Jude Law is the star of Cold Mountain
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Jude Law, Sir Ben Kingsley, Samantha Morton and Sting were among the British nominees for Oscars at this year's Academy Awards.
Jude Law was up for best actor for his role in Cold Mountain, against Sir Ben for his part in House of Sand and Fog.
Samantha Morton was nominated for best actress for her leading role in Jim Sheridan's In America.
Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain had seven nominations in all, including one for supporting actress Renee Zellweger.
Law and Sir Ben competed with Bill Murray (Lost in Translation), Sean Penn (Mystic River), the eventual winner, and Johnny Depp, a surprise for his over-the-top role in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Cold Mountain was beaten to a best picture nomination by the horse-racing drama Seabiscuit, a low-key hit last year.
Sir Ben won the 1983 best actor Oscar for Gandhi
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Minghella's movie did, however, win mentions for film editing, cinematography, best score as well as two nominations for best original song.
Law was previously nominated for best supporting actor in The Talented Mr Ripley in 2000.
Sir Ben won the 1983 best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. He also had two best supporting actor nominations in 1992, for Bugsy, and in 2002 for Sexy Beast.
He said being nominated once again was "overwhelming".
"To receive my fourth nomination - I feel truly honoured," he said.
"The more your number of nominations creeps up, the more utter disbelief you feel. To get four nominations in one career is just wonderful."
Samantha Morton's nomination for Jim Sheridan's In America is her second; the actress was shortlisted for best supporting actress for Sweet and Lowdown in 2000.
'Fantastic'
The 26-year-old overcame a troubled upbringing in Nottingham to become one of Hollywood's most in-demand actresses.
She said: "I'm over-the-moon happy. I love this movie and I love Jim Sheridan. Thank you to the Academy."
Irish director Sheridan said: "I am so proud of her. To come from where she's come from and achieve all
this is just amazing.
"She only had a limited amount of screentime but she was fantastic. My favourite actress until I worked with Samantha was Meryl Streep, and Samantha is in that league."
And singer and songwriter Sting received his third Oscar nomination, this time for his You Will Be My Ain True Love, from Minghella's film Cold Mountain.
The best actress category featured a nomination for British-born actress Naomi Watts for her part in the film 21 Grams.
Watts, who was born in Kent but raised in Australia from the age of 14, said: "Lots of screaming this morning, a few tears, still a few people that I haven't spoken to that I really want to
talk to, my mum, for starters. I'm beside myself."
Girl With a Pearl Earring, the historical drama which stars Colin Firth and Lost in Translation's Scarlett Johansson, has three nominations.
It is competing in the best costume design, best cinematography and best art direction categories.
Another surprise contender is Stephen Frears' BBC Films-backed Dirty Pretty Things, about illegal immigrants in London. It has a nomination for best original screenplay.
The Triplets of Belleville, another BBC-backed film which released in the UK as Belleville Rendez-Vous, has two nominations, for best song and animated feature film.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King leads the Oscars race with 11 nominations, with Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World in second place on ten.
The nominations were announced in Hollywood by actress Sigourney Weaver and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Frank Pierson, ahead of the Oscars ceremony on 29 February.
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I'm over-the-moon happy. I love this movie and I love Jim Sheridan. Thank you to the Academy
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