BAFTA announces Rising Star nominees

Jessie Buckley, Letitia Wright and Barry Keoghan among names in frame

by Amber Wilkinson

From left: Barry Keoghan in American Animals; Letitia Wright in Black Panther; Jessie Buckley in Wild Rose; Lakeith Stanfield in Sorry To Bother You and Cynthia Erivo in Widows
From left: Barry Keoghan in American Animals; Letitia Wright in Black Panther; Jessie Buckley in Wild Rose; Lakeith Stanfield in Sorry To Bother You and Cynthia Erivo in Widows

BAFTA has announced the nominees for this year's Rising Star BAFTA

Irish actors Barry Keoghan and Jessie Buckley will vie against British-Guyanese star Letitia Wright and American names Cynthia Erivo and Lakeith Stanfield for the prize voted for by the public.

Wright, 25, hit the big time last year when her films - including Black Panther, Ready Player One and Avengers: Infinity War - helped her to become the star that earned the highest box office of the year at $1.55 billion. It was also a breakthrough year for Erivo, who attracted critical plaudits for her roles in Widows and Bad Times At The El Royale, while Stanfield followed up on the success of his starring role in Get Out with the lead in Boots Riley's Sorry To Bother You.

The Killing Of A Sacred Deer star Keoghan continued to take on challenging roles, including adopting a US accent for his role in Bart Layton's American Animals, while Jessie Buckley received plenty of critical heat for her role as a Glaswegian musician in Wild Rose at this year's Toronto and London film festivals, with the film due for release this April.

Voting is now open to the public at ee.co.uk/BAFTA and the winner will be announced on February 10.

Share this with others on...
News

Stories still unspoken Interview with Thomas Pollack, Andrew McNeill and Katarina Kokenyova about Rozkvet

Where crows are watching JP Davidson and Craig Russell on nature, belief, UK horror and The Cull

Truth and lies Sean Hogan on true crime documentaries, unknowable characters and The Dark Gets In

A walking contradiction Sinéad O'Shea on James 'Fergie' Chambers Jr and All About The Money

Unconventional families Milcho Manchevski on being blacklisted and making Sister Brother Manhole Cover

Expecting the unexpected Jordan Mark Windsor and Sean Wallace on Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant

More news and features

We're bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the Belfast Film Festival, the Cheltenham International Film Festival and the Leeds International Film Festival.



We're looking forward to the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the French Film Festival and DOC NYC.



We've recently brought you coverage of Halloween Frightfest, the Scottish Queer International Film Festival, Newfest, the London Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, Grimmfest and Beyond Fest.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon, Instagram and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest:


Sundance Announces Legacy line-up of archive films


Frightfest Newcastle event announced for May 2027


French Film Festival UK Programme announced


Tallinn Black Nights Documentary line-up and Special Screenings announced


London Winners announced