Chiwetel Ejiofor beat out the likes of Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Dern and Tom Hanks to be awarded the top prize at Sunday's (Feb 16th) BAFTA Awards.

The 36 year-old Brit took home the Best Actor prize for his portrayal of Solomon Northup in Steve McQueen's '12 Years A Slave'.

And his fellow co-stars were more than thrilled for him.

Lupita Nyong'o, who was equally impressive in the historical drama film as Patsey, took to twitter to gush about Ejiofor's achievement.

The 30 year-old Kenyan actress mistakenly wrote, "#EEBAFTAs Best Supporting Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. Well deserved, in my book," at first.

She quickly corrected her tweet and reposted, "MAJOR CORRECTION: #EEBAFTAs BEST ACTOR Chiwetel Ejiofor!! #12YearsASlave," along with a snap of herself and Chiwetel after the award ceremony.

Nyong'o, who was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Award, also posted a photo of herself looking very happy while nibbling on a chocolate snack, with the caption, "Yes, a chocolate BAFTA will do quite nicely, thank you! #EEBAFTAs #nails."

The award eventually went to Jennifer Lawrence for her role in David O.Russell's 'American Hustle'.

See all our BAFTA pictures here

When Chiwetel received the honor, he was visibly overwhelmed as he attempted to thank as many people as he could for their help and support, especially the film's director Steve McQueen.

"This is yours," Ejiofor saidto McQueen, holding up his trophy. "I'm going to keep it - that's the kind of guy I am - but it's yours."

Chiwetel also thanked "my mother who is here and my father who is not here, I love you too."

'12 Years A Slave', along with its ensemble cast, also took home the award for Best Film.