Here are some lovely photos of our Celebitchy Crush, Chiwetel Ejiofor, at the Burberry show in London yesterday. God, he looks SO handsome. Apparently, it was crushingly hot in the tent erected in Kensington Gardens for the menswear show. But Chiwetel didn’t break a sweat. Because he’s awesome.
As we discussed last week and into the weekend, Benedict Cumberbatch was awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) on the Queen’s Birthday Honors list. What was also revealed: Chiwetel got a CBE as well! Chiwetel is actually younger than Bendy – Chiwetel just turned 37, versus Benedict’s 38-soon-to-be-39 years. Which means that all of the complaints about Benedict being too “young” and not famous or worthy enough of a CBE could probably be applied to Chiwetel. But does anyone even want to make those arguments? Chiwetel has worked steadily for more than a decade, turning in amazing performances on stage, screen and television. Chiwetel deserves it! (Also: British sites are trying to make it into a “thing” that Benedict got a CBE and Eddie Redmayne – this year’s Oscar winner! – only got an OBE, which is one rung lower than a CBE. Just FYI.)
Meanwhile, Chiwetel and Benedict will be teaming up later this year to film Doctor Strange. Bendy is Strange (he really is) and Chiwetel will be playing the villain/frenemy, Baron Mordo. I think it’s a good thing to see Chiwetel signing up for a Marvel franchise.
Last thing: I’m adding some bonus photos of David Gandy, who was also at the Burberry show. Who would you rather, Gandy or Ejiofor?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Chewie all day every day, although they both look sharp. I do like a man in a waistcoat.
Ejiofor!! totally. gandy does nothing for me. i really don’t understand the appeal. his facial features are huge, i feel like he would eat my face if he tried to kiss me.
Same. Gandy never rang my bell. Then he came across as whiny /self involved (to me) in an interview of him I read.
Chewy is hot and looks like a sweetheart. I SO would.
Chiwetel all the time!!! David Gandy always gives me a vibe that’s somewhere near smarmy.
Ejiofor FTW!
The other guy is creepy-looking.
I thought I was the only one that gets a mild case of the icks when looking at Gandy. Thankfully, I don’t think I’ve ever heard the man(nequin) utter a single word, hopefully that trend continues.
That said, all the honks in the world for Ejiofor – he’s dreamy. And if I had to choose between him and Idris for Bond, I pick Chiwetel.
Ejiofor already had an OBE. His CBE follows a progression, even though they don’t have to follow any progression.
that is what usually happens -jumping straight to CBE smacks of strings pulled some where .Besides which I have seen him both on stage and screen and he is a far superior actor to Benny who overcame issues around ethnicity stereotyping
Except it seems this happens on occasion, probably if someone is nominated for the first time but doesn’t fit the lower rank. Reading the honors criteria, he does seem to be a CBE.
Ejiofor’s is for drama, Cumberbatch’s is for performing arts. They don’t seem to be the same category either.
And Benedict received his CBE in two categories as well, services to Performing Arts and services to Charity. That would involve a committee for each category and acting awards, whilst probably playing a part, are not the sole contributor. He does seem to fit the criteria for a CBE, work that has gained recognition at a national level. I would say he has gained it internationally as well and through his roles in Sherlock, Frankenstein, TIG and Hamlet is bringing in the money.
He has also been involved in charity work for a long time, not only The Prince’s Trust and MND but many other organisations. ( If you want to see them all go to Cumberbuddy’s tumblr, she has a very long list)
I certainly won’t complain.
And Chiwetel already received OBE in 2008 and now was elevated to CBE. The Queen (or whoever decides about it) seems to love him as much as we do.
the queen does not decide -People can recommend someone but it is an actual government appointed committee who make the decision .But I bet Certain people like the royals royals can exert pressure and he does volunteer work for the princes trust
Well, if I was going to get off my backside and write moan-y, complaining emails about honours, I’d probably suggest that they stopped giving automatic knighthoods to retiring civil servants who went to the right public school before they became civil servants.
If I was just going to whine on here, then yes, I don’t think actors should go straight to CBE unless they can also demonstrate some EXCEPTIONAL levels of charity work/awareness raising (not the ice bucket challenge/turning up to glitzies shiznit that usually passes).
So I think Benny and Chiwetel should both have got an OBE, to be upgraded to CBE if they carry on representing the UK prominently in their field for another few years. And that’s from someone who’s inclined to see Benny as an overrated twerp and Chiwetel as a god amongst men. And also why I think Lenny Henry’s knighthood was well deserved.
