Back To Black and Anora actors among nominees for EE Bafta Rising Star Award

Stars of Back To Black and Anora are among the nominees for the EE Bafta Rising Star Award as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Marisa Abela, who played Amy Winehouse in the biopic of her life, Mikey Madison, who played the titular character in Anora, and Nabhaan Rizwan, who was most recently seen alongside Jeff Goldblum in Kaos are among the nominees for the award which will be announced in February.

The rest of the shortlist is made up of Jharrel Jerome, who played one-legged wrestler Anthony Robles in the biopic Unstoppable, and Alien: Romulus star David Jonsson.

Abela, 28, said her nomination was “a real honour” and added she could not believe “that my work has been recognised by Bafta”.

Speaking about her chances of winning the award, she said: “Obviously it would be amazing, it would be really amazing, but the truth is that so many actors that I admire that have just been nominated in this category.

“And I think the fact that to be nominated, just have that acknowledgement from Bafta is kind of the thing to me, and I’m just very excited to go and enjoy the night and be there with my friends, and kind of take it in.”

Speaking about his nomination, Rizwan, 27, who also appeared in British independent film In Camera, added: “It feels like when you when you’ve got a blocked nose, and you go to bed, and one nostril just perfectly, just opens up.

“That’s how it feels, and if I win, it’s going to feel like, when I’m on the other side, the other nostril opens up. I’m going to have very clear passageways. I’m taking a lot of oxygen to my brain, hopefully.”

The nominees were announced by former winner Jack O’Connell, who also appeared in Back To Black, at The Savoy Hotel in London, after being selected by a panel of industry jurors including former winners Letitia Wright and Mia McKenna-Bruce.

Voting for the winner is now open on the EE website and will run until 12pm on February 14 at 12pm.

The winner will be announced on February 16 at the EE Bafta Film Awards ceremony, aired on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.