Bafta names rising stars who are tipped for film success

The nominees for Bafta's Rising Star award have been announced, shining a spotlight on some of the film industry's most exciting up-and-coming acting talent.

This year's list features a mix of British actors and American names, with the US represented by Sinners star Miles Caton and One Battle After Another's Chase Infiniti.

They are joined by three Brits - Robert Aramayo, who starred in I Swear; Archie Madekwe, who appeared in Lurker; and Posy Sterling, from films including Lollipop.

The EE Rising Star Award is the only Bafta film prize to be voted for by the public. Previous recipients include James McAvoy, John Boyega and Emma Mackey.

This year's winner will be announced at the Bafta Film Awards ceremony in February.

Caton, 20, is having a breakout moment. His performance as Sammie in Sinners has already earned him a Critics' Choice Award for best young actor and a nomination for best supporting actor at the Actor Awards (formerly the Screen Actors Guild Awards).

Growing up in a musical family in New York, Caton began performing at an early age. He is the son of gospel singer Timiney Figueroa, and a childhood video of him singing Nina Simone's Feeling Good was later used in a short film by Jay-Z. By the age of 16, he had gone on a global tour as a backing singer for H.E.R.

Sinners is his only film role so far, but he said acting "has become something that I definitely want to take seriously and move further in".

In her breakthrough role as Willa in One Battle After Another, Infiniti stars opposite Leonardo DiCaprio as the fiercely independent daughter of a former revolutionary.

Before that, the US actress, 25, had already started making a name for herself. She first came to wider attention in Apple TV+ legal thriller Presumed Innocent, playing Jaden Sabich opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Negga.

Infiniti graduated with a theatre arts BFA from Columbia College Chicago in 2022, where she honed her acting on stage before shifting focus to film and television.

Madekwe is nominated off the back of his role in Lurker, a psychological thriller in which he plays an up-and-coming pop star who is blackmailed by a superfan.

Madekwe originally auditioned to play the superfan but ended up being cast in the lead role. He has also appeared in films like Saltburn and Midsommar.

The south London-born actor, like previous Bafta Rising Star Award winner Tom Holland, is an alumni of the Brit School, a training ground for some of the UK's most notable names.

Eagle-eyed fans may also recognise him from early bit parts in Channel 4 sitcoms such as Fresh Meat and Hang Ups.

Madekwe said it feels "surreal to be included this year" in the line up.

Manchester-born Sterling is nominated for Lollipop, in which she plays a single mum who emerges from prison only to find herself battling her own mother for custody of her children.

The raw, emotionally charged performance has already earned Sterling the British Independent Film Award for breakthrough performance.

It is her first leading role in a feature film, but she has been steadily building a reputation on screen with standout appearances in TV dramas including The Road Trip and You Don't Know Me.

Sterling said she felt "genuinely overwhelmed by this recognition".