If you spotted an unfamiliar face during one of Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan’s acceptance speeches at Sunday night’s Baftas, it turns out there’s a good reason for that.
Organisers have said that an unnamed “social media prankster” made his way onto the stage after Oppenheimer was awarded Best Picture, before being “removed” from the event by security.
A spokesperson confirmed the incident took place to Deadline on Monday afternoon, explaining: “A social media prankster was removed by security last night after joining the winners of the final award on stage.”
They added that they were taking the matter “very seriously”, and in the interest of not “granting him any publicity”, they would not be naming the man in question or “commenting any further”.
According to Deadline’s report, the “prankster” made his way onto the stage when producer Emma Thomas urged her Oppenheimer colleagues to join her at the podium, after the epic historical drama was revealed to have won Best Film.
The man can be seen at the back of the stage wearing a black hat during the below video:
Footage of the supposed “prank” is yet to be posted on social media, per Deadline.
The 2024 Baftas saw Oppenheimer picking up five of the 13 awards it was nominated for, putting it in good stead for the upcoming Oscars.
As well as Best Picture and Best Director for Christopher Nolan, the film also received individual wins for cast members Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr.
Check out the full list of winners from this year’s Baftas here.