Our excitement for next month's BAFTA Film Awards went up a notch this morning, as the nominees for one of the most inspiring gongs – the EE Rising Star award – were announced.
Black Panther breakout star Letitia Wright – aka the highest earning actor at the box office in 2018 – is among them, alongside Cynthia Erivo, Lakeith Stanfield, Jessie Buckley, and Barry Keoghan.
Wright, who is Guyanese-born but brought up in Tottenham, north London, wowed audiences in some of the most popular British TV dramas – including Top Boy, Humans, Doctor Who and Black Mirror (for which she was nominated for an Emmy). But was the British actor's role as Shuri in Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War that catapulted her to superstardom.
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Cynthia Erivo, star of Widows and Tony award-winner for her role in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, is also up for the award, along with Lakeith Stanfield, who stars in Sorry to Bother You (and previously Get Out and Atlanta), Irish actors Jessie Buckley (star of BBC dramas War and Peace and The Woman in White and the films Beast and Wild Rose), and Barry Keoghan (for his roles in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Dunkirk and American Animals).
To be nominated for the award, an actor needs to have shown "outstanding talent on the big screen in the past year and captured the imagination of both the public and film industry," according to BAFTA. The winner is voted for by the public and will be announced on Sunday, February 10 at the ceremony at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Last year's award went to Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya, and in 2016 to Letitia Wright's drama school contemporary John Boyega. Tom Holland took home the gong in 2017, while past winners also include Kristen Stewart and Tom Hardy.
BAFTA Chief Executive Amanda Berry and film broadcaster Edith Bowman announced this year's nominees on Thursday morning.
The full list of EE Rising Star Award nominees for 2019:
Jessie Buckley
Cynthia Erivo
Barry Keoghan
Lakeith Stanfield
Letitia Wright
Cynthia Erivo
Barry Keoghan
Lakeith Stanfield
Letitia Wright
Who are you rooting for?
Voting is now open to the public at ee.co.uk/BAFTA
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