Who is nominated for the EE Bafta Rising Star award?
Previous winners include Letitia Wright, Tom Holland and Daniel Kaluuya.
The Farewell actress Awkwafina and Blue Story’s Micheal Ward are among the nominees for the Bafta that recognises the rising stars in the world of film.
They form part of a five-strong shortlist for the EE Bafta Rising Star award, which was first presented to James McAvoy 15 years ago.
Also nominated are Booksmart’s Kaitlyn Dever, Fighting With My Family actor Jack Lowden and Kelvin Harrison Jnr, who starred in Waves.
Here is a look at the contenders:
– Awkwafina
The American actress, 31, real name Nora Lum, first became well-known as a rapper and released a solo hip hop album in 2014.
She started popping up on the big screen with roles in Bad Neighbours 2 and Storks And Dude, before landing a role in Ocean’s Eleven sequel Ocean’s Eight, alongside Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Rihanna.
She went on to star in Crazy Rich Asians as Goh Peik Lin before her acclaimed role in The Farewell, for which she won a Golden Globe.
The film, based on director Lulu Wang’s real life, showed audiences and critics a different side to the comedian.
More recently she has appeared in Jumanji: The Next Level and has been cast in Marvel’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, which will be released in 2021.
– Kaitlyn Dever
Dever, 23, first received attention for her role in TV series Justified, followed by her turn as a troubled youth in Short Term 12.
She went on to appear in Detroit, Beautiful Boy and The Front Runner before starring in the comedy Booksmart, the directorial debut of actress Olivia Wilde.
She also received critical acclaim for her performance in the Netflix series Unbelievable, about young women dealing with the aftermath of sexual assault and the police hunt to find their attacker.
– Kelvin Harrison Jr
The US star, 25, who was born in New Orleans, trained as a jazz musician before pursuing acting.
He has had roles in the Oscar-nominated film Mudbound, and the drama Luce and received praise for his turn in It Comes At Night.
It is his role in the family drama Waves, opposite Sterling K Brown and Renee Elise Goldsberry that has earned him the most attention, playing an aspiring wrestler.
He will soon be seen in Aaron Sorkin’s new film The Trial Of The Chicago 7, about the men arrested following the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
– Jack Lowden
The Scottish actor, 29, graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2011, before winning an Olivier Award for his role Ghosts at the Almeida Theatre.
Since then he has had roles in Dunkirk, Mary Queen Of Scots, Fighting With My Family and Calibre, for which he won a Scottish Bafta.
He will reunite with Dunkirk co-star Tom Hardy in the upcoming Cordivae And Fonzo and will star alongside John Boyega and Letitia Wright in Steve McQueen’s upcoming anthology series Small Axe.
– Micheal Ward
Ward’s breakout role was in the Netflix series of Top Boy, which was produced by Drake, after making his acting debut in BBC drama The A List.
He also won praise for his star turn in the British film Blue Story, about two young boys from opposing postcodes that quickly form a firm friendship that is tested when they wind up on rival sides of a street war.
The gang drama was temporarily withdrawn from Vue cinemas after seven police officers were injured in a disturbance at Star City in Birmingham in November, where there were reports of youths with machetes, and Ward has said the nomination is a vindication of the film.
Ward, 24, will also star in Small Axe, alongside Lowden, Boyega and Wright.
The winner will be announced at the EE British Academy Film Awards ceremony on February 2.
