Gary Oldman, who plays Sir Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, emerged as an early favourite, with British director Joe Wright’s biopic receiving a total of nine nominations.
Oldman, 59, said: “This is my second Bafta nomination.
“The recognition means so much, not merely for the distinguished company I now find myself in with my fellow nominees but most especially for the privilege of playing Winston Churchill.”
He is up against Daniel Day-Lewis, 60, in Phantom Thread, set in the haute couture world of London in the 1950s.
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Oldman (L) plays Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, Day-Lewis (R) is Phantom Thread’s protagonist
It is reportedly Day-Lewis’s last film before self-imposed retirement.
Also nominated in the same category are Skins actor and writer Daniel Kaluuya for Get Out, a horror satire on racial prejudice, and Billy Elliot’s Jamie Bell, 31, for Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool, based on the true story of the 1970s romance between fading film star Gloria Grahame and a younger man.
Bell’s co-star Annette Bening, 59, is nominated as best actress. Timothee Chalamet, 22, flies the flag for the US as best actor for the coming of age drama Call Me By Your Name.
Kristin Scott Thomas said she is “grinning from ear to ear” after picking up a nomination for her role of Clementine Churchill in Darkest Hour.
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Kristin Scott Thomas and Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour
She said: “It’s thrilling.
“It is lovely to bring Clementine into the spotlight.
“She was the most extraordinary woman.”
Also nominated for best supporting actress are Phantom Thread’s Lesley Manville; Allison Janney for I, Tonya; Laurie Metcalf for Lady Bird and Octavia Spencer for The Shape Of Water.
Sally Hawkins is the only British star in the best actress category for her performance in The Shape Of Water.
She will take on Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, for Lady Bird, Ms Bening, Frances McDormand, for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and Margot Robbie for I, Tonya.
The Shape Of Water, a fantasy romance directed by Guillermo del Toro, leads the nominations at the 2018 awards with 12 nods in total, including for best film.
Sally Hawkins, 41, said: “It is very special to be honoured by Bafta.
“It feels like a gift from my homeland.”
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British filmmaker Christopher Nolan could win the best director award for Dunkirk
Other movies nominated for the top prize include Call Me By Your Name, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk and Three Billboards.
Darkest Hour and Three Billboards are also in the running for outstanding British film alongside Paddington 2, The Death Of Stalin, God’s Own Country and Lady Macbeth.
Hugh Grant is among more British talent nominated, as best supporting actor for his villainous turn in Paddington 2.
British filmmakers Christopher Nolan and Martin McDonagh are in an all-male line-up to be best director, for their movies Dunkirk and Three Billboards.
The Baftas will be awarded at London’s Royal Albert Hall on February 18.