The sun shone again on the career of Nigeria’s globally acclaimed actor Chiwetel Ejiofor as he won the best actor award at the 2014 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards yesterday in London.

Ejiofor, who won the big honour on account of his superlative acting in ‘12 Years a Slave’, the film that captured 19th-century American slavery, beat fellow shortlisted actors Bruce Dern, Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.

He thanked the film’s producer, Steve McQueen, for his “work, artistry and passion in this project,” saying: “This is yours, I know that … you know that. I’m going to keep it, that’s the kind of guy I am, but it’s yours.”

“Ejiofor was visibly moved and a little nervous. Few people will be surprised if the London-born actor is not having to do it all again at next month’s Oscars ceremony,” says The Guardian of London.

News express reports that Ejiofor on February 2 experienced another pre-Oscars boost by winning the best actor’s award at the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards in London.

BAFTA 2014 full list of winners

Best actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Best picture: 12 Years a Slave

Best British film: Gravity

Best director: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity

Best actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Best supporting actor: Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

Best supporting actress: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Best original screenplay: American Hustle, Eric Warren Singer, David O Russell

Best adapted screenplay: Philomena, Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope

Best foreign: The Great Beauty, Paolo Sorrentino, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima

Best documentary: The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer

Best animation: Frozen, Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee

Best cinematography: Gravity, Emmanuel Lubezki

Best editing: Rush, Dan Hanley, Mike Hill

Best production design: The Great Gatsby, Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn

Best costume design: The Great Gatsby, Catherine Martin

Best make-up and hair: American Hustle, Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell

Best sound: Gravity, Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro

Best original music: Gravity, Steven Price

Best special visual effects: Gravity, Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny

Best British short animation: Sleeping with the Fishes, James Walker, Sarah Woolner, Yousif Al-Khalifa

Best British short film: Room 8, James W. Griffiths, Sophie Venner

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer: Keiran Evans (Director/Writer), Kelly + Victor

The EE Rising Star award (voted for by public): Will Poulter

•Photo shows Chiwetel Ejiofor displaying the BAFTA award . . . yesterday in London.