As a valued member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) every year I have to vote for the UK equivalent of the Oscars. Okay so that isn’t true I’m not and academy member but like may other British people I do get the chance to vote in “The Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award”. in past years it has been an easy choice for me, this year I haven’t made my mind up yet. The nominations are:
Gemma Arterton: Hardly a newcomer having already appeared in several high profile movies including a Bond film, Arterton has had a busy year with Tamara Drewe, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Clash of the Titans, none of which were any good, but The Disappearance of Alice Creed (a 2009 movie that was released in 2010) was fantastic and she was the best thing about it.
Andrew Garfield: As the new Spider-Man Garfield has taken his first steps towards A-list stardom but his performance in The Social Network also proved he is a great actor. (Garfield is already a BAFTA winner having won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor in 2008 for Boy A)
Tom Hardy: A strange choice for this list as his real breakout role was Bronson in 2008, he did however give a scene stealing performance in Inception, the best movie of 2010. (Tom Hardy was nominated for BAFTA TV Award Best Actor in 2008 for Stuart: A Life Backwards, but lost out to Andrew Garfield, see above)
Aaron Johnson: Following 2009’s Nowhere Boy with Kick-Ass Johnson really is a rising star. It will be interesting to see what range he has as he matures. He also appeared in Japanese horror maestro Hideo Nakata’s Chatroom and made my Breakout Performances of 2010 list.
Emma Stone: I feel sorry for whoever gets cast as Mary Jane Watson in the Spider-Man Reboot as she could be in real danger of been overshadowed by Stone’s Gwen Stacy. Easy A was one of my most pleasant surprises of 2010 and thought Stone was fantastic. I don’t know why I was surprised as she was great in Zombieland in 2009.
Last years award went to the unfairly maligned Kristen Stewart (I voted for Carey Mulligan) and the previous winners were: Noel Clarke (2009), Shia Labeouf (2008), Eva Green (2007) and James McAvoy (2006). The full nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 18, and the awards ceremony takes place on Sunday 13 February.
Fandango Groovers Movie Blog 