Alicia Vikander, Jo Hartley and Naomi Ackie join the jury for the BAFTA EE Rising Star Award

A trio of actresses have been added to the BAFTA EE Rising Star Award panel to select the shortlist for 2021.

Oscar winner Alicia Vikander, This Is England actress Jo Hartley and BAFTA award-winning actress Naomi Ackie have joined the list, along with a range of industry experts, who have already come together digitally to discuss the merits of the emerging talent longs series to discuss.

This is the first time the jury panel has had to meet on video conferencing to discuss this year’s shortlist of young and emerging talent, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the 16th year the award has been presented, with previous winners including Daniel Kaluuya, Juno Temple, John Boyega, Tom Hardy, Jack O’Connell, Tom Holland and Kristen Stewart.

The award is the only 2021 EE BAFTA category voted for by the UK public and the vote will open on 3 March 2021, when the full shortlist will be announced.

The jury has been passionately debating which five will act in the public vote before the BAFTAs in 2021.

Along with Naomi, Jo and Alicia were producer and director Anand Tucker (The Girl With A Pearl Earring), casting directors Leo Davis (The Queen), Nina Gold (The Kings Speech) and Lucy Bevan