ETA: shows what I know! Forgot Chiwetel was already an OBE. Therefore, no. I won’t be complaining (or shooting off my mouth without doing due diligence).
So honky dory, it is?
I now have some horribly inappropriate puns running about in my head. Oops.
No, puns were intended, but without malice and only humor.
Ha! You can join me on the potentially naughty (but we can’t help it) step.
I suspect your moan-y emails are things of great beauty in and of themselves, and should merit you an OBE. If you post a five minute long ice bucket challenge video, you can skip right on up to Dame Sixer.
I wrote one only this morning, to my MP, about government purdah for the in/out EU referendum we’re going to have!
Agreed. My only complaint is why Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes and many other great and accomplished actors still didn’t receive any honours? I have nothing against Cumberbatch, he is a very good actor, but he’s only been popular for a few years while the two people I mentioned have been excellent for decades. Eddie Redmayne got OBE after one Oscar, Emma still didn’t after winning 2 and being nominated 5 times. She is also very involved in a charity work, same as her mother who was presented with OBE just last year, at the age of 81. Emma should be at least a CBE by now if they followed any rules.
They may have been offered and declined, that’s often kept private. Some people decline for personal reasons, others because they want a higher honor.
It’s possible they turned it down, some people do.
I believe Fiennes turned something down as has Alan Rickman.
Quite a lot of people turn it down. I can certainly see Emma being one of them, probably Ralph too now that I think about it.
I personally know 3 people who were offered a CBE/OBE and turned it down. In all cases they just thought it was a ridiculous ‘honour’ and wanted no part in something so ‘establishment’.
When I hear establiment I think of the ‘60s right away 🙂
Most people probably turn them down because of that perceived connection but I bet some public figures have turned it down because they don’t want to revive a scandal or have something shady in their background. Stripping is embarrasing plus people love a royal scandal!
I can believe that with Ralph, but when Phyllida Law received OBE last year, Emma was there with her, looking very proud and she talked very highly about it, so it seemed unlikely for me that she would turn it down. Maybe she didn’t want one before her mother, though.
@sixer
My thoughts exactly, I couldn’t have been happier for Lenny. I can’t help it, I just can’t stomach more privilege being piled on the already privileged, so even though I think it is too soon for both actors to receive CBEs, I find Chiwetel’s less irritating.
hey Sixer, have you read the Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister books? I think YPM at one point goes into detail about the machinations of how and when civil servants get automatic knighthoods, and it is an absolute hoot.
I know there is the tv series of course, but the whole absurdity of the honours system was just funnier when I saw the words down on the page.
Yes and that’s really not far removed from how it is! I have a friend whose brother-in-law got to X level in the Foreign Office and, like clockwork, the year he was due to retire, he got knighted in the New Year Honours list.
So agree re the civil srvants and the choices are often party orientated
Gandy for his outer beauty and Chiwetel for his amazing acting talent – so basically both of them..
As for Gandy – I now have to go watch the Dolce & Gabbana advert for “light blue” and salivating and thinking this must be how the Ancient Greek Gods looked like…
Chiwetel all the way 🙂 and congrats to him for the CBE.
I would complain if these honors were anything more than just purely ceremonial. But eh, this title doesn’t really mean anything to me (maybe because I’m not British) so it doesn’t bother me. Neither does Cumby really.
He already had an OBE didn’t he, so it’s a natural progression.
Yes to him in Dr. Strange, he was brilliant in Serenity.
YES! Chiwetel and still-hot Nathan Fillion doing hand-to-hand combat. *swoon*
People want to talk about the new Bond? Chewitel should be everyone’s top pick.
I agree!!!
I’ve always thought if we are looking at British actors of colour he’s a much better pick than Idris Elba.
He was actually up for a role as a villain in the new Bond but was apparently too expensive. I hope he got a good deal from Marvel.
He’d be great.
Fanty, three things for you:
1. I LOVED Fiennes “Man vs. Superman”. Verbose, but high-larious. So.Many.Great.Lines. I guess I’m a GBS fan after all.
2. Looking forward to Ejiofor’s “Everyman” coming to cinemas here in August — woot, woot! I have only seen him in Serenity, so I need more Chewy exposure.
3. If I was picking an unconventional Bond, I think I’d go with Ruth Wilson after seeing her in Luther. I think she’d be AMAZEBALLS in that role.
yes Every man sound brilliant .The modern adaptation of Man vs. Superman”was very clever and accessible
I will be forever pressed that Chiwetel didn’t win the Oscar for 12 Years A Slave. He was stellar in it.
