The 68-year-old Brit, who also directed musicals Fame and Evita, will receive the Academy’s highest honour in recognition of his long-running Hollywood career, following in the footsteps of previous honourees including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.
However, Parker insists the lifetime achievement award will not spell the end of his glittering career.
He says, “I’m honoured by the award, flattered, really. A lot of people deserve it more than I do. I know filmmakers who have refused these sort of things, thinking it means they’re never going to work again. But in the end, you get to a certain age, you’ve made a number of films, and your time comes along.”
Other previous recipients of the prize include Charlie Chaplin, Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Dame Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave and Sir Christopher Lee.
Parker will pick up the trophy at the BAFTA film awards at London’s Royal Opera House on 10 February (13).
