The British Academy has unveiled the nominees for its 2025 Rising Star award for up-and-coming onscreen talent, the only honor among the BAFTA film awards to be voted on by the public.
Announced more than a week before the full lineup of BAFTA nominations is revealed on Jan. 15, the latest lineup of Rising Star nominees — the award’s 20th edition — includes some of the most talked-about names from the last year in film. The five-strong list is made up of Marisa Abela (“Back to Black”), Jharrel Jerome (“Unstoppable”), David Jonsson (“Alien: Romulus”), Mikey Madison (“Anora”) and Nabhaan Rizwan (“In Camera”). Coincidentally, three of the five — Abela, Jonsson and Rizwan — all starred in the TV series “Industry.”
The nominees were announced in London at the Savoy Hotel by Jack O’Connell, who himself was a Rising Star winner in 2014 and starred alongside Abela in “Back to Black.”
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“BAFTA created the EE Rising Star Award in honor of the late Mary Selway, a visionary casting director who dedicated her life discovering and championing talent,” said BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip ahead of the announcement. “Mary’s legacy lives on through this award, which celebrates two decades of our commitment to cultivating fresh voices, highlighting the transformative power of storytelling, creativity and innovation in film. This year’s nominees are five incredibly gifted individuals, whose work already activated audiences worldwide.”
Previous winners include Daniel Kaluuya, Tom Holland, Letitia Wright, John Boyega, James McAvoy and Tom Hardy. Last year, “How to Have Sex” star Mia McKenna-Bruce star won the honor, something that perhaps bodes well for Abela, Jonsson and Rizwan as Brits.
The 2024 BAFTA Rising Star will be awarded at the BAFTA film awards ceremony on Feb. 16 at the Royal Festival Hall.