‘Pure class’: Benedict Cumberbatch praised for reaction after losing to Will Smith at Baftas

‘The Power of the Dog’ star was quick to make light of his loss

Benedict Cumberbatch has been praised for his reaction after Will Smith triumphed in the Leading Actor category at the Baftas on Sunday night (13 March).

Cumberbatch was nominated in the same category for his performance as a rancher in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. He was up against Smith (King Richard), Adeel Akhtar (Ali and Ava), Mahershala Ali (Swan Song), Leonardo DiCaprio (Don’t Look Up) and Stephen Graham (Boiling Point).

It was Smith’s performance as Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, that secured the actor one of the biggest prizes of the night.

Smith was unable to attend the ceremony, which seemed to embolden host Rebel Wilson into making a joke about his marriage.

Later in the night, when accepting the Best Director award on behalf of Campion, Cumberbatch pretended to accidentally start reading his own prepared winning speech.

“Hold on a second…,” he said. “Bafta, I’d like to … Damn it, that’s my speech, whoops.”

He added: “You don’t lose to Will Smith, you win being in his company.”

“I love him,” tweeted one fan in response to the touching moment.

“I am proud to be a fan of this classy human being,” wrote another, while a third added: “Pure class.”

At this year’s Baftas – which took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London – Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune led the pack with 11 nominations, closely followed by Jane Campion’s western The Power of the Dog, which amassed a total of eight.

See the full winners list here and the biggest talking points from the night here.