Once again, it’s almost that thrilling time of year when the best in British film and television takes center stage at the BAFTA’s. The coveted awards will take place in London’s Royal Festival Hall on February 18th.
One of the most talked about awards of the night is the infamous EE Rising Star award, as it never fails to produce an incredible group of young actors who often go on to do big things. This award honors an emerging actor or actress who has demonstrated exceptional talent and captured the imagination of the British public.
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Over the last decade, this award has been won by some of today’s most talked about and most talented stars on the big screen. This includes the likes of Luke Skywalker himself, John Boyega, the youngest MCU actor to play a title role, Tom Holland, and Daniel Kaluuya, now an Oscar winner.
The BAFTA rising stars of the last few years include Top Boy’s leading man Michael Ward, Captain Marvel’s Lashana Lynch and how could we forget last year’s winner, Sex Education’s Emma Mackey.
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Let’s check out this year’s exciting nominees. The category starts strong with the man of the moment and star of multi-nominated Saltburn, Jacob Elordi. Jacob rose to fame through his role in The Kissing Booth trilogy on Netflix, his career showed no signs of slowing down with his role as Nate in the Emmy-award-winning series - Euphoria. However, it is in the last 6 months that Elordi has caught people’s attention with the popularity of Saltburn as previously mentioned and his captivating role as Elvis in Priscilla.
The next nominee is Netflix royalty, Pheobe Dynevor, who you will all recognise from her starring role in Season 2 of Bridgerton, which broke records to become Netflix’s most-watched English-language series of all time. This year the 28-year-old also starred in erotic psychological thriller Fair Play.
The third nominee, that will have everyone in the category worried, is The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri. This awards season Ayo has already won an Emmy and a Golden Globe, so she’s certainly one to watch. Since 2020, the upcoming actress and comedian also become a writer and voice performer on the hit cartoon series Big Mouth. The Bear wasn’t her only popular starring role last year, Ayo also played Josie in queer high school comedy – Bottoms.
Mia Mckenna-Bruce is nominated for her outstanding first starring role in Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex, a film that followed three British teen girls on their post-exam holiday. Although some Brits may recognise her from the popular children’s drama, Tracy Beaker Returns, Mia also appeared in the film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion alongside A-lister Dakota Johnson.
The final nominee is Sophie Wilde, who has been appearing all over our screens this year with a lead role in one of 2023’s scariest horror films, A24’s Talk To Me. Sophie then shows off her range of acting, playing the introverted and vulnerable protagonist, Mia Polanco in the Netflix series Everything Now.
It’s unbelievable the things this year’s nominees have already achieved. We cannot wait to see what is to come from them. At the moment, it’s too close to call, who do you think will end up winning?
/Maddy Pigott
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