As to his CBE, no complaints from me. But any backlash about OBEs, CBEs, etc is in part also tied to how much an actor is liked by the public and press, rather than a blow-by-blow account of who is worthy. As far as I know Chiwetel hasn’t had foot-in-mouth syndrome, or staged a distasteful (to me) Oscar campaign; he progressed from an OBE, and if I am not wrong he has a more impressive awards haul than Bendy, so there’s that.
Backlash and reactions to these things tend to have a visceral element. Aside from factual reasons, Bendy certainly hasn’t endeared himself to quite many fans the past year, so people will moan about him.
People complaining about all three of them and Lenny Henry, who apparently doesn’t amuse a lot of people. It seemed more rooted in the whole ‘performers shouldn’t get these awards’ with BC being the most well known and who the Daily Mail ran with.
I can’t claim to have read every single comment on this issue, but from what I came across online, Bendy certainly got the most backlash. Lenny Henry got a fair amount, while there was not much directed at Chiwetel or Eddie. You seem to be insinuating Bendy bore the brunt of the negativity cos he is the most famous. That can be a factor, though I’d think other elements like his foot-in-mouth syndrome, overexposure, leapfrogging MBE/OBE, etc play a part too. If David Bowie (who is far more famous than Bendy) were to get a KBE, somehow I doubt there’s be a hue and cry over it.
Yeah, I saw the whole thing play out. I’d replace “famous” with “polarizing” though, he’s great for driving traffic. It started with a tab leaking his CBE and saying there was an internal row over it. The Daily Fail picked that up and ran with it. But the comments there largely moaned about performers getting them at all, with all 3 named (moreso them than Chiwetel).
I’ll be honest: it’s almost like a manufactured controversy from DM. They ran a backlash article before there was actually backlash, lol. I don’t think people care that much.
I really don’t understand the complaints about Henry, unless you dislike the whole idea of honours.
He is a founding member of the UK’s second biggest telethon, which has raised more than £1bn since its inception, and he has stuck with it for its 25 years of existence. He’s the son of Windrush generation immigrants and turned a working class background and a TV talent show win into a popular comedy career and a respected stage Shakespearean career. He’s done a lot of advocacy for diversity on stage and TV. I mean, really, if you’re going to give out knighthoods at all, he’s the candidate who ticks all the boxes.
@An
Yep I read the comments on the Daily Mail too, and that was where I got my impression that Bendy was the one who received disproportionate backlash (alongside the fact that the article singled him out as you mentioned). And I used “most famous” cos I was quoting the phrase from your earlier reply – sorry, should have used quotation marks!
I agree, Sixer, I didn’t understand that myself.
I would wear people at the Daily Mail not liking me as a badge of honor but I’ve heard those people who say he had a fake baby or whatever have been all over the comments there for months. Not to say there’s not criticism but it’s probably being over-magnified between them and the way the mail clearly played create a scandal over awards with no meaning there. Someone peed in tory cheerios lol
Hmmm but by that token, Bendy should have been hanging his head in shame and dishonour prior to last year’s Oscar campaign and fake baby nonsense, because if I recall he was quite popular and favourably regarded in the Daily Mail comments section back then. Two sides of the same coin. 😉
I agree there is over-magnification though.
depended on the day, lol. even during the campaign the articles that ran were a mix of positive and negative, but tbh that is more indicative of how the fail has been with him in the past
Oh I was referring to the period before his Oscar campaign. He was certainly quite well-regarded in the Daily Mail comments section during those earlier years in general.
I am going to be really honest with everyone by saying this I have not seen TWAS. Not saying I can watch it, but I am not ready for it, for a very personal reasons. It has nothing to do with the imagesof slavery, it more of Jealousy in every aspect of the way. I am not saying the movies deserve award but Chiwetel Ejiofor deserves a lot more, but I know this is crazy, but I am jealous of How lucky Lupita N’yongo sucess has been. Pleas forgive me on this one. I still think she was fabulous, but I have been comparing my lowlife self with her success and how lucky she is, I too want to be an actress and it is possibility for for me that I will never be an actress. And some of you will hate me for saying this but I stand in my truth and dealt with the depression and desperation of becoming a famous actress. Therefor I am sorry that I felt this way and I don’t want to.
With that being said. I am proud of Chiwetel Ejiofor for all of his sucessful and I am glad for Lupita for being so lucky.
