Jude Law nominated for award for his portrayal of Dumbledore

Jude Law has been nominated in Best Actor category of the National Film Awards for his role as Albus Dumbledore, ginger wizard extraordinaire, in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

Another actor in the Fantastic Beasts film series is up for an award in the telly division: Colin Farrell, who played Gellert Grindelwald in his incarnation as evil American Auror Percival Graves, has been nominated for his role in The North Water, a miniseries about “a disgraced ex-army surgeon signs up as ship’s doctor on a whaling trip to the Arctic; there he meets a harpooner whose amorality has been shaped to fit the harshness of his world.” That sounds really cheery! He has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category and the series has been tipped for the Best TV Drama Series category.

Some other actors who appeared in the Harry Potter films received nominations for their work in movies that are unrelated to the Potter franchise: For example, Ciarán Hinds, who played Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus’s younger brother, goat charmer, and owner of the Hogs Head Inn & Pub, in Deathly Hallows Part 2, was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in Belfast, a film by Gilderoy Lockhart. Erm, we mean a film by Kenneth Branagh, who played that narcissistic wizard in Chamber of Secrets. Belfast is based on Branagh’s childhood in Northern Ireland during the euphemistically-nicknamed “troubles” in the late 60s/early 70s. Incidentally, Hinds is also a Belfast Native.

Other Potter actors amongst the nominees include Professor Horace Slughorn, in his Muggle guise as actor Jim Broadbent, in the category of Global Contribution to Motion Pictures, which sounds like some sort of life-time achievement award, for his performance in The Duke, a film about a taxi driver who steals a painting to ransom it for better social services from the government, a sort of modern-day Robin Hood escapade. The Duke has also been nominated for Best Comedy. Here is the trailer, which is delightfully cheeky in a veddy British humour way:

Nearly Headless Nick’s alter ego, John Cleese, is competing against Broadbent in the Global Contribution to Motion Pictures and Best Comedy categories for Father Christmas Is Back. Um, doesn’t he come back every year, unlike Sir Nicolas, who never left?

David Tennant, a perennial award winner, has been nominated for Best Actor in a TV Series for his work in Around the World in 80 Days. This series is also up for a Best Action in a Film/Series award. I wonder if he had to take Polyjuice potion for his role or if they did his wardrobe, hair, and make-up in the usual Muggle way?

Finally, combining the Potter/Beasts film worlds, Draco Malfoy’s doppelgänger Tom Felton and Samantha Morton, who played dour anti-magic puritan Mary Lou Barebone both received nominations for their roles in Save the Cinema. Felton is up for Best Supporting Actor and Morton has been nominated for Best Actress. Save the Cinema (yes, please do!) has also been tipped in the Best Drama category.

The Weasley twins, James and Oliver Phelps, although not nominated for individual acting awards this year, acted in a horror movie (ugh!), Last Night in Soho, which is nominated in three categories: Best Thriller, Best British Film, and Best Feature Film.

Public voting is open on the National Film Awards website until 19 June. Awards will be given in London on 4 July. Best of luck to all of the Potter-associated actors.