©picture alliance / Geisler-Fotopress | Steve Vas
At the 79th BAFTA Awards held in London's iconic Royal Festival Hall, predictions crumbled one after the other. The unexpected victories of Sean Penn for 'One Battle After Another' and Wunmi Mosaku for 'The Sinners' had already upset the evening's dynamics. But the real surprise came with the award for the Best Actor.
When Kerry Washington opened the envelope, everyone expected to hear the name of Timothée Chalamet, the great favorite for the film 'Marty Supreme'. Instead, and against all expectations, Robert Aramayo's name was called out; an outsider against celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan, Ethan Hawke and Jesse Plemons.
From 'Game of Thrones' to undisputed leading man
For many, the name was unexpected, but Robert Aramayo is far from an unknown actor. Audiences discovered him in 'Game of Thrones' and the 'Rings of Power' series. With 'I Swear', however, he takes a decisive step forward: an intense, uncluttered performance, full of nuance and vulnerability.
The film recounts the life of John Davidson, a Scottish activist with Tourette's syndrome who, from adolescence onwards, is confronted with isolation, misunderstanding and dropping out of school. In the 1980s, the pathology was very poorly understood: tics, coprolalia and sudden movements were often mistaken for bad manners or provocation. The award-winning actor brings all this to the screen with a performance based on restrained tension and palpable humanity.
A true story that breaks the silence
The turning point in 'I Swear' comes when John meets Dottie Achenbach, the sick mother of a former classmate. From this friendship springs a journey towards self-awareness that would lead Davidson to become one of the UK's most recognized advocates and educators on Tourette syndrome, culminating in his official appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
During the ceremony, John Davidson himself was present. He had to leave the room after unintentionally making offensive remarks about his condition. The master of ceremonies, Alan Cumming, apologized to the audience, who reacted with great kindness.
The evening saw 'One Battle after Another' crowned best film, while 'Hamnet' took the awards for best actress and best British film. 'Sinners' and 'Frankenstein' each walked away with three awards. But the award that stands out is Robert Aramayo's: the victory of an actor who, far from the multi-million marketing campaigns, was able to convince with the strength of a necessary story. At BAFTA 2026, a discreet talent triumphed, capable of transforming a neurological condition into a story about identity and dignity.
Tourette's at the heart of the story
The true significance of 'I Swear'"s success goes far beyond a mere statistical surprise. For years, Tourette's syndrome has remained a prisoner of simplistic stereotypes, reduced almost exclusively to coprolalia and transformed into a source of embarrassment or inappropriate jokes. Cinema has rarely taken a comprehensive look at the condition, free of both miserabilism and sensationalism. Robert Aramayo's film changes all that: it doesn't use the disease as a simple spin for a narrative, but places it at the center of the story as a complex human experience, made up of daily difficulties, isolation and, above all, dignity.
Bringing this story to the BAFTA Awards stage, in front of the international film industry, helps to break a cultural silence that has lasted for decades. Tourette's is no longer a whispered detail, but a subject treated with realism and respect. The presence of John Davidson himself at the ceremony - with his authenticity, even in the most difficult moments - was a reminder that behind every diagnosis is a person, not a label. If cinema has the power to shape the collective imagination, then this victory marks a major symbolic turning point: less stigma, more understanding. And perhaps from now on, a teenager prone to vocal tics in a hectic classroom will be seen in a different light.
(©GreenMe.it 2026/Managing editor : Julie Morgan - The Press Junction/Picture : picture alliance / Geisler-Fotopress | Steve Vas)