Orange Rising Star Awards 2009: Nominees announced
Story by Jack Foley
MICHAEL Fassbender (pictured) is among four British stars who have been shortlisted for the Orange Rising Star Award at this year’s Baftas.
The Irish actor won widespread acclaim for his performance as IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen’s Hunger and also appeared in horror movie Eden Lake. He has recently been recruited by Quentin Tarantino for his keenly anticipated war flick, Inglourious Basterds, alongside Brad Pitt.
Fellow Brits to land nominations for the award, which is voted for by members of the public, are Noel Clarke, who directed and starred in controversial youth drama Adulthood, and Rebecca Hall, who appeared in Frost/Nixon, alongside Michael Sheen. She has also been Golden Glove nominated for her performance in Woody Allen’s upcoming Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Toby Kebbell, who won widespread acclaim for his performance as a rock star in Guy Ritchie’s RoncknRolla, completes the British contingent, while American actor Michael Cera, of Juno fame, is the last of five nominees to make the shortlist.
As previously stated, the award is voted for by the public by text and online (via the Orange website). Last year’s recipient was Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf.
It’s difficult to pick an early favourite from this year’s crop, though, as each nominee already boasts a diverse line-up of work on their CVs.
Noel Clarke, for instance, is seen as an extremely talented all-rounder and is sure to be popular among those film-goers who helped Adulthood to take the No.1 spot in UK cinemas when it was released. He is also well known for playing Mickey in Doctor Who.
Hall, meanwhile, is viewed as one of the most promising young actresses of her generation, having also shone in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, and Kebbell also won an award last year for his supporting role in Control, the biopic of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis.
He has recently completed filming on fantasy epic Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Sir Ben Kingsley.
Michael Cera, meanwhile, shot to prominence (and young girls’ hearts) in TV sitcom Arrested Development, and gained critical acclaim last year as the male lead in teen pregnancy comedy Juno. He will next be seen alongside Kat Dennings in indie comedy Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist.
To be eligible for the shortlist, all nominees must have appeared in a film that has been entered for the Bafta film awards, and will have a number of screen credits already to their name.
Other past winners include Bond actress Eva Green and James McAvoy. This year’s recipient will be announced at the Bafta film awards in London on February 8.