Hammer horror star Sir Christopher Lee said it was a “very emotional moment” when he received his British Institute Fellowship from his friend Johnny Depp.
He tearfully accepted the award at the London Film Festival, saying: “I didn’t know you were going to be here. I must try and pull myself together.”
The prize for best film went to to Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida, about German occupation of Poland and the Holocaust.
Screenwriter Jonathan Asser won best British newcomer.
He took the accolade for his debut feature Starred Up, about the practice of placing violent young offenders prematurely in adult prison.
BFI fellow and film critic Philip French said of Ida that the jury was “deeply moved by a courageous film that handles, with subtlety and insight, a painfully controversial historical situation”.
Sir Christopher, 91, who described receiving his award as “a great joy”, is famed for his villainous portrayals of Bond bad guy Scaramanga and evil wizard Saruman in The Lord of the Rings.
He has amassed more than 250 screen credits, including The Wicker Man, The Man with the Golden Gun and more recently, several Tim Burton films including Sleepy Hollow, which starred Depp. He also played Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels.
Depp, who sneaked into the awards ceremony to surprise his friend, said it was his “great honour” to present the award to “a very great man”, saying he had been “fascinated and inspired” by him.
