Firth's performance in The King's Speech has won him a slew of awards
Colin Firth will learn if he has won a second consecutive best actor Bafta when this year's awards are held later.
The 50-year-old won the prize for his role in A Single Man last year and is in the running again for playing George VI in The King's Speech.
Firth's drama is up for 14 awards in all, including best film and director.
Best actor nominee Jesse Eisenberg signed autographs for fans on the red carpet at the Royal Opera House in London in the run-up to the ceremony.
He is nominated for Facebook film The Social Network.
The director of The King's Speech told the BBC he was thrilled to be nominated: "It's such a big deal, especially here in London where I grew up and got my first jobs."
Firth has already won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award for his performance, for which he has also received an Oscar nomination.
The late Rod Steiger was the last star to win the best actor Bafta two years' running, winning back-to-back Baftas for The Pawnbroker in 1967 and In the Heat of the Night in 1968.
Firth was recognised again on Thursday at the London Film Critics' Circle awards.
Ballet thriller Black Swan has 12 Bafta nominations, including one for its lead actress Natalie Portman.
Science-fiction blockbuster Inception is up for nine awards, while Danny Boyle's 127 Hours and Coen brothers western True Grit have eight nominations each.
Steiger, pictured in 1993, was the last actor to win consecutive Baftas
Boyle said it was "very nice to be included."
"I suspect we'll be bridesmaids tonight but there's nothing wrong with bridesmaids," he added.
Jonathan Ross will host this year's ceremony.
The event will be shown on BBC One from 2100 GMT, with red carpet coverage preceding it on BBC Three and the BBC news channel.
King's Speech writer David Seidler told the BBC on Thursday it felt like "a dream" to be nominated for so many awards.
"I keep on looking over my shoulder to see the guy who really wrote it and waiting for the alarm clock to ring," said the British-American playwright.
"There's a lot of expectation and pressure but you never know - these things are unpredictable," he continued.
The Harry Potter films have already been honoured for its Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema.
And Sir Christopher Lee has been honoured with the Academy's Fellowship.
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