Double post; sorry.
I first saw Chiwetel Ejioforw on stage in all in play called A season in the Congo with a completely ethnic cast and I was so overwhelmed by his performance and the play just stood up and clapped with tears in my eyes with our even thinkingg about it which is unusual for me.
I think the general fuss was over all 3 actors, but BC was just the most prominent in terms of press / media attention. Chiwetel in particular is super low-key as it is, and less of a polarising figure. Anyway, most people (Brits anyway) seemed to resent the fact that they were getting honours on top of huge sums of money just for doing their jobs.
Eijofor got an MBE first, so he rather worked up in reasonable increments, as it were. What I find hilarious about all this is that the “BE” in these honors refers to the British Empire, which hasn’t existed since the end of WWII. I have great affection for the UK but let’s face it, dears, it’s over, has been for some time.
I think Cumbers is a pretentious t**t as a person but he is a very good actor and he’d been a steady jobbing one for years before Sherlock finally put him over the line. I just wish they’d done the MBE first, it does look so like he skipped a grade in schools because the teacher had a crush on him . . .
IMO it looks like cumberbatch should have had an OBE like 2/3 years ago, after frankenstein/sherlock
But that’s like saying actors should get them just because they are in a popular show. Although I think he’s an excellent actor I don’t see that cumby has done anything so outstanding that it elevates him above his peers. Bar the imitation game I don’t think his movie work is as good /better as hardy, chiwetel or fassbender, or anyone else in that age group. Mainly he seems to have been elevated to this status because of the Sherlock fandom. I don’t think it would have been a problem if he had to wait a bit longer. At least until he had won a major award.
If people insist on progression then Cumberbatch should’ve had both MBE and OBE by now. In that case he was slighted and overlooked all those years.
Should we maybe go back and review all those 5-6 years ago MBEs and OBEs and see who took Cumberbatch’s place?
Luckily, this is an award and not a certification, so he doesn’t have to have earlier awards to get a CBE. CBE is well deserved in my opinion.
@En, what had he done five years ago that merited any acknowledgement at all? Atonement? The Other Bolyn Girl? His career until five years ago featured extremely minor roles. TTSS, Frankenstein, those came later
> what had he done five years ago that merited any acknowledgement at all?
He has been successful in theatre as far back as 2005. Frankenstein was 4 years ago, Sherlock was 6 years ago. It is all in the wiki.
He’s been doing charity for a long time.
He at least merited MBE by 2011 if comparing to other actors.
Again, Frankenstein four years ago does not equate to an honor five years ago. He worked regularly but very little of it was noteworthy, as is the case of the vast majority of actors. Most actors with his level of experience have received no honors whatsoever, even when they do charity work
> Most actors with his level of experience have received no honors whatsoever, even when they do charity work
Who are the other actors who brought as much money and visibility to the UK who didn’t receive any recognition?
Eddie just got an Oscar for which Cumberbatch was also nominated, has shorter career, didn’t bring as much money to the UK, and it pretty much the epitome of a posh toff. He doesn’t do much other than his professional work. He gets an OBE, nobody is crying about that.
At this point I think we just have to agree to disagree. I see that others below did a better write up on why than I did anyway.
Eddie also has an Olivier and a Tony for earlier works. He is far more accomplished professionally than Cumberbatch at an earlier age.
Eddie also WON the Oscar and the BAFTA as opposed to being nominated. Sherlock aired in summer 2010 which is 5 (not 6) years ago. Bendy was largely an unknown before that. I can’t believe people think he deserves a MBE/OBE 5 or 6 years ago.
Not 5-6 years ago. I can see it 3-4 years ago though, with the combo of Frankenstein/Sherlock plus his MDA/PT affiliation.
Before everyone flips, Eijofor got his back in 2008. At that point, he only had an Oliver and ES award.
@Kay, actually, at that point in 2008, Ejiofor had a BAFTA nomination, two Golden Globe nominations, a SAG nomination, two London Film Critics Circle nominations, a British Independent Film Award, an Evening Standard film nomination, an Independent Spirit Award, a Critics Circle Theatre Award, an Ian Charleson nomination, an Olivier award and an Olivier nomination for another play, and an Evening Standard Theatre award – actually a bit more than Cumberbatch has NOW. And yes, some on this thread are saying that BC deserved the award 6 years ago, even when his resume was very skimpy quality wise, AND they are insinuating that some people who did receive one 5-6 years ago stole it from him, even though there isn’t a limited number each year. He is a good actor but no more deserving of honors than many others.
