Letitia Wright and Lakeith Stanfield are among the up-and-coming actors who have been nominated for BAFTA’s coveted Rising Star Award.
The Rising Star is the only BAFTA winner to be decided by public vote. Last year’s winner was Daniel Kaluuya, the star of social satire-cum-horror film “Get Out,” which also featured Stanfield. Wright co-starred with Kaluuya in Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther.” She was recently nominated for an Emmy as supporting actress in a limited series or movie for the “Black Mirror” episode “Black Museum.”
“Atlanta” star Stanfield has more recently been seen in Boots Riley’s acclaimed “Sorry to Bother You,” alongside Tessa Thompson, who was nominated for the Rising Star Award last year.
The list of five nominees was announced Thursday, about a week ahead of next Wednesday’s release of the full slate of actors, directors and others who will vie for a trophy from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Joining Wright and Stanfield in the Rising Star lineup are Jessie Buckley, Barry Keoghan and Cynthia Erivo. The winner will be unveiled Feb. 10 at the BAFTA gala ceremony at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
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“It means a lot that my work has been recognized, especially in the country I’ve grown up in, and that I get to share this recognition with so many talented actors,” Wright said.
British star Buckley was most recently seen in British crime drama “Beast,” which saw her win most promising newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards in December, where she was also nominated as best actress.
Following a breakout year in 2017 with roles in Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” and Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” Irish actor Keoghan more recently starred in Bart Layton’s “American Animals” and Irish box office hit “Black ’47.”
Erivo, a Broadway star (“The Color Purple”) who has already won Tony, Emmy and Grammy Awards, made a splash on the big screen in 2018 with key roles in Steve McQueen’s “Widows” and Drew Goddard’s “Bad Times at the El Royale.”
Last year, Kaluuya beat out fellow Brits Florence Pugh and Josh O’Connor, as well as U.S. stars Thompson and Timothee Chalamet.
Previous Rising Star Award winners include John Boyega, Eva Green, Tom Hardy, James McAvoy, Shia LaBeouf and Will Poulter.