Vanity Fair and Four Seasons Celebrate the BAFTA Awards 2026

On Thursday night, Vanity Fair and Four Seasons kicked off BAFTA 2026 weekend in style, reminding everyone just how much fun the Brits have during awards season. The weekend is jam-packed with swanky parties, private dinners, and a Sunday night awards show hosted by Alan Cumming that leads into an all-night parade of after-parties for guests to dance the night away. To begin the festivities, Little Gold Men hosted a live podcast with a special guest, BAFTA- and Oscar-nominated actor Stellan Skarsgård. He discussed his work in Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, for which he is nominated, and his career that spans over 120 films and television shows.

Skarsgård spoke about the differences between working on foreign films and on American blockbusters. “In Europe the motive is mainly to make something interesting, as in art,” he said. “In America, it’s mainly to make something that makes a lot of money.” Skarsgård went on to praise the directors he has worked with on some of his bigger American films though. “Denis Villeneuve, that’s an independent filmmaker. David Fincher, that’s an independent filmmaker. Gore Verbinski, who did the Pirates of the Caribbean series, is very independent and absurd.”

When asked who’s the best at karaoke—himself, fellow Mamma Mia! costar Pierce Brosnan, or Meryl Streep—Skarsgård joked, “Probably Meryl Streep. She’s the best at everything.” The full conversation will be featured on the February 24 episode of Little Gold Men. After the recording, Skarsgård stayed and spoke with audience members as they headed downstairs to Pavyllon at the Four Seasons, the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant, for a cocktail party. Attendees included BAFTA rising-star nominees Robert Aramayo, star of 2025’s I Swear; Archie Madekwe, star of Lurker; and Posy Sterling, star of Lollipop. Madekwe is no stranger to the BAFTAs and provided pointers on how to plan your after-party strategy. “Start with British Vogue and GQ and make sure to end with Netflix,” he said. “That party goes all night.”

Noah Jupe strolled into the party in his usual unassuming manner and began chatting with fellow guests KJ Apa and Emilia Jones. He was excited for Sunday’s show and, of course, Hamnet’s prospects. He’s not done with Shakespeare quite yet, as he is about to star in Romeo & Juliet on the West End with Sadie Sink.