Alicia Vikander, Jo Hartley and Naomi Ackie join the BAFTA EE Rising Star jury

A trio of actresses were added to the BAFTA EE Rising Star award panel to select the 2021 list.

Oscar winner Alicia Vikander, This Is England actress Jo Hartley and BAFTA winning actress Naomi Ackie joined the list, along with a list of industry experts, who have already met digitally to discuss the merits of the list. emerging talents.

This is the first time that the jury panel has met on videoconference to discuss this year’s list of young talents, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the 16th year the award has been awarded, with previous winners such as Daniel Kaluuya, Juno Temple, John Boyega, Tom Hardy, Jack O’Connell, Tom Holland and Kristen Stewart.

The award is the only 2021 EE BAFTA category to be voted on by the British public and the vote will open on March 3, 2021, when the full list will be revealed.

The jury deliberated passionately about which five will compete in the public vote before the 2021 BAFTAs.

Accompanying Naomi, Jo and Alicia were producer and director Anand Tucker (The Girl with a Pearl Earring), casting directors Leo Davis (The Queen), Nina Gold (The King’s Speech) and Lucy Bevan (An Education).

Creative director Gaylene Gould and several prominent film and arts journalists were also involved.

Alicia said: ‘Being nominated for the BAFTA EE Rising Star was a significant milestone in my career and it is an honor and pleasure to deliberate on the list of finalists for this year’s award alongside the impressive panel of judges.

“In what has been a tumultuous year for the industry, watching these new faces has given me hope and enthusiasm for the years of cinema to come.”

Jo added: ‘Cinema was really an escape during this period of isolation. Not only keeping me entertained, but really inspiring me from a professional point of view.

“It is an absolute honor to join the 2021 EE Rising Star Award jury to celebrate the new faces on our screens and I can’t wait to see what this next generation of talent will achieve.

“The award is an enviable tribute, and I can’t wait for the public to see the list.”

Naomi ended the trio, saying, ‘It was a great honor for me to deliberate on this year’s extremely talented candidates.

‘It has been really difficult to choose just five actors from this year’s list of finalists and I am sure that I will be enjoying all the work of these actors for a long time. The industry is exploding with talent and with the last year that we face collectively, I am very grateful that the projects are still being done.

“For me and I am sure that many others, art, in its various forms, is an important and necessary pause as we adapt to our new reality.

The EE Rising Star award was created in honor of the late Mary Selway. A highly respected casting director and BAFTA award winner, whose 36-year career has seen her work in more than ninety films and work with top directors like Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood.

Mary’s work contributed to the creation of some of the most memorable characters in cinema and, in 2001, she received the BAFTA Award for Best British Film Contribution.

Nominations for all categories at the EE British Academy Film Awards will be announced on March 9, with the ceremony being broadcast on April 11 by BBC One.