Chiwetel Ejiofor Nominated for Best Leading Actor Oscar Award

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and actor Chris Hemsworth announced this year's Oscar nominations on Thursday, January 16th in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California.

British actor born in London's Forest Gate, to Nigerian parents Chiwetel Ejiofor has been nominated for his performance as Solomon Northup in Steve McQueen’s harrowing drama 12 Years a Slave.

The actor plays Northup, a black New Yorker who is kidnapped and sold to a New Orleans plantation, run by Best Supporting Actor nominee Michael Fassbender.

Ejiofor is nominated in the Best Leading Actor category alongside Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Dern and Tom Hanks.

Should Ejiofor be awarded the Best Actor Oscar, he would be the first black British actor to receive the accolade.

Also Somali-American actor Barkhad Abdi who played Abduwali Muse, a ship hijacker and pirate leader in action thriller 'Captain Phillips' notched an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in his very first role.

He goes head to head with veteran actors, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Brühl, Matt Damon, Michael Fassbende.

The Oscars will hold on Sunday, March 2, 2014.

See the full list of nominees here