Britannia Awards: Meryl Streep, Harrison Ford and Amy Schumer among the winners

Three-time Oscar-winner Meryl Streep became the first actress to win the Stanley Kubrick Award for Excellence in Film at the Brittania Awards on Friday evening at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The irony was not lost on Streep, who plays the trailblazing British feminist Mrs. Pankhurst in “Suffragette.”

“I am honored to receive this award given to a distinguished group of men and women,” she said, pausing. “Oh wait, men and men.”

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The black-tie audience at the gala presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in Los Angeles gave Streep a rousing reception.

Stephen Frears, who just directed Streep in the film “Florence Foster Jenkins,” described her as “absolutely dazzling.”

During a lengthy acceptance speech, Streep said that every accolade she’s ever earned is because of her directors, thanking every one from Fred Zinnemann, who directed her 1977 debut “Julia” up to Frears. She choked up when thanking the late Nora Ephron, her director in 2009’s “Julie & Julia.”

Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”) presented the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year to Tony Award-winner James Corden, who is now the host of CBS’ “Late Late Show.”

“I feel much more emotional than I thought I would,” said Corden. “I’ve been lucky in so many ways.”

Saoirse Ronan presented Oscar-winner Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”) with the John Schelsinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing. Mendes, who has directed the last two James Bond films -- 2012’s “Skyfall” and the upcoming “Spectre” -- thanked BAFTA for “getting me out of the last three days of the international press tour.”

Orlando Bloom (“Pirates of the Carribean”), who works with several children’s charities most notably UNICEF, received the Britannia Humanitarian Award.

Seth MacFarlane (“Ted”) presented Amy Schumer with the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy. “I’m a little drunk,” he quipped. “They told me [the event] would be earlier.”

In her raucous acceptance speech, Schumer said, “I’m a huge Chaplin fan. I am connected to him because he wrote most of his work and people also referred to him as a little tramp, too.”

Harrison Ford received the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment from J.J. Abrams, director of the highly anticipated “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” in which the actor reprises his iconic role of Han Solo.

Visibly moved, Ford gave a restrained acceptance speech: “It’s a great honor. It’s also very late, and every one has made a really good speech. I didn’t prepare a speech. I could barely get dressed.”

Ford noted that he wanted to be an actor because he could not “imagine myself having a real job. I thought it would be nice to live the lives of many other people.”

And Ford may be returning to yet another of his iconic roles. During a presentation of interviews, director Steven Spielberg said in a film clip, “I can’t wait to work with you again on ‘Indiana Jones 5.’ This is no announcement, just my fervent hope.”

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