Veteran British actor Sir John Mills was joined by his loved ones and a host of stars as he was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the Baftas. The British Academy Fellowship is the highest accolade an actor can receive and the cream of British acting talent turned out to congratulate him.
The legendary actor has been performing on the stage and screen for more than 60 years. At 94-years-old he follows in the footsteps of other screen icons like Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin and Warren Beatty - who won the award last year.
It is all a long way from his meagre beginnings. Born the son of a school teacher, he moved to London at the age of 20 as a door-to-door disinfectant salesman. His first performing job was as a chorus boy at the London Hippodrome, for which he was paid £4 a week.
The 1939 film Goodbye Mr Chips brought him to the world’s attention and it wasn’t long before he became a star in his own right. In 1971 his performance as a disable mute in Ryan’s Daughter won him an Oscar.
He went on to star in over 100 films and was made a Knight of the Realm in 1976. Sir John is perhaps best remembered for his roles in a series of screen classics, includingIce Cold in Alex, Dunkirk, Tunes of Glory and Scott of the Antarctic.
British Academy President Sir Richard Attenborough, congratulated his old friend by saying: “Sir John is a uniquely dominant figure in the history of British cinema and he has been my closest friend for 60 years.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
