Today, the five nominees for the BAFTA EE Rising Star Award 2025 were unveiled at London’s Savoy Hotel. The Record and other media outlets were present at this morning’s reveal ceremony, presided over by film critic Ali Plumb.
Actor Jack O’Connell, who clinched the Rising Star award in 2015, had the honour of announcing the five fortunate nominees.
Without further delay, here are the actors vying for this year’s BAFTA EE Rising Star Award:
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Marisa Abela for her role as Amy Winehouse in Back to Black
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Mikey Madison for her leading role as Ani in the critically acclaimed Anora
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Jharrel Jerome for his performance as Anthony Robles in the film Unstoppable
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David Jonsson for his part as Andy in Alien: Romulus
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Nabhaan Rizwan for his part as Aden in the independent film In Camera
The three British nominees – Maria, David and Nabhaan – graced the ceremony with their presence, while American nominees Mikey and Jharrel sent in video messages from across the pond.
Intriguingly, all three UK actors have previously shared screen time in the BBC drama Industry, a television series that debuted in 2020, reports the Mirror.
Industry, broadcast on both HBO and BBC Two, tracks a group of young graduates vying for permanent roles at Pierpoint and Co, a prestigious investment bank in London.
In the series, Marisa embodies ambitious graduate Kara-Hanani, who is multi-lingual and assigned to the Foreign Exchange Sales desk at Pierpoint.
In the first two series, David portrays Augustus ‘Gus’ Sackey, an alumnus of Eton and Oxford who is then placed on the Investment Banking Division desk.
Nabhaan Rizwan appears in just a couple of episodes as Hari Dhar, a state-educated graduate from an Urdu-speaking immigrant family, who joins the IBD desk at Pierpoint & Co.
During an onstage interaction, Ali questioned whether it seemed like a “full circle moment” to them, to which Nabhaan humorously responded that it “did not”, considering his brief stint on ‘Industry’, in contrast to Marisa’s ongoing significant presence in the show.
Marisa expressed her elation at the BAFTA nomination at the ceremony by saying: “I am deeply honoured to be recognised by BAFTA and EE with a Rising Star nomination and just as grateful to be alongside this year’s other incredibly talented nominees.
“Their impressive work is an inspiration for the next generation of actors coming up whom BAFTA and EE will celebrate in the years to come.
“It’s truly a privilege to be here today and to have this opportunity to celebrate my peers and our wonderful community of actors.”
David remarked: “This is bonkers…Thank you BAFTA, EE and the wonderful jury for this nomination. As a young boy growing up in East London, I couldn’t think of an honour that’s more about the people, and proof that you can do it too. An absolute blessing and dream. Thank you, truly.”
The 2025 BAFTA Rising Star Award is set to be presented at the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony on February 16 at the Royal Festival Hall.
Last year, the esteemed award was won by Mia McKenna-Bruce for her portrayal of Tara in Molly Manning Walker’s How to Have Sex. She faced stiff competition from the likes of Phoebe Dynevor, Ayo Edebiri, Jacob Elordi and Sophie Wilde.
David Tennant will be back to host this year’s 2025 BAFTA Awards, with Emilia Perez and Conclave leading the way with the most nominations.