Lincoln leads the Bafta contenders

Steven Spielberg's political biopic Lincoln leads the field after the Bafta nominations which saw nods for Bond stars Dame Judi Dench and Javier Bardem.

Daniel Day-Lewis is nominated for the Best Actor award for his performance in the film's title role as the US president who led his country through the civil war and ended slavery. The film picked up 10 nominations in total, with nine each for Les Miserables and Life Of Pi.

Bardem's performance as Bond villain Raoul Silva in Skyfall has been recognised with a nomination for Supporting Actor along with Day-Lewis' Lincoln co-star Tommy Lee Jones, Alan Arkin, Christoph Waltz and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Bardem's Bond co-star, Dame Judi Dench, is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as spy master M in the same film, which has eight nominations. She faces competition from Anne Hathaway who is nominated for her role in the big screen version of Les Miserables. Also nominated are Amy Adams for The Master, Helen Hunt for The Sessions and another of Lincoln's stars - Sally Field who plays the president's wife.

Dame Helen Mirren is nominated in the Best Actress category for her role in Hitchcock - playing the wife of the filmmaker. She is joined on the shortlist by Amour star Emmanuelle Riva, Jennifer Lawrence who is recognised for Silver Linings Playbook, Rust and Bone's Marion Cotillard and Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty.

Dame Helen said she was "delighted" to have been nominated. She said: "This was a wonderful role, Alma Reville was more than Hitchcock's wife, in many ways she was his muse, his assistant, his editor and more, and I am proud to have had the opportunity to portray her.

"There were many people involved in the making of the film, all of whom played a part in this nomination. I would particularly like to thank my co-star Anthony Hopkins and our director Sacha Gervasi who helped me to shape Alma on to the screen."

Day-Lewis' Best Actor nomination sees him up against names including Ben Affleck and Hathaway's co-star Hugh Jackman. The shortlist is completed by Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook and Joaquin Phoenix for The Master. Affleck could walk away with two of the night's biggest prizes after he was also nominated for Best Director for his work on Argo - a thriller set during the Iran hostage crisis.

The award for best film sees Lincoln and Les Miserables up against Affleck's Argo, Life Of Pi and Zero Dark Thirty - the story of the manhunt for Osama bin Laden. Les Miserables is also in with a chance to win Outstanding British Film along with Anna Karenina, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Seven Psychopaths and the latest Bond.

Skyfall producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said: "We are absolutely thrilled Skyfall has received eight nominations from the British Academy. We thank everybody who has voted for Skyfall and all those who have contributed to the film's continuing success."