Entertainment

Dev Patel and Viola Davis buck trend and triumph at Baftas

Dev Patel and Viola Davis buck trend and triumph at Baftas
Dev Patel and Viola Davis buck trend and triumph at Baftas Dev Patel and Viola Davis buck trend and triumph at Baftas

Performers from ethnic minority backgrounds triumphed in two acting categories at this year’s Bafta film awards – a reversal of the trend of the last two years.

Dev Patel won Best Supporting Actor and Viola Davis was named Best Supporting Actress for their roles in Lion and Fences respectively.

Their success is a marked improvement on 2015 and 2016, when white performers swept the board in all the Bafta acting categories.

(Dominic Lipinski/PA)

However, analysis shows that Dev and Viola’s win is not a record.

Two ethnic minority performers also won acting awards in 2014 when Chiwetel Ejiofor picked up Leading Actor for 12 Years A Slave, and Barkhad Abdi took home the gong for Supporting Actor for Captain Phillips.