Dolly de Leon gets historic BAFTA nomination for 'Triangle of Sadness' portrayal

MANILA, Philippines — Dolly de Leon becomes the first ever Filipino actress to be nominated at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) following the announcement of nominations for the 2023 edition.

De Leon was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for her scene-stealing role of Abigail in the 2022 Palme d'Or winner "Triangle of Sadness" by Ruben Östlund.

Other artists with Filipino heritage that were previously nominated for a BAFTA include actress Hailee Steinfeld in 2011 for "True Grit" and makeup artist Frederic Aspiras in 2022 for "House of Gucci."

Nominated with De Leon in her category are Angela Bassett from "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," Hong Chau from "The Whale," Kerry Condon from "The Banshees of Inisherin," Jamie Lee Curtis from "Everything Everywhere All At Once," and Carey Mulligan from "She Said."

The aforementioned nominees made the cut from a 10-woman longlist that also included Lashanna Lynch from "The Woman King," Janelle Monáe from "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," Emma Thompson from "Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical," and Aimee Wood from "Living."

Bassett is the perceived front-runner although Condon and Mulligan are also tipped because of "homecourt advantage"; Lynch, Thompson, and Wood are also all British actresses.

"Triangle of Sadness" was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay — credited to Östlund, — Casting, and Editing

The 2023 BAFTA Awards, voted by 7,000 academy members, will take place at London's Royal Festival Hall on Feb. 20, 2023 hosted by British actor Richard E. Grant.

RELATED: Dolly de Leon misses out on SAG nomination for 'Triangle of Sadness' portrayal

De Leon's nod comes after her historic nomination at the Golde Globes in the same category, which was won by Bassett, and a surprise snub at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

However with this nod and several awards picked up from critics organizations, De Leon is still on track for a historic Oscar nomination which will be announced next week on January 24.

These include a recognition from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association where she was honored alongside "Everything Everywhere All At Once" star Ke Huy Quan.

At the same ceremony, De Leon snapped a photo with legendary Australian actress Cate Blanchett who was eager to meet her.

"This is EVERYTHING to me — being a minority within a minority,” De Leon said as she thanked the organzation for celebrating diversity and inclusion.

De Leon also touched on her acting journey before landing her breakout role, “I’ve been a working actor for 33 years in the Philippines playing nameless and sometimes line-less characters and I’ve been wanting to give up so many times but that’s all changed thanks to Ruben for choosing me to lend a voice to a quadruple ‘threat’ that is Abigail — a middle-aged, Asian, immigrant, woman."

After thanking her co-actors, producers, and children, De Leon ended her speech saying, "This is for every actor — Filipino or otherwise, who has trained, studied, worked, succeeded, failed, struggled and is still struggling, fell and stood up again. This is ours.”

RELATED: Dolly de Leon honored at L.A. Film Critics Awards