Tonight, EE revealed Emma Mackey as the winner of the EE Rising Star Award for 2023, the only award presented at the EE BAFTA Film Awards that is determined by a public vote.
Lashana Lynch introduced the award at this year’s ceremony, which was held for the first time at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.
Now in its eighteenth year, the accolade has continued to shine a spotlight on emerging acting talent, who have captured the imagination of the British public and the film industry alike over the past year.
Emma Mackey is one of five incredible actors nominated in recognition of their work and identified as a standout star of tomorrow. The other nominees are: Naomi Ackie, Sheila Atim, Aimee Lou Wood and Daryl McCormack.
EMMA MACKEY is a BAFTA nominated French / British actor with multiple film and television projects in development. Next, Emma features in Barbie opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, scheduled for worldwide release in July. Currently, audiences in the UK can see Emma as the titular character in Emily, a film re-imagining the life of Emily Brontë. Emily had its World Premiere when it opened the Platform Competition at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and will release in the US this spring. Emma is perhaps best known for her BAFTA-nominated leading role as ‘Maeve Wiley’ in the television series, Sex Education alongside Ncuti Gatwa and Aimee Lou Wood. Last year Emma starred in her first French language role, that of ‘Adrienne Bourgès’ in the César nominated Eiffel, and also appeared as ‘Jacqueline de Bellefort’ in Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile, starring Gal Gadot, Tom Bateman and Ali Fazal.
Emma Mackey, 2023 EERSA Winner, said: “Thank you to everyone who voted for me! It’s such an honour to receive this award. Some wonderful actors have taken home the BAFTA mask in previous years and it’s a really special feeling to be amongst such great company. A massive thank you to both EE and BAFTA, I am very proud to be this year’s EE Rising Star.”
Pete Jeavons, Marketing Communications Director at BT & EE, added: “Massive congratulations to Emma Mackey, a deserving winner of this year’s EE Rising Star Award. Shining a spotlight on the film industry’s outstanding emerging talent is a real honour and something we are extremely proud to have done for the past 18 years.”
Jane Millichip, CEO at BAFTA said: “The EE Rising Star Award is a truly special accolade and I want to extend my warmest congratulations to Emma Mackey. Celebrating and supporting the next generation of creative talent is of the upmost importance to BAFTA, and all of this year’s nominees are an outstanding group of actors who have incredible careers ahead of them – I cannot wait to see what they do next.”
The EE Rising Star Award was created in honor of Mary Selway, the highly respected BAFTA-winning casting director whose career spanned three decades and over ninety films before she died in 2004. She worked with many notable directors, including Steven Spielberg, Roman Polanski, Clint Eastwood and Ridley Scott, and is remembered throughout the industry for contributing to the creation of some of the silver screen’s most memorable characters including this year’s EE BAFTA Film Awards host Richard E. Grant.
This year’s EE Rising Star Award nominees were selected by a stellar line up of industry experts who were tasked with selecting the shortlist from a comprehensive list of talented actors and actresses. The jury was chaired by BAFTA’s Chair of the Film Committee, Anna Higgs, and included actress Hayley Atwell, Actor Joe Cole, Actor and producer and director Jason Flemyng, casting directors Lucy Bevan and Leo Davis as well as other leading industry specialists and prominent film and arts journalists.
EE has been the lead partner of the BAFTA Film Awards for 26 years, the UK’s longest-standing arts charity partnership. Since the partnership began, EE has not only worked with BAFTA to introduce the EE Rising Star Award but also used its award-winning network and technology to help film fans access the EE BAFTA Film Awards with exciting experiences and content.
For more information on the EE Rising Star Award please visit: www.ee.co.uk/bafta
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