The British Academy Video Games Award for Performer in a Leading Role is an award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in honour of the best leading performance featured in a game "from voice artistry through to motion capture".
BAFTA has honoured video game performances since the 8th British Academy Video Games Awards ceremony in 2012, with Mark Hamill winning the inaugural award for his performance as the Joker in Batman: Arkham City. From 2012 to 2019, performers in both leading and supporting roles were considered together in the merged category of British Academy Games Award for Performer but, as of the 16th British Academy Games Awards, during a reconfiguration of categories, BAFTA announced that the Performer award would be split into both Leading and Supporting categories.
The inaugural winner in the Leading category was Gonzalo Martin for his role as Sean Diaz in Dontnod Entertainment's Life Is Strange 2. Laura Bailey has received the most nominations with two, one for her role as Kait Diaz in Gears 5 and one for her portrayal of Abby in The Last of Us Part II, which she won.
The current holder of the award is Jennifer English for her role as Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, who won at the 22nd British Academy Games Awards in 2026.
Winners and nominees
In the following table, the years are listed as per BAFTA convention, and generally correspond to the year of game release in the United Kingdom. + Table keyIndicates the winner YearPerformerGameRole(s)2019 (16th)Gonzalo MartinLife Is Strange 2Sean Diaz Laura Bailey Gears 5 Kait Diaz Courtney Hope Control Jesse Faden Logan Marshall-Green Telling Lies David Norman Reedus Death Stranding Sam Bridges Barry Sloane Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Captain Price2020 (17th)Laura BaileyThe Last of Us Part IIAbby Cody Christian Final Fantasy VII Remake Cloud Strife Nadji Jeter Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales Miles Morales / Spider-Man Ashley Johnson The Last of Us Part II Ellie Cherami Leigh Cyberpunk 2077 Female V Daisuke Tsuji Ghost of Tsushima Jin Sakai2021 (18th) Jane Perry Returnal Selene Vassos Ozioma AkaghaDeathloop Julianna Blake Jason E. Kelley Colt Vahn Jennifer Hale Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Rivet Jon McLaren Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Peter Quill / Star-Lord Erika Mori Life Is Strange: True Colors Alex Chen2022 (19th) Christopher Judge God of War Ragnarök Kratos Sunny Suljic God of War Ragnarök Atreus Alain Mesa Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Alejandro Vargas Charlotte McBurney A Plague Tale: Requiem Amicia Manon Gage Immortality Marissa Marcel Siobhan Williams The Quarry Laura 2023 (20th) Nadji Jeter Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Miles Morales / Spider-Man Amelia Tyler Baldur's Gate 3 Narrator Cameron Monaghan Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Cal Kestis Neil Newbon Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion Samantha Béart Karlach Yuri LowenthalMarvel's Spider-Man 2 Peter Parker / Spider-Man2024 (21st)Alec NewmanStill Wakes the DeepCameron "Caz" McLeary Humberly González Star Wars Outlaws Kay Vess Isabella Inchbald Indika Indika Luke Roberts Silent Hill 2 James Sunderland Melina Juergens Senua's Saga: Hellblade II Senua Y'lan Noel Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Troy Marshall2025 (22nd)Jennifer EnglishClair Obscur: Expedition 33Maelle Aaron Paul Dispatch Robert Robertson Ben Starr Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Verso Erika Ishii Ghost of Yōtei Atsu Tom McKay Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Henry of Skalitz Troy Baker Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Indiana Jones
Multiple wins and nominations
Performers Performer Nominations Wins Laura Bailey 2 1 Nadji Jeter 2 1
Series Series / game Nominations Wins God of War Ragnarök 2 1 The Last of Us Part II Life Is Strange Call of Duty 0 Deathloop
References
External links British Academy Video Games Awards official website