Emily Watson will receive the Richard Harris Award at this year’s British Independent Film Awards.
The award recognizes outstanding contributions to British film and has previously been presented to Samantha Morton, Riz Ahmed, Kristin Scott Thomas, Daniel Day-Lewis, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julie Walters, Stephen Graham and Sophie Okonedo.
Watson began her career on stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 90s. She made her film debut in Lars von Trier’s Break the Waves (1996), which earned her her first Best Actress Oscar nomination, and two years later she was nominated again for Anand Thakkar’s Hilary and Jackie. Her other memorable films include “The Boxer” (1997), “Punch-Drunk Love” (2002), “Red Dragon” (2002), “Corpse Bride” (2005), “New York Synecdoce” (2008), “War Horse” (2011), “The Theory of Everything” (2014), and “Small Things.” Like These” and so on. Watson most recently co-starred with Cillian Murphy in the Netflix drama “Steve” and starred opposite Paul Mescal and Jesse Buckley in Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-nominated “Hamnet.”
Richard Harris’ children Damien, Jared and Jamie Harris said in a statement: “Emily’s first movie was Lars von Trier’s epic ‘On the Shore’, which is like saying Mount Everest was the first mountain she climbed.” “It was a fearless and devastating performance that earned her multiple honors and her first Oscar nomination. Since then, Emily Watson’s performances have continued and she has been duly recognized with nominations, honors and awards, including once again BIFA. Although Emily is too young to be called a national treasure, all of her performances are cultural events and she elevates the quality of everything she appears in. She rightly takes her place alongside past Academy Award winners. ”
Watson added: “I’m so happy and honored to receive this award. It was such an honor to spend time with Jared as an actor and a storyteller and hear his thrilling and wild story about his father and his power. I’m so grateful to the Harris family for thinking of me. I’m truly honored. Thank you BIFA.”
The 28th BIFA Awards Ceremony will be held at the Roundhouse in London on November 30th.
