Helena Bonham Carter to Receive London Critics' Circle Top Honor

LONDON -- Helena Bonham Carter is to be awarded the Dilys Powell award for excellence in film, the highest honor dished out by the London Critics' Circle.

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Bonham Carter will join previous recipients Dirk Bogarde, Richard Attenborough, Julie Walters, Judi Dench, Nicolas Roeg, Quentin Tarantino and Kristin Scott Thomas.

The actress will pick up the honor at the 33rd London Critics' Circle Film Awards on Jan. 20, 2013.

"To be chosen for this award is a surprise and an honor. I am delighted! It's always nice when critics say something nice about you for a change, and especially the critics in your hometown," said Bonham Carter.

Chair of the Critics’ Circle Film Awards Rich Cline described the actress as an "undisputed star of British cinema."

"Her filmography is packed with iconic, offbeat characters, each of which she invests with an unusual spark of humanity," Cline said. "She regularly receives nods from the Critics' Circle Film Award, most recently with two nominations in 2010, for The King's Speech and Alice in Wonderland. And she gave three unforgettable film performances this past year."