T here's going to be a big elephant in the room at the Royal Albert Hall tonight. When the Bafta nominations were announced last month, it became abundantly clear that they had messed up. Those expecting a well-represented crop of diverse nods swiftly realised that members had learnt nothing from the #OscarsSoWhite debacle a few years previous, instead announcing a roster that recognised both Scarlett Johansson and Margot Robbie twice.

Hoping to add an element of excitement despite the controversy is Graham Norton, who is hosting for the first time ever. That the majority of the audience will have sat on his chat show sofa at one time or another may help things be less awkward than previous years.

Also helping is the fact that this year's ceremony will actually be fairly unpredictable. The Irishman and Marriage Story may have been frontrunners when the season kicked off in September, but they've fallen by the wayside in favour of Sam Mendes' war drama 1917 and South Korean masterwork Parasite. Considering Netflix's Spanish language-drama Roma ended up beating eventual Best Picture winner Green Book last year, though, there is still some hope for Martin Scorsese and Noah Baumbach‘s films.

Here are our predictions for who will win, who should win and who was unfairly snubbed.

Best Film

Will win: 1917

Should win: Parasite

Shoulda got a look in: The Lighthouse

If 1917 won the top prize at the Golden Globes – a feat it’s looking increasingly like it’ll manage at the Oscars also – it’s a near certainty the British First World War drama will take home the main Bafta award. It should really be Parasite, though. Victory for South Korean writer-director Bong Joon-ho’s jaunty masterpiece would inject sweetness into what has otherwise been a bitter weekend for our country.

Best Director

Will win: Sam Mendes, 1917

Should win: Bong Joon-ho, Parasite

Shoulda got a look in: Greta Gerwig, Little Women

Otherwise known as the Best Male Director category. Bafta criminally failed to nominate Greta Gerwig for her soothing Little Women adaptation, but nobody here stands a chance next to Sam Mendes, whose headline-making “one-take” approach to directing 1917 will probably see him win his second Bafta (Skyfall took home Best British Film in 2013).

Best Actress

Renée Zellweger in ‘Judy’ (Pathé)

Will win: Renée​ Zellweger, Judy

Should win: Renée​ Zellweger, Judy

Shoulda got a look in: Cynthia Erivo, Harriet

Every awards season, there is a film that wins an Oscar solely thanks to its lead performance. Step forward Renée Zellweger, whose towering performance in an otherwise average retelling of Judy Garland’s later years will 100 per cent see her grace the London stage this evening. In fairness to her, it will be a deserved win, although a nomination for Cynthia Erivo for her solid work in Harriet would have been pleasing.

Best Actor

Will win: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

Should win: Adam Driver, Marriage Story

Shoulda got a look in: Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems

Bafta probably etched Joaquin Phoenix’s name onto the trophy when its members first saw Joker last year – and while his performance is an impressive, typically intense turn, it would be nice to see Adam Driver’s more understated approach to the craft in Marriage Story having awards thrown its way instead.

