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NOMINATION: Chiwetel Ejiofor in character starring opposite Michael Fassbender

BRITISH ACTOR Chiwetel Ejiofor has been nominated for in the best leading actor category for his work in 12 Years A Slave at next month’s Bafta Awards.

Ejiofor, 36, has been praised for his depiction of a free-born black man forced into slavery in 19th Century America.

The film has been recognised in nine other categories including; Steve McQueen for Best Director and Kenyan newcomer Lupita Nyong’o for Best Supporting Actress.

The former Dulwich College pupil's performance has also received a nod from the Golden Globe. He will go up against fellow Londoner Idris Elba, who plays Nelson Mandela in the biopic Long Walk to Freedom.

The film 12 Years A Slave is based on the 1853 memoirs of Solomon Northup, who was kidnapped in Washington DC in 1841 and sold into slavery.

It opens in British cinemas on Friday (Jan 10) and the Bafta Awards ceremony is taking place on February 16.