2015 BAFTA Rising Star award: Jack O’Connell, Margot Robbie and Shailene Woodley battle it out

This Friday sees BAFTA announce their nominations for this year’s prestigious awards ceremony as the Oscar race starts to heat up.

Prior to that though, the British organisation have revealed the five actors who will be battling it out for the EE Rising Star Award, as voted for by the general public.

The first nominee is Oxford-born actress GUGU MBATHA-RAW. She initially started out in television roles like Spooks and Doctor Who before featuring alongside Keifer Sutherland in last year’s fantasy series Touch.

Her big film break came in the 2011 rom-com Larry Crowne which saw her co-star with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. 2014/15 has been her strongest year yet with her leading roles in the historical biopic Belle and the musical drama Beyond the Lights.

The second nominee is fellow Brit JACK O’CONNELL. The 24-year old broke through with gritty roles in This is England (2006), Eden Lake (2008) and Harry Brown (2009) as well as featuring in 18 episodes of the cult television series Skins (2010).

2014 proved a landmark year for the Derby lad when he received high praise for his performances in the British dramas Starred Up and 71′ with a role in the sword-and-sandals blockbuster 300: Rise of an Empire sandwiched inbetween. The year ended with his portrayal of real-life Olympic athlete-turned-war hero Louis Zamperini in Angelina Jolie’s war drama Unbroken.

Nominee number three is the gorgeous Australian actress MARGOT ROBBIE, who caught the eye of many admirers with her sexy role as Naomi Belfort in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Prior to that, she spent three years playing the part of Donna Freeman in the popular Aussie soap Neighbours before appearing in the American flight series Pan-Am (2011-12).

She has also featured in the rom-com About Time (2013) and is due to appear alongside Will Smith in the upcoming con-thriller Focus. It was recently announced she would be playing DC comics villain Harley Quinn in the comic-book flick Suicide Squad.

The forth nominee is American actor MILES TELLER. He made his cinematic breakthrough in 2010 when he starred opposite Nicole Kidman in the family drama Rabbit Hole. He has also had various roles in a mixture of teen-comedies and mature adult flicks like Footloose (2011), Project X (2012), The Spectacular Now (2013) and 21 & Over (2013).

2014 saw him play leading male character Peter alongside fellow Rising Star nominee Shailene Woodley in the big-screen adaptation of the sci-fi novel Divergent. He will soon be seen taking intense drumming lessons from J.K. Simmons in the upcoming Oscar-contender Whiplash.

And finally we have SHAILENE WOODLEY. The Californian actress first came to prominence when she played Amy Jeurgens in the long-running television series The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008-2013). However she had to wait until 2011 to make the transition to film when she played George Clooney’s oldest daughter in the indie-dramedy The Descendents.

Last year proved a key period for her when she appeared in the leading roles of two renowned fictional heroines; Tris in the sci-fi adventure Divergent and as cancer victim Hazel in the family tearjerker The Fault in Our Stars. She is due to reprise her role as Tris in the upcoming sequel Insurgent.

Previous recipients of the award have included James McAvoy, Eva Green, Kristen Stewart and last year’s winner Will Poulter.

The winner of the category will be announced alongside all other BAFTA contenders when the ceremony takes place on Sunday 8th February.

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