This morning at BAFTA HQ in London, BAFTA announced the nominations for the 2011 Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award.
Those gunning for this year’s award include:
* Gemma Arterton
* Andrew Garfield
* Tom Hardy
* Aaron Johnson
* Emma Stone
Previous winners of the award include James McAvoy in 2006, Eva Green in 2007, Shia LaBeouf in 2008, Noel Clarke in 2009 and Kristen Stewart in 2010. Tradition suggests the previous winner will be at the award ceremony to pass on their award so could that mean the Twilight star will be at the ceremony? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
You can vote for your favourite & find out more information on the Orange website here. So, who do you think is going to win?
Nominee Biographies
Gemma Arterton
After graduating from RADA in the summer of 2007, Gemma has quickly become one of Britain’s brightest young actresses, most notably for her iconic Bond girl role in Quantum of Solace, alongside Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench.
With a string of impressive performances behind her, including Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, Richard Curtis’ The Boat That Rocked, Clash of the Titans and Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time, she’s established herself on the world stage.
Most recently, her performance in Tamara Drewe, directed by award-winning Stephen Frears, received glittering praise, as did her performance in J Blakeson’s independent film The Disappearance of Alice Creed.
Andrew Garfield
Rapidly becoming one of the most sought-after young actors working internationally today, Andrew has notched several stunning performances under his belt since graduating from drama school just six years ago.
After appearances in John Crowley’s Boy A which earned him the Best Actor TV BAFTA, Robert Redford’s Lions for Lambs and Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, most recently Andrew has been earning numerous Best Supporting Actor nominations for his performance as Eduardo Saverin in David Fincher’s smash hit The Social Network where he stars alongside Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake.
Andrew will soon be seen in Never Let Me Go, with Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan and has recently commenced filming the leading role of Peter Parker in Marc Webb’s much anticipated next instalment of Spider-Man, set for release in 2012.
Tom Hardy
Making his name in Spielberg’s TV series Band of Brothers, Tom’s film debut was Star Trek: Nemesis, swiftly followed by Ridley Scott’s war thriller Black Hawk Down. Tom has become one of cinema’s most versatile and gripping actors, including a recent performance in the smash hit Inception, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.
After a string of appearances in hit films such as Warrior and Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, as well as the TV series of Stuart: A Life Backwards and Wuthering Heights Tom’s most powerful performance undoubtedly came in the lead role for Bronson, in which he put on three stone of muscle to play the infamous British prisoner.
Currently in filming for This Means War with Reese Witherspoon and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with Colin Firth and Gary Oldman, Tom has also secured a part in Christopher Nolan’s hotly anticipated Batman Rises.
Aaron Johnson
Aaron’s rise to fame was highlighted by his critically acclaimed performance as a young John Lennon in Sam Taylor Wood’s Nowhere Boy, and more recently in the lead role for smash hit Kick Ass, for which he was nominated for ‘Performance of the Year’ at the National Movie Awards.
His impressive back catalogue of appearances includes The Illusionist, in which he played a young Edward Norton, Shanghai Knights, where he starred alongside Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, and also in Dummy and The Greatest.
Emma Stone
After some notable performances in hit films Easy A and Superbad, Emma recently landed the role of Gwen Stacy in Marc Webb’s next Spider-Man release, cementing her position as one of Hollywood’s brightest young actresses.
Following her typically charismatic appearances in recent films such as Zombieland and Paper Man, she’s now set to appear in Crazy, Stupid, Love, which is due for release next year, also starring Ryan Gosling.
She can also soon be seen in DreamWorks’ film The Help, an adaptation of Kathyrn Stockett’s New York Times best-selling novel, and has also lent her voice to the DreamWorks animated comedy The Croods, which also features Nicholas Cage and Ryan Reynolds.
