Day-Lewis hailed for hitting heights as Abraham

The Greenwich-born star’s fifth nomination in the best actor category, which he has already won twice in 1989 for My Left Foot and in 2007 for There Will be Blood, this time comes for his performance in the US historical drama Lincoln.

Other British nominees included Naomi Watts, who is recognised for her role in The Impossible, with a nod in the best actress category, and singer Adele, who is nominated for her Bond theme Skyfall and is widely tipped to perform at the Academy’s James Bond tribute.

Day-Lewis is shortlisted alongside Les Miserables star Hugh Jackman, Denzel Washington, Joaquin Phoenix and Bradley Cooper, but bookmakers William Hill have made him an early 1-8 favourite to win.

Romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook got eight nominations, with 11 for shipwreck fantasy Life Of Pi and 12 for Lincoln, including a nomination for director Steven Spielberg.

Kent-born Watts said she was “truly honoured” her portrayal of tsunami survivor Maria Belon in The Impossible had been recognised, and added: 
“The journey of telling Maria Belon’s miraculous story of survival has been an incredible experience and I am so grateful for this acknowledgement of our film.”

She faces competition from US stars including Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence, who were recognised for their roles in Zero Dark Thirty, the thriller about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and Silver Linings Playbook, respectively. Also nominated are Quvenzhané Wallis – the youngest nominee in history aged just nine – and Emmanuelle Riva.

Les Miserables, directed by The King’s Speech filmmaker Tom Hooper, is in the running for best picture but Hooper failed to get a nomination in the directing category which he won in 2010.

Also nominated for best picture are Ben Affleck’s Argo, set during the Iran hostage crisis, fantasy drama Beasts Of The Southern Wild and Quentin Tarantino’s western Django Unchained.

Life Of Pi, Amour, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty complete the shortlist.

Hollywood veterans Alan Arkin, Tommy Lee Jones and Robert De Niro were all named in the supporting actor category, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christoph Waltz.

Anne Hathaway’s performance in Les Miserables saw her nominated for supporting actress along with Amy Adams, Lincoln star Sally Field, Helen Hunt and Jacki Weaver.

Eric Fellner, from Working Title, the company behind Les Miserables, said he was “so pleased” for Jackman and Hathaway.

“They both gave the performances of their lives.”

He said it was “a shame” Hooper had not been recognised, but he was pleased with the film’s overall success and that another of the firm’s films, Anna Karenina, had four nominations.

“No one can do their job on a movie without a director so these nominations are also a tribute to the work done by the directors.”

The nominations announcement, by Seth MacFarlane and Spiderman 
star Emma Stone yesterday, means disappointment for Dames Judi Dench and Helen Mirren, who both missed out despite being tipped for nominations for their respective performances in Skyfall and Hitchcock.

The 85th Academy Awards will honour the James Bond franchise’s 50th anniversary at this year’s ceremony, with a tribute broadcast, with Skyfall nominated for five awards.

Hugh Jackman on the role of a lifetime: Culture.