Eight vie for Orange Rising Star Award - BAFTA: Down to the Wire - Orange Rising Star Award (The Vote)

By Adam Dawtrey

Chris O'Dowd in 'Bridesmaids'

Tom Hiddleston in 'Thor'

Jessica Chastain in 'The Help'

Felicity Jones in 'Chalet Girl'

Eddie Redmayne in 'My Week with Marilyn'

Adam Deacon in 'Anuvahood'

The Orange Rising Star is not a traditional BAFTA award, but rather an audience prize that's handed out on BAFTA night. It's designed to engage the public in the ceremony, particularly the younger movie fans targeted by cellphone giant Orange, the title sponsor of the awards.

The longlist of eight contenders is drawn up by a jury of industry experts, but the five nominees and the winner are decided by public vote. However smart the longlist selections, the candidate with the year's biggest box office has an inherent advantage.

By that yardstick, this year's longlist is unusually hard to read.

It includes several actors who have appeared in blockbusters, several with multiple credits, several whose big films will be released just as the voting is taking place and one wild card in the form of Adam Deacon, a cult hero among the teen cellphone addicts who decide this award.

In order of their U.K. box office in 2011 (through Dec. 19), the contenders are:

• Chris O'Dowd "Bridesmaids" ($36.8 million)
  
• Tom Hiddleston "Thor" ($23.4 million)
  "Midnight in Paris" ($4.1 million)
  "The Deep Blue Sea" ($666,000)
  "Archipelago" ($500,000)
  "War Horse" (Jan. 13 release)
  
• Jennifer Lawrence "X-Men First Class" ($24.6 million)
  "Winter's Bone" ($1.2 million)
  "The Beaver" ($200,000)
  "Like Crazy" (Feb. 3 release)
  
• Chris Hemsworth "Thor" ($23.4 million)
  
• Jessica Chastain "The Help" ($6.6 million)
  "The Tree of Life" ($2.8 million)
  "The Debt" ($2.4 million)
  "Take Shelter" ($306,000)
  "Texas Killing Fields" ($202,000)
  "Coriolanus" (Jan. 20 release)
  
• Adam Deacon "Anuvahood" ($3.4 million)
  "Everywhere and Nowhere" ($62,000)
  
• Felicity Jones "Chalet Girl" ($3 million)
  "The Tempest" ($71,000)
  "Albatross" ($32,000)
  "Like Crazy" (Feb. 3 release)
  
• Eddie Redmayne "My Week With Marilyn" ($4.2 million)

BAFTA: DOWN TO THE WIRE:
Documentaries | Foreign Films | The Orange Rising Star Award

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Cast your vote for the BAFTA Orange Rising Star Award 2012...

Thursday, 24 November 2011

As the British Academy Film Awards 2012 approaches, BAFTA have announced their shortlist for the Orange Wednesday's Rising Star Award - their only accolade to be decided by the British public. The award looks to honour emerging talent, with previous winners including Kristen Stewart (Twilight), Noel Clarke (Adulthood), Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Eva Green (Casino Royale) and James McAvoy (The Last King of Scotland), and last year's recipient, Tom Hardy (Inception).

This year's nominees for the BAFTA Orange Rising Star Award are...

Adam Deacon - British rapper and actor Adam Deacon enjoyed roles in the likes of Ali G Indahouse, Kidulthood, Adulthood and Shank before co-writing, co-directing and starring in the urban comedy Anuvahood. He has a number of future acting projects in production, such as the comedy Outside Bet and drama Payback Season.

Chris Hemsworth - Following a stint in Home and Away, Australian actor Chris Hemsworth made the shift to Hollywood and enjoyed a brief appearance in Star Trek before securing the lead role in Marvel Studios' Thor. Hemsworth is set to reprise his role as the God of Thunder in next year's team-up, The Avengers, and will also be seen in Snow White and the Huntsman, along with the remake of Red Dawn.

Felicity Jones - Brummie actress Felicity Jones' career has really taken off in the past few years, well-received performances in films such as Brideshead Revisited, Cemetery Junction, Albatross and Chalet Girl, while she also received a Special Jury Prize (Dramatic) at Sundance for her work in the 2011 romantic drama Like Crazy.

Tom Hiddleston - After a number of stage and television roles, English actor Tom Hiddleston enjoyed his breakthrough this year as Loki in Marvel's Thor - a role he is set to return to for The Avengers in May. He has since went on to feature in Midnight in Paris and The Deep Blue Sea and will next be seen in Steven Spielberg's War Horse.

Jennifer Lawrence - American actress Jennifer Lawrence became the second-youngest ever nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in Winter's Bone and followed that up this year with appearances in The Beaver, Like Crazy and X-Men: First Class. Lawrence will next be seen in Gary Ross' adaptation of The Hunger Games and she has also completed work on the horror film House at the End of the Street.

Chris O'Dowd - Best known for his role in the TV series The IT Crowd, Irish comedian Chris O'Dowd has successfully made the transition to the silver screen with appearances in films such as The Boat That Rocked, Dinner for Schmucks, Gulliver's Travels and Bridesmaids. Upcoming film roles include Friends with Kids, This is Forty and Sean Carlin Goes Crazy.

Jessica Chastain - American actress Jessica Chastain made her feature debut in 2008 with Jolene and she has since went on to build an impressive CV with roles this year including The Debt, The Help, The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, Texas Killing Fields and Coriolanus. She will next be seen alongside past Rising Star winners Tom Hardy and Shia LaBeouf in The Wettest County.

Eddie Redmayne - Along with film roles such as The Good Shepherd, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Other Boleyn Girl and Black Death, English actor Eddie Redmayne received a Tony Award in 2010 for his work in Red and he can currently be seen in the British drama My Week with Marilyn alongside Michelle Williams.

Who would be your choice for the Rising Star Award? Head over to the BAFTA site to cast your vote, with the winners annouced during the British Academy Film Awards ceremony on February 12th