Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor has told Sky News that being in the running for a BAFTA “means the world” after the nominations for its Rising Star award were announced.
“With social media, there’s a very curated kind of idea of what it is to be an actress,” she said. “And actually, it’s a lot of rejection and a lot of getting back on the horse and days like today make it feel really worth it.”
She was speaking at the announcement of the nominees for this year’s EE BAFTA Rising Star award.
Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi, The Bear actress Ayo Edebiri, and stars of the films How To Have Sex and Talk To Me – Mia McKenna-Bruce and Sophie Wilde – are also among the nominees.
Previous winners – including Tom Hardy, Kristen Stewart and Daniel Kaluuya – have gone on to become household names.
It is the only BAFTA award voted for by the public.
Dynevor, 28, has been nominated for her work in the film Fair Play – a role she admits she practically begged director Chloe Domont for.
Dynevor said: “I read the script and it was a female director, it’s a female story and it’s kind of roles that I dreamed about doing when I was a kid. So to be recognised for this film in particular is… very gratifying.”
She is best known for Netflix‘s Bridgerton, in which she plays Daphne, who has a romance with Rege-Jean Page’s character the Duke of Hastings in the first season.
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‘Being an actress means a lot of rejection’
Australian-born actor Elordi has recently starred in Saltburn, a thriller about high society, and as Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s biographical drama about the famous musician’s ex-wife, Priscilla.
The 26-year-old, also known for HBO’s Euphoria and Netflix romance trilogy The Kissing Booth, said he is “deeply honoured” to be recognised.
Meanwhile, Edebiri, 28, who is in 2023 teen comedy Bottoms about a fight club started to find romance, said it is “wonderful and humbling to receive this nomination”.
She is in the running for the BAFTA after winning the award for best television actress (musical or comedy) at the Golden Globes.
That win was for her work on the hit Hulu series The Bear, for which the American comedian, writer and producer starred as young chef Sydney Adamu opposite Jeremy Allen White. She has been nominated for an Emmy for the same role.
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McKenna-Bruce, who plays a teenager under pressure to lose her virginity in coming-of-age drama How To Have Sex, told Sky News she’s also grateful to be recognised for this particular piece of work.
“I think the fact that all of this is coming off the back of How To Have Sex is really incredible because it’s such a special film. And even when we were making it, it was so important to every single person on that set,” the 26-year-old said.
“So for it to just continue is incredible. It is bittersweet as well because it obviously resonates with so many people, which is a heartbreaking reality.
“But then hopefully it means that we can start to bring about some kind of change for people as well.”
Mia McKenna-Bruce, Sophie Wilde and Phoebe Dynevor at the BAFTA EE Rising Star Award 2023 nominees announcement
Last year may have seen Hollywood shut down after strikes by writers and actors but it also saw the box office ignited thanks to Barbenheimer and other cinema successes.
Nominated for her role in horror Talk To Me, 26-year-old Sophie Wilde told Sky News she’s looking forward to seeing last year’s releases recognised during awards season.
She said: “Last year was such a fantastic year for cinema, like such a breath of fresh air, so many incredible filmmakers and films and showcases of actors.
“So I think it’s a really exciting time and it feels like a particularly exciting awards season.”
The new EE BAFTA rising star will be announced with the other award winners at a ceremony on 18 February. David Tennant will present this year’s awards.
