Gary Oldman has been nominated for the Leading Actor gong at this year's BAFTA Film Awards

Oldman, 59, has received the nomination for his stellar performance in the Joe Wright-directed history movie 'Darkest Hour', in which he stars as Britain's war-time Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.

Oldman's latest nomination for the Leading Actor award - which follows earlier nods for his performance in 'Prick Up Your Ears' in 1988 and 2012's 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' - is sure to increase speculation over a possible first-ever Academy Award for the acclaimed actor.

The BAFTA Film Awards are often seen as a good indicator as to potential Academy Award winners, with this year's ceremony being staged on March 4.

Elsewhere, the Leading Actress list features Hollywood star Annette Bening for 'Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool', Frances McDormand for 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri', Margot Robbie for 'I, Tonya', Saoirse Ronan for 'Lady Bird' and Sally Hawkins for 'The Shape of Water'.

In total, 'The Shape of Water' has received nods in 12 categories for this year's ceremony, including Director, Leading Actress and Original Screenplay.

Guillermo del Toro won a Golden Globe on Sunday (07.01.18) for Best Director of a Motion Picture for his unusual creature feature.

But the 53-year-old Mexican will face stiff competition from 'Blade Runner 2049' helmer Denis Villeneuve, 'Call Me By Your Name' director Luca Guadagnino, 'Dunkirk' filmmaker Christopher Nolan and 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' mastermind Martin McDonagh.

It has been confirmed, too, that British actress Joanna Lumley is to replace Stephen Fry as the host of this year's BAFTA Film Awards.

Lumley, 71, will become the first female host since Mariella Frostrup co-presented with Fry back in 2001.

She said: "Honestly, how exciting is this? It's just so unbelievably thrilling. Who thought I'd turn into Stephen Fry?

"I want to thank Bafta so much for asking me to do this. I said yes indecently quickly."

EE British Academy Film Awards nominations:

Leading Actor:

Daniel Day Lewis, Phantom Thread

Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out

Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Jamie Bell, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name

Supporting Actor:

Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World

Hugh Grant, Paddington 2

Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project

Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Leading Actress:

Annette Bening, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Margot Robbie, I, Tonya

Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water

Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird

Supporting Actress:

Alison Janney, I, Tonya

Kristin Scott Thomas, Darkest Hour

Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread

Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water

Film:

Call Me By Your Name

Darkest Hour

The Shape of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Dunkirk

British Film:

Darkest Hour

The Death of Stalin

God's Own Country

Lady Macbeth

Paddington 2

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Director:

Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049

Luca Guadagnino, Call Me By Your Name

Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk

Guillermo Del, The Shape of Water

Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Debut by a British Director, Writer or Producer:

Gareth Tunley (writer/director/producer), Jack Healy Guttman & Tom Meetman (producers), The Ghoul

Rungano Nyoni (writer/director), Emily Morgan (producer), I Am Not a Witch

Johnny Harris (writer/producer), Thomas Napper (director), Jawbone

Lucy Cohen (director), Kingdom of Us

EE BAFTA Rising Star:

Daniel Kaluuya

Florence Pugh

Josh O'Connor

Tessa Thompson

Timothée Chamalet

Original Screenplay:

Jordan Peele, Get Out

Steve Rogers, I, Tonya

Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird

Guillermo Del Toro, Vanessa Taylor, The Shape of Water

Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Adapted Screenplay

James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name

Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, David Schneider, The Death of Stalin

Matt Greenhalgh, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

Aaron Sorkin, Molly's Game

Paul King, Simon Farnaby, Paddington 2

Animated Film:

Coco

Loving Vincent

My Life as a Courgette

Cinematography:

Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049

Bruno Delbonnel, Darkest Hour

Hoyte van Hoytema, Dunkirk

Dan Laustsen, The Shape of Water

Ben Davis, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Costume Design:

Jacqueline Durran, Beauty and the Beast

Jacqueline Durran, Darkest Hour

Jennifer Johnson, I, Tonya

Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread

Luis Sequeira, The Shape of Water

Make Up & Hair:

Donald Mowat, Kerry Warn, Blade Runner 2049

David Malinowski, Ivana Primorac, Lucy Sibbick, Kazuhiro Tsuji, Darkest Hour

Debora La Mia Denaver, Deruitha Lee, I, Tonya

Daniel Phillips, Victoria & Abdul

Naomi Bakstad, Robert A. Pandini, Arjen Tuiten, Wonder

Documentary:

City of Ghosts

I Am Not Your Negro

Icarus

An Inconvenient Sequel

Jane

Editing:

Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss, Baby Driver

Joe Walker, Blade Runner 2049

Lee Smith, Dunkirk

Sidney Wolinsky, The Shape of Water

Jon Gregory, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Original Music:

Blade Runner

Darkest Hour

Dunkirk

Phantom Thread

The Shape of Water

Production Design:

Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer, Beauty and the Beast

Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola, Blade Runner 2049

Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer, Darkest Hour

Nathan Crowley, Garry Fettis, Dunkirk

Paul Austerberry, Jeff Melvin, Shane Vieau, The Shape of Water

Film Not in the English Language:

Elle

First They Killed My Father

The Handmaiden

Loveless

The Salesman

Sound:

Baby Driver

Blade Runner 2049

Dunkirk

The Shape of Water

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Special Visual Effects:

Blade Runner 2049

Dunkirk

The Shape of Water

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

War for the Planet of the Apes

British Short Film:

Aamir

Cowboy Dave

A Drowning Man

Work

Wren Boys

British Short Animation:

Have Heart

Mamoon

Poles Apart