measures.
It was no surprise then that Morton shared her moment on stage with those who are struggling. “I dedicate this award to every child in care today, or who has been in care or has been suffering or who didn’t survive,” she said.
Before she accepted the award, a video featuring various collaborators of Morton’s over the years, including Tom Cruise, played and led to much applause from the crowd in attendance. Star producer David Heyman (Harry Potter and Paddington) introduced Morton.
Anna Higgs, chair of BAFTA’s film committee, had earlier in the year unveiled Morton as this year’s BAFTA Fellowship recipient, lauding her as “a mesmerizing storyteller with incredible range” when the organization made the announcement that she would be honored. “She has made an extraordinary impact on the British film industry — consistently shining a light on complex characters and championing underrepresented stories,” Higgs added. “On and off screen, she always works to break down societal barriers and change the makeup of the screen industries for the better — often against great odds.”
Morton received the honor during Sunday’s BAFTA Film Awards ceremony, hosted by David Tennant (Doctor Who, Inside Man), at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in the British capital.
Last year, Sandy Powell, the three-time Oscar-winning costume designer whose credits include Gangs of New York, Shakespeare in Love, Carol and The Irishman, received the BAFTA Fellowship.
Previous BAFTA Fellowship honorees include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Lee, Martin Scorsese, Helen Mirren, Sidney Poitier, Mel Brooks, Ridley Scott, Kathleen Kennedy and Ang Lee.
