Chiwetel Ejiofor to receive The Richard Harris Award‏

The Moët British Independent Film Awards announced today that Chiwetel Ejiofor will be honoured with The Richard Harris Award which will be presented to him at this year’s ceremony on Sunday 6th December.

The Richard Harris Award was introduced in 2002 in honour of Richard Harris and recognises outstanding contribution to British film by an actor.  Previous winners have included John Hurt, Ralph Fiennes and Emma Thompson.

The award is bestowed upon Chiwetel Ejiofor in recognition of his exceptional service to the film industry. Jared Harris, son of Richard Harris, commented: “I am so happy this award is going to Chiwetel. His talent is immense, it has brought him deserved worldwide recognition, and he is in his prime! I hope this award inspires British filmmakers to take advantage of him and build films around his talent.”

Chiwetel burst onto the acting scene in 1996, starring in Stephen Spielberg’s Amistad. In 2002, he won his first major award: the BIFA for Best Actor, for his performance in Dirty Pretty Things. Chiwetel has since gone onto work with a spectacular roll-call of directors including Ridley Scott, Woody Allen and Alfonso Cuarón and in 2014, his name became a household one after his memorable turn in Steve McQueen’s Oscar winning production Twelve Years a Slave. As well as that astonishing performance, 2015 has seen Chiwetel appear in blockbuster The Martian and he’s currently shooting Marvel’s Doctor Strange with Benedict Cumberbatch.

You can see the full list of nominations for this year’s BIFA Awards here.