21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Show all 21 1 /21 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Nicolas Cage Nicolas Cage has a history of taking his roles too far, but the peak arrived with the Ghost Rider sequel, Spirit of Vengeance (2011). Knowing his head was to be replaced with CGI, he covered his face in corpse paint and shrouded himself in a costume covered with Egyptian symbols and magical amulets, terrifying his co-stars in the process. Decades earlier, Cage had pulled out 12 of his own teeth in preparation for the lead role in Birdy (1984). 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Hilary Swank Hilary Swank's exercise regime for drama Million Dollar Baby was so intense that it almost killed her. She spent so long in the gym (six days a week for three months) that a doctor told her a staph infection – caused by a burst blister on her foot – was hours away from reaching her heart. Warner Bros 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Heath Ledger Such was the extent of Heath Ledger's commitment to the role of Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) that he ended up sleeping just two hours a night after locking himself away in a hotel room for an entire month to make a diary comprised of his villainous character's ramblings. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Val Kilmer Having lived an entire year in the life of late Doors frontman Jim Morrison, Val Kilmer had to go to therapy after struggling to get his life back on track. The actor had become so obsessed with the role that he ended up learning fifty of Morrison's songs and had everyone call him "Jim" on set of the 1991 biopic. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Johnny Depp Johnny Depp risked his life while preparing for the role of Hunter Thompson in Terry Gilliam's 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; he took hard drugs and spent his nights sleeping next to extremely dangerous containers of gunpowder and nitroglycerin. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Shia LaBeouf For war thriller Fury (2014), Shia LaBeouf slashed his own cheek and pulled a tooth out during filming. He also didn't wash for an entire month forcing the crew to arrange a separate room for him during night-time shoots. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Rooney Mara Rooney Mara completely changed her image to play the role of Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's 2011 adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. She cut her hair, bleached her eyebrows and pierced her nipples to get into the mindset of the cyber hacker at the heart of Stieg Larrson's novels. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Natalie Portman Natalie Portman certainly worked for the Best Actress Oscar she received for 2010 film Black Swan. She shunned any suggestion of a body double for the film's extremely challenging dance scenes. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Joaquin Phoenix In 2008, Joaquin Phoenix displayed some bizarre behaviour after he quit acting to become a hip-hop artist. It was later revealed that his life upheaval – strange interviews included – was, in fact, a giant hoax for mockumentary I'm Still here 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Ashton Kutcher After hearing that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had a diet comprised of just fruit, Ashton Kutcher thought he'd do the same in preparation for his role in biopic Jobs (2013). He ended up hospitalised for severe vitamin deficiencies as well as a reduction in bone density. But for the role of Steve Jobs, Kutcher went on a complete fruit diet, just like real-life Steve Jobs. And two days before the filming Kutcher ended up in the hospital with severe Vitamin deficiencies and reduction in bone density. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Halle Berry After "begging" Spike Lee to let her play the role of crack addict Vivian in his 1991 film Jungle Fever, Halle Berry proved her dedication to the role by refusing to bathe for two whole weeks. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Dustin Hoffman Meryl Streep has recounted the time Dustin Hoffman slapped her on their first take filming 1979 divorce drama Kramer vs Kramer, something everyone can agree was an unacceptable step too far. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Daniel Day-Lewis Known to be one of the biggest method actors around, Daniel Day-Lewis spent six months alone in the wilderness in preparation for his role in The Last of the Mohicans (1992). 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Anne Hathaway Anne Hathaway may have won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Les Misérables (2012), but the role of Fantine – which saw her cut off her hair and eat nothing but lettuce and oatmeal paste – left her in "a state of deprivation, both physically and emotionally". 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Christian Bale Christian Bale has since vowed not to mess with his weight again following his Oscar win for Vice earlier this year but, back in 2004, he lost such an alarming amount of weight for the role of Trevor Reznik in The Machinist that he became virtually unrecognisable. "I was intrigued by a perverse nature of mine just to see if I can go beyond what I've been told is actually safe and okay, and see if I could push the limits," he went on to tell the BBC. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Charlize Theron While many would expect to see Charlize Theron here for her Oscar-winning turn as Aileen Wuornos in Monster, it's her role in spy film Atomic Blonde (2017) that saw her take things too far. Theron was so adamant she perform her own stunts that she bruised her ribs and clenched her teeth so hard she broke two of them. Focus Features 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Danny DeVito The entire cast of 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest stayed in a real mental asylum to prepare for the film. DeVito went so far as to dream up an imaginary friend, one he became convinced was real. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Adrien Brody To get into the lead role of Oscar-winning film The Pianist (2002), Adrien Brody upheaved his life so much that it took him over a year and a half to get things back on track; not only did he starve himself to a staggering degree, but sold his home and broke up with his long-term girlfriend. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Jared Leto The Oscar-winner got so into his role of Joker in 2016's Suicide Squad that he sent his co-stars, including Margot Robbie and Will Smith, stray bullets and used condoms in the post. He event circulated a video of himself with nothing but a dead pig for company to the entire crew. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Kate Winslet Kate Winslet took her role of the former Nazi concentration camp guard at the heart of drama The Reader (2008) so seriously that she spoke with a German accent while at home with her family. She compared leaving the character behind her to escaping a serious car crash. 21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand Robert De Niro For Taxi Driver, most actors wouldn't have got themselves a fake license and cruised around New York City throughout the night to get into the role of the deranged Travis Bickle, but that's precisely what Robert De Niro ended up doing in 1976.

Best Supporting Actress

Will win: Laura Dern, Marriage Story

Should win: Florence Pugh, Little Women

Shoulda got a look in: Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers

Are we all just living in Laura Dern’s world? Quite possibly. She’s on course to win her first Bafta for playing a brash divorce lawyer in Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story – the kind of role we’ve long known Dern can knock out the park. The more inspired choice would be Florence Pugh, who steals Little Women from everyone around her. A Bafta win would top off what has been a stratospheric few years for the 24-year-old.

Best Supporting Actor

Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' (Sony Pictures Releasing) (Andrew Cooper/Sony-Columbia Pictures via AP)

Will win: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Should win: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Shoulda got a look in: Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse

In a category of heavyweights – Hanks! Pacino! Pesci! – it’s Brad Pitt who deserves to have his name read out at tonight’s ceremony. His role in Quentin Tarantino’s sun-soaked homage to 1960s Los Angeles is the film’s MVP and a career-best turn from the actor.

Outstanding British Film

Will win: For Sama

Should win: For Sama

Shoulda got a look in: Pink Wall

Nobody could deny that For Sama, Waad Al-Kateab’s first person account of the Syrian Civil War, is the most deserving recipient of this award. It beating 1917 would be a high point of an evening that may otherwise be bogged down by disappointing decisions. One absentee, whose nomination would have been worthy, though, is Tom Cullen’s Pink Wall, a drama tracking the dissolution of a relationship over six years.