BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
In 1996, he appeared in "Muppet Treasure Island" as Billy Bones. In 1997, he starred with Dame Judi Dench in "Mrs Brown", in which he played John Brown, the favoured Scottish servant of Queen Victoria. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.