> they are insinuating that some people who did receive one 5-6 years ago stole it from him
Now, wait a minute. I am not insinuating that at all. I don’t even know all those people. But it is equally impossible to say that whoever got it over those years was more deserving.
I am live and let live person. Whoever got it before, good for them!
As for the point by another poster that Eddie has BAFTA and Oscar and Cumberbatch doesn’t – really? Anyone nominated deserves the award. Being the winner doesn’t mean others are less deserving. And just how many times Cumberbatch has been nominated for BAFTA? Are you seriously saying that he doesn’t deserve BAFTA? He totally deserved it for Sherlock back in 2008 already.
“Anyone nominated deserves the award.”
I’m pretty sure that’s not how awards work, my dear.
“He totally deserved the (BAFTA) for Sherlock back in 2008 already.”
But of course, in the eyes of some CumberFans, Bendy deserves ALL THE AWARDS IN THE WORLD, even in 2008 for Sherlock when the series was only broadcast in 2010. I am shocked his fandom hasn’t started a campaign to make him King of England already.
I am out of here, the delusion is too much.
But no wins other than what I mentioned, correct? Everyone seems to be using awards won as criteria. Although I’m not sure what difference is with their relative honors being drama versus performing arts.
@Kay, you missed the Independent Spirit Award win and the Critics Circle win.
BAFTA has been saying that BC is less deserving than others for BAFTA wins, both in television and film.
Oh, I didn’t miss them, sorry for any confusion! Everyone was saying they weren’t major awards when this was discussed before. Although I’m not sure how relevant any of that is now without knowing the difference between drama and performing arts.
Actually, the BAFTA performer nominees are selected by all the thousands of voters yet only 9 people pick the winner. So its more like maybe that’s what they think but who knows lol. Although you can argue that about a lot of award shows; I think like just 1/6 of the Oscar voters decide BP wins.
Don’t have an opinion on Cumberbatch losing but there’s definitely been years where i went wtf @ some winners, and it made more sense to me after I saw the process.
There is a difference between TV BAFTAs and Film BAFTAs, both in terms of rules and membership. For the latter, the wins (including Best Actor) are voted on by the entire Film membership except for some niche/smaller categories which are decided by a committee.
The Oscars Best Picture win is voted on by the entire Academy membership, which comprise ~6000 professionals, not just 1/6 of it.
The Oscar nominations however (not the win) are decided by the respective branches (e.g. the acting branch decide acting nominees, the screenwriters branch decide the screenplay nominees, and so on). Once the nominees are decided, all members can vote to determine the winners.
The exception is Best Picture, cos the WHOLE membership votes to decide both the nominees AND the win. The technical rules for determining the BP winner are also different from other categories like Best Actor, as it uses a complex preferential voting process which involves ranking the BP nominees. Other categories simply use a popular vote (i.e., the one with the most votes wins).
I’m simultaneously sorry and appreciative you took the time to write that out, I was talking about the TV ones. I know the film one is different, it’s on me for not specifying there. 🙁
Also knew all members voted for the Oscar– I do apologize again. I read a breakdown of how it goes during this past Oscar season, and essentially, once a film gets 1,000 votes from its 6.000-ish members, it can easily win due to how the preferential voting works. It was better when you had 5 nominees, but 10 makes it hard for any one film to grab 50% the votes in the first voting round, and then that runoff effect kicks in.
Hi Amy, thanks v much for the clarification. 🙂 And yep Best Picture uses a preferential voting system which requires voters to rank nominees from #1 to #10 (assuming a full field). For films with the lowest number of #1 votes, the ballots would be redistributed to other nominees based on the #2 choices in those ballot forms, and so on. Viewed in this context, the bar for a BP winner is more stringent than other categories as the winner needs to have a substantial number of #2 and #3 votes (instead of just a simple majority). I’m not sure how the 1/6 rule you mentioned kicks in, but will definitely keep a lookout for it in future readings. It is a complex system and hard to describe over text (YouTube videos are v helpful).
