Jeremy Irvine and Alice Eve think 'Skyfall' deserves to be recognised at the BAFTAs.

The 'War Horse' actor and the 'Star Trek: Into Darkness' beauty are fans of Sam Mendes' latest instalment in the James Bond franchise and insist its eight nominations - including for Cinematography, Outstanding British Film, Supporting Actress for Judi Dench and Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem - are well merited.

Speaking after the pair announced the nominations at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts' (BAFTA) London headquarters this morning (09.01.13), Jeremy told BANG Showbiz: '' 'Skyfall' has taken quite a few, it's amazing to see a movie that is part of a franchise stand alone.''

Alice added: ''And such a high grossing movie. To come in and take artistic credit, which it deserves, is very unusual.''

The stars also think the Daniel Craig-starring film - which has taken more than $1 billion at box offices worldwide - stands up against other blockbuster thriller franchises.

Jeremy said: ''They've got to compete with the 'Bourne' films and 'The Dark Knight'. 'Dark Knight' was dark! It had to come into the new generation.''

Alice added: ''It's exactly that. We've had a dark time, we've had a pretty rough 2012 and it's not really that light, frothy time. I think these films are reflecting what we're going through.''

Meanwhile, Jeremy will also be rooting for Steven Spielberg's biopic 'Lincoln' - which has a whopping ten nods including Leading Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis and Best Film - since the director gave him his big break by casting him in 'War Horse'.

He enthused: ''I don't think it's a surprise to see Spielberg back in the nominations, he's such a kind and generous director and it's no surprise that he gets the best out of people he works with. I think with Daniel Day-Lewis and Joaquin Phoenix in the Best Actor category, I certainly will be watching that!''

Alice chimed in: ''I think that 'Lincoln' has a fair chance of taking a few of them.''

'Lincoln' leads the 2013 EE BAFTA nominations, followed by 'Life Of Pi' and 'Les Miserables' with nine, 'Skyfall' with eight. 'Argo' totals seven, 'Anna Karenina' six, and 'Django Unchained' and 'Zero Dark Thirty' have five each.