The Orange Rising Star Award is back, giving members of the public
a chance to vote for the actor or actress they think is set for great
things.
Set up in honour of the late Mary Selway, the highly respected BAFTA-winning
casting director, this award recognises the cream of international acting
talent. Five nominees have been selected by a panel of industry experts.
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt started her career playing Juliet in a production
of Romeo and Juliet at the 2002 Chichester Festival, but it
was her lead role in the multi award-winning British movie, My
Summer of Love, which shot her to international prominence. Roles
in Peter Travis' Henry VIII, starring alongside Ray Winstone,
and Stephen Poliakoff's Gideon's Daughter followed. In 2005,
Emily featured in Irresistible, co-starring Susan Sarandon
and Sam Neill, before starring in The Devil Wears Prada, playing
the intensely neurotic Emily Charlton - a role for which she won much
critical acclaim. She is currently making The Jane Austen Book
Club.
Eva Green
Eva Green was born and brought up in France by a French mother and
Swedish father. She studied acting in Paris, then at the Webber Douglas
in London, England. She made her big screen debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's
The Dreamers, alongside Michael Pitt and Louis Garrel, before
playing Countess Clarisse de Dreux-Sobise in the French film Arsene
Lupin, and Sibylla of Jerusalem in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of
Heaven. Most recently she starred alongside Daniel Craig in Casino
Royale. She has recently joined the cast of His Dark Materials:
Northern Lights, based on Philip Pullman's novel.
Naomie Harris
After graduating from Cambridge University, Naomie trained as an actress
at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her break came in 2002 when
she was cast as the co-lead in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later,
written by Alex Garland (The Beach). Since then she has featured
in many high-profile movies, including After the Sunset, acting
alongside Salma Hayek and Pierce Brosnan, Michael Mann's Miami
Vice, and the box-office smash Pirates of the Caribbean 2.
She has also appeared on television - in 2002 she played the lead
role in the adaptation of Zadie Smith's White Teeth. She is
currently working on Pirates of the Caribbean 3.
Cillian Murphy
Although he initially studied Law at University College Cork, Cillian
Murphy's career soon followed a different path as he went on tour
with the play Disco Pigs. A part in Intermission followed,
but it was his performance in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later which
established his reputation. He followed that with parts in Girl
With a Pearl Earring and Cold Mountain, before Christopher Nolan
cast him as The Scarecrow in Batman Begins, and he secured
the role of Jackson Rippner in Red Eye. His most recent production
is Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
Ben Whishaw
Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2003, Ben
has appeared in Enduring Love, a film adaptation of Ian McEwan's
novel, and Layer Cake. He has also starred in ITV's popular
comedy-drama The Booze Cruise. On stage, Ben made his West
End debut in Philip Pullman's His
Dark Materials, before starring in Trevor Nunn's version of
Hamlet at the Old
Vic, for which he won tremendous critical acclaim. Most recently,
he has appeared in Perfume and has just finished filming I'm
Not Here, Todd Haynes' film portrayal of Bob Dylan's life, alongside
Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere and Christian Bale.
The winner will be announced at The Orange British Academy Film Awards
on 11th February.
