- Letitia Wright (Black Panther and Black Mirror), Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex and Persuasion) and Will Sharpe (The White Lotus and The Electrical Life of Louis Wain) joined a distinguished line-up of industry experts at The Savoy to select the EE Rising Star Award nominees ahead of the 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards
- Chair of BAFTA Film Committee, Anna Higgs, chaired the esteemed jury, that included casting director, Aisha Bywaters (We Are Lady Parts and The Kitchen), film producer, Marc Samuelson (Tom & Viv, Wilde and Stormbreaker) and film director, Yann Demange (’71, Top Boy and Lovecraft Country)
- Celebrating its twentieth year, the EE Rising Star Award boasts previous winners including Mia McKenna-Bruce, Lashana Lynch, Bukky Bakray, Micheal Ward, Letitia Wright, James McAvoy, Daniel Kaluuya, John Boyega, Tom Hardy and Emma Mackey
- The shortlist will be announced on 7th January 2025 when voting will open to the British public at ee.co.uk/BAFTA
- The EE BAFTA Film Awards nominations will be announced in full on 15th January 2025, with the winners unveiled on Sunday 16th February 2025
Actors and former EE Rising Star Award winners, Letitia Wright (Black Panther and Black Mirror) and Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex and Persuasion) joined Will Sharpe, actor and writer/director (The White Lotus and The Electrical Life of Louis Wain), alongside a host of industry experts, to select the 2025 EE Rising Star Award nominees ahead of the 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards.
Now in its 20th year, the EE Rising Star Award is the only EE BAFTA Film Awards category to be voted for by the British public, reinforcing EE’s commitment to become the UK’s most personal, customer-focused brand by giving the nation the chance to have their say in choosing the next recipient of the prestigious award. Celebrating new and up-and-coming talent within the film industry, past recipients of the EE Rising Star Award have gone on to achieve some of cinema’s highest accolades and become household names. The esteemed list of previous winners includes James McAvoy, Eva Green, Juno Temple, Tom Hardy, Kristen Stewart, Jack O’Connell, Will Poulter, John Boyega, Tom Holland, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Micheal Ward, Bukky Bakray, Lashana Lynch, Emma Mackey, and last year’s winner, Mia McKenna-Bruce.
Letitia Wright, Mia McKenna-Bruce and Will Sharpe were joined by an impressive lineup of esteemed industry experts, who gathered at The Savoy, the official hotel partner for the EE BAFTA Film Awards, to debate the longlist. Following public voting, the winner will be revealed at the ceremony on Sunday 16th February 2025.
Chaired by Anna Higgs, BAFTA Film Committee Chair, the panel also included casting director, Aisha Bywaters (We Are Lady Parts and The Kitchen), film producer, Marc Samuelson (Tom & Viv, Wilde and Stormbreaker), and film director, Yann Demange (’71, Top Boy and Lovecraft Country).
Letitia Wright said: “As someone who’s been in their shoes, it’s an absolute joy to help select the nominees for this year’s EE Rising Star Award. The talent pool was incredible, making it a tough decision, but I’m confident we’ve chosen five truly exceptional actors who deserve this recognition. It feels like just yesterday I was getting my first big break, and it’s so fulfilling to now be in a position to spotlight these emerging stars who are on the brink of something amazing in their careers. I can’t wait to see who wins the award next year.”
Mia McKenna-Bruce said: “Winning the 2024 EE Rising Star Award was an incredible honour, and to have my work recognised amongst such a talented group of actors meant so much. I’m very grateful to everyone who voted for me. Now, being part of the 2025 judging panel is a privilege, and I feel lucky to be able to play a role in celebrating the next wave of brilliant creatives.”
Will Sharpe said: “I am thrilled to join the jury panel for the EE Rising Star Award. It’s a really important award that highlights and celebrates the emerging talent in our industry, giving the public a chance to recognise the stars of tomorrow. These are the people who are keeping the industry on its toes and will help define its future. I’ve watched so much brilliant work and have been frankly blown away by them all.”
EE and BAFTA have a shared ambition to champion the rising stars of the future. This year’s EE Rising Star Award will build on EE’s ‘The Stage Is Yours’ campaign last year, which aimed to empower young people from all backgrounds to enter into the arts. This initiative emphasised the belief that access to arts-based skills and education can empower students, foster resilience, and create pathways to success, irrespective of their circumstances.
EE Rising Star Award jury chair and BAFTA Chair of the Film Committee, Anna Higgs, said: “At BAFTA, our mission is to celebrate, support and inspire talent at all stages of their careers. We are thrilled to continue our work with EE on the Rising Star Award, which is so special as the only category in the Film Awards chosen by the public. We have an outstanding group of nominees this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing their work captivate audiences on the big screen leading up to the EE BAFTA Film Awards ceremony. It will also be wonderful to witness their careers continue to flourish, like so many of our Rising Stars before them, creating a veritable constellation of EE Rising Stars thanks to an extraordinary twenty years of partnership”.
Pete Jeavons, Marketing Communications Director at EE said: “We are delighted to continue our long-standing partnership with BAFTA and to honour emerging talent through the EE Rising Star Award, which is now in its 20th year. It’s been amazing to see all the winners and nominees from over the years who have come from all walks of life and have now gone on to achieve so much; it really does show the power of the arts in transforming lives. As part of our commitment to become the UK’s most personal, customer-focused brand, we are proud to empower the nation to celebrate the future stars of cinema through the EE Rising Star Award, and we eagerly await the opportunity to reveal the full list of nominees in January”.
The EE Rising Star Award was created in honour of the late Mary Selway. A highly respected and BAFTA award-winning casting director whose 36-year career saw her work on more than ninety films and work with leading directors such as Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood. Mary’s work contributed to the creation of some of the silver screen’s most memorable characters and in 2001 she received BAFTA’s Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award.
The EE Rising Star Award shortlist will be announced on 7th January 2025, at which point public voting will open and be available to all UK residents at ee.co.uk/BAFTA.
The nominations for the EE BAFTA Film Awards will be announced on 15th January 2025, with the ceremony held the following month on Sunday 16th February 2025.
EE has been a long-standing partner of the EE BAFTA Film Awards, working to bring film fans closer to the BAFTAs through the magic of technology and consumer participation. Since the partnership began, EE has not only worked with BAFTA to introduce the EE Rising Star Award, which is now in its twentieth year, but also used its award-winning network to create new and exciting opportunities for film fans to be part of the action on the red carpet.
For more information visit: ee.co.uk/BAFTA #EERisingStar #EEBAFTAs
– ENDS –
For more information, please contact Edelman on [email protected]
Source: EE Newsroom
—