22/11/2012 - Recipients of The Richard Harris Award and The Variety Award announced

Sir Michael Gambon will receive the Richard Harris Award and Jude Law The Variety Award at British Independent Film Awards on December 9 in London. The Richard Harris Award was introduced in 2002 in honour of Richard Harris and recognises outstanding contribution to British film by an actor. Previous winners have included John Hurt, David Thewlis, Bob Hoskins, Jim Broadbent, Daniel Day-Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter and most recently Ralph Fiennes in 2011.

The honour this year is particularly poignant, since it was Richard Harris’s role of Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore in Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, which Gambon stepped into, following Harris’ death in 2002. Gambon’s career as an actor spans six decades with some of his British credits being The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover; The Wings of the Dove; Mary Reilly; Sleepy Hollow; Gosford Park; Layer Cake [+see also:
trailer
film profile]; Charlotte Gray and The King’s Speech [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tom Hooper
film profile].

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Jude Law will receive the Variety Award, which recognises an actor, director, writer or producer who has helped to focus the international spotlight on the UK. The Variety Award was received last year by Kenneth Branagh and has previously been awarded to Liam Neeson, Sir Michael Caine, Daniel Craig, Dame Helen Mirren and Richard Curtis. Jude is currently shooting Richard Shepard’s British dark comedy Dom Hemingway in which he plays the title role.