As many people have mentioned chiwetel already had an OBE so his CBE follows a progression. Cumberbatch jumped straight to CBE. Also the critics of cumberbatch was pointing out lack of major awards. Chiwetel has a lot more awards particularly in the theatre Where he has won every major award. chiwetel also had been doing major work for far longer despite his younger age.
look, i think these awards are pointless and this is a lot of hubbub over nothing, but he got performing arts, not drama. drama is more for roles. performing arts is for field contributions, so uk acting industry profile raising things like sherlock being the most licensed bbc show globally, his successful radio work & the success of frankestein outside the uk count. same with hamlet broadcast & tix sales. obe looks like it’s more for a locally known performer, but he is past that.
i don’t get the obsession with acting awards. people with knighthoods don’t have them. but anyway cumberbatch and chiwetel have the same theater awards, but bc shared his olivier with JLM because they didn’t know how else to handle that play when they did noms lol
Lise, thank you for the explanation of the difference: I had seen Cumberbatch’s citation was for performing arts but hadn’t realized that encompassed more than just the acting. The CBE starts to make a bit more sense now, especially with his long-term relationship with the Princes’ Trust. And ITA agree with the awards obsession, but maybe it’s a dick-measuring thing?
All about Ejiofor here. Gandy does nothing for me.
Both men are so handsome and wear their clothing so well. That Swedish prince everyone is raving about looks like a frog in his wedding photos compared to these gentlemen.
Chiwetel is a lovely man. No complaints there. Nobody should have complained about Cumberbatch either. It was just stirring of the pot for clicks.
Gandy does NOTHING for me-but I’d leap onto C E like he was the train I was late for. (Horrible grammar, but you guys get the gist). And I didn’t complain about The Batch getting a CBE. They are amazing actors who have been stars in the UK forever. I’m happy for them both.
I’m ashamed I didn’t know how much work he’d done on the stage, but I’ve been a fan of his ever since he played The Operative in Serenity, and was thrilled to see CE join the Marvel club at last! (albeit after Joss Whedon exited). He is a fantastic actor, and imo he totally deserves this.
Urgh so over the CBE Cumberchat.
HONK for more Chiwetel, he is a beauty!
LOL Its funny that this wasn’t noticed when they were bashing Benedict when the news first broke. First it was because he was too young, only to find out there have been younger. Now its because he didn’t get the lesser one first. Jeez. After Strange I think he should leave England altogether. It seems pretty toxic. They hate him for getting clicks to stories they’ve manufactured. Hate it when he has a normal life. Would hate it if he had a wild life. Hate him for being papped by them. Hate it when he’s not being papped by them. He probably won’t do it (aging parents), but a move to NYC would probably end this nonsense, IMO.
Chiwitel is not only gorgeous but also a versatile actor, a class act and well deserves his MBE. I think Benedict was given a CBE because he has a larger public profile, though he does do charity work.
The DM seems to have it in for him though, he did call Piers Morgan ‘odious’ allegedly and he is editor of the US part of the Fail.
The comments were far more posiive and more numerous for the Cumberbaby.
Exactly, Kaiser.
Fisrtly, let’s not forget that Chiwetel looks gorgeous. But all this complaining about Bendy getting a CBE is noise. Clearly, he wasn’t the only “young actor” given the honor. Like Chiwetel, he’s been steadily working & progressing for over a decade. And he’s been extremely active in charity. But nobody complained that Chiwetel got an OBE and Bendy didn’t. Perhaps, someone realized that Bendy should have gotten an OBE 5 years ago after Sherlock, his Hawking portrayal and his work with MNDA/Prince’s Trust. Too late now. Why give him just an OBE when his career has progressed even further? Nothing makes him less deserving than Chiwetel. And Chiwetel has not really escaped type casting any more than Bendy because he’s always cast in a “black” role or cast as working class. Ever seen him cast in a posh, period piece? No. (Watch Hollywood Hustle, it’s a hilarious “laugh instead of crying” classic about black actors in Hollywood.) They both deserve more expansion. Blame the entertainment industry.
As far as Eddie goes, his career is definitely shorter than Chiwetel’s & Bendy’s. And he isn’t as involved in charity work. Besides Theory of everything, his work is meh. (Nobody in Les Miserables could sing. So, kindly let that dead dog keep a seat. And have you seen Jupiter Ascending?) …. Eddie just won an Oscar. So, an OBE is totally appropriate for him. Bendy isn’t the only young entertainer receiving the honor. If his receiving it devalues it for “more deserving ” older, less glamorous types, so does it for Chiwetel & Eddie. And that’s clearly not the case.
Most importantly, all the classist whiners appear to be bitter people who simultaneously complain about how stupid these awards are while they’re in a rage that only posh folks get them. Which is it? Was the rich kid that mean to you in school? It’s over now. You’re an adult. Get over it. The vast majority of honorees are being honored for “more useful,” less glamorous stuff.