Samantha Morton To Receive BAFTA Fellowship

British actor, Samantha Morton (The Walking Dead, Minority Report) is set to receive BAFTA Fellowship at the EE BAFTA Film Awards next week.

It is the highest accolade bestowed by BAFTA in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or television.

Samantha Morton’s credits span independent British cinema to Hollywood blockbusters, television and theatre. The Nottingham born actor made her breakout film role Under the Skin (1997), to her directorial debut The Unloved (2009), to She Said (2022). She was  nominated for an Academy Award® first for Best ing Actress for Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and later for Best Actress for Jim Sheridan‘s In America (2003).

Having worked with Darren Aronofsky, Jim Sheridan, Charlie Kaufman, Lynne Ramsay, David Cronenberg, Harmony Korine, Steven Spielberg, Michael Winterbottom and David Yates, on films spanning Morvern Callar (2002) and Control (2007) to The Minority Report (2002) and The Whale (2022).

Samantha Morton said: “As a proud BAFTA member I am honoured, profoundly humbled and grateful to BAFTA for giving me this award.”

Anna Higgs, Chair of BAFTA’s Film Committee, said: “Samantha Morton is a mesmerising storyteller with incredible range. She has made an extraordinary impact on the British film industry – consistently shining a light on complex characters and championing underrepresented stories. On-and-off screen, she always works to break down societal barriers and change the make-up of the screen industries for the better – often against great odds. Samantha is hugely respected by her peers in Britain and Hollywood alike for her versatility, talent and ion for the craft of acting, and we are delighted to be honouring her exceptional body of work at the EE BAFTA Film Awards next week.”

After a couple of years acting in theatre,  there was hit television shows such as Cracker (1994); Band of Gold (1995–96), and The History of Tom Jones (1997), while her early TV-film roles included Emma (1996) and the lead role in Jane Eyre (1997).For her portrayal of notorious child-murderer Myra Hindley in Longford (2006) Morton received Best Actress nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, and BAFTA Television Award, and won a Golden Globe®

Other notable film credits include work with  Lynne Ramsay on Morvern Callar (2002), Steven Spielberg on Minority Report (2002); Michael Winterbottom on Code 46 (2003); Shekhar Kapur on The Golden Age (2007); Harmony Korine on Mister Lonely (2007); Anton Corbijn on Control, (2007), earning her a Best ing Actress BAFTA Film Award nomination; Charlie Kaufman Synecdoche, New York (2008), David Cronenberg on Cosmopolis (2012), Andrew Stanton on John Carter (2012), Spike Jonze on Her (2013), David Yates on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), Darren Aronofsky on The Whale (2022) and Maria Schrader on She Said (2022).

Morton has starred in hit shows such as Rillington Place (2016) and Harlots (2017-19) and the award-winning The Walking Dead, where she played the iconic villain, Alpha. In 2020 she was nominated for a Leading Actress BAFTA for the Dominic Savage drama I Am…Kirsty, which she co-wrote. Other major TV shows include period drama The Serpent Queen (2022) in the lead role of Catherine de Medici, and most recently The Burning Girls (2023).

EE BAFTA Awards will take place in London on 18th February.