David Farnor | On 17, Jan 2023

Two stars of Netflix’s Sex Education are among the BAFTA Rising Star Award nominees for 2023, unveiled today.

Aimee Lou Wood and Emma Mackey are both nominated for the award, the only prize at the BAFTAs voted for by the British public. They are joined by Naomi Ackie, Sheila Atim and Daryl McCormack.

The nominees were selected by a panel of industry jurors including actors Hayley Atwell, Joe Cole and Jason Flemyng, as well as a host of celebrated casting directors, producers and industry experts.

Voting for the winner is now open at ee.co.uk/BAFTA. The winner will be announced on Sunday 19th February 2023 at the BAFTA Awards ceremony, aired on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Here’s the full rundown of the line-up:

Noami Ackie

Naomi can currently be seen in cinemas, taking on the iconic role of global superstar ‘Whitney Houston’ in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, a new feature film about the late singer’s life. The BAFTA award winning actor has also most recently completed filming a leading role in Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Pussy Island, as well as for Mickey 17, from director Bong Joon-Ho, alongside Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Pattinson. In 2019, Naomi took on the role of ‘Jannah’ in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final instalment in the Skywalker saga, for which she was selected by The Hollywood Reporter for its ‘Next Generation’ portfolio, People Magazine for its ‘Ones to Watch’ and ELLE Magazine for its ‘Hollywood Rising’ section. For television, she took on a leading role and served as Executive Producer in the third season of the multi-award-winning Master of None and in 2020 won a BAFTA award for her role of ‘Bonnie’ in the second series of the cult television series The End of the F***ing World. Naomi also won a British Independent Film Award for ‘Most Promising Newcomer’ and was named as one of Screen International’s Stars of Tomorrow in 2017 for her film debut and ‘quietly stunning role’ of ‘Anna’ in Lady Macbeth.

Sheila Atim

Sheila stars in the recently released historical epic feature film The Woman King, alongside Academy Award-winner Viola Davis, and previous EE Rising Star winners, Lashana Lynch and John Boyega. 2022 also saw Sheila’s debut in the Marvel cinematic universe, appearing as ‘Sara’ in Doctor Strange & The Multiverse of Madness alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen. Sheila has made a considerable impact on the London theatre scene, not only as an actress but also as a singer, playwright and composer. In 2018, Sheila won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her breakout performance as ‘Marianne Laine’ in Girl from the North Country at the Old Vic Theatre. She was also named as a Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2021, one of Variety’s ’10 Brits to Watch’ in 2020 and was awarded an MBE for services to drama in 2019.

Aimee Lou Wood

Aimee is best known for her portrayal of ‘Aimee Gibbs’ in television series 1 to 3 of Sex Education. Aimee stars alongside Asa Butterfield, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa and Gillian Anderson in the show and won a BAFTA for ‘Best Female Comedy Performance’ for her role. Most recently, Aimee appeared in Oliver Hermanus’ latest feature, Living, currently in cinemas across the UK and USA, starring Bill Nighy. Living premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2022 and has since been screened at Venice, Toronto and London Film Festival to largely critical praise. Prior to this, Aimee played ‘Claire Wain’ in The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, directed by Will Sharpe, narrated by Olivia Colman and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy. Aimee was also recently nominated for a BAFTA Cymru Award for ‘Best Actress’ for her performance in On The Edge: Mincemeat. Aimee is about to start her run as ‘Sally Bowles’ in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, and prior to this starred in Uncle Vanya at The Harold Pinter Theatre, receiving critical acclaim.

Emma Mackey

Emma is a French / British actor with multiple film and television projects in development. Next, Emma features in Barbie opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, scheduled for worldwide release in July. Currently, audiences in the UK can see Emma as the titular character in Emily, a film re-imagining the life of Emily Brontë. Emily had its World Premiere when it opened the Platform Competition at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and will release in the US this spring. Emma is perhaps best known for her BAFTA-nominated leading role as ‘Maeve Wiley’ in the television series, Sex Education alongside Ncuti Gatwa and Aimee Lou Wood. Last year Emma starred in her first French language role, that of ‘Adrienne Bourgès’ in the César nominated Eiffel, and also appeared as ‘Jacqueline de Bellefort’ in Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile, starring Gal Gadot, Tom Bateman and Ali Fazal.

Daryl McCormack

Daryl is well known for his lead role in British comedy-drama Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, opposite Emma Thompson. Following the film’s premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2022, it was released in UK cinemas in November to critical acclaim. Up next for Daryl is the thriller feature The Tutor, alongside Richard E Grant and Julie Delpy for Bleecker Street. Daryl also joined the season 5 cast of Peaky Blinders as a preacher’s son, taking over the role of ‘Isaiah Jesus’ from Jordan Bolger, and returned for the 6th iteration aired on the BBC in February 2022. Last year, Daryl then featured as ‘Matt Cafflin’ in Sharon Horgan’s dark comedy television series, Bad Sisters. Up next for Daryl is a co-lead role in the television series, The Woman in the Wall, alongside Ruth Wilson. Daryl was named by Screen International as one of their 2021 ‘Stars of Tomorrow’, and The Hollywood Reporter for its 2022 ‘Next Gen’ talent list.

The jury, chaired by Anna Higgs, BAFTA Film Committee Chair, featured actors Hayley Atwell, Joe Cole and Jason Flemyng, casting directors Lucy Bevan (The Batman), Leo Davis (The Queen and A Very English Scandal) and senior talent agent Ikki El-Amriti (Identity Agency Group), alongside industry specialists and film, arts and entertainment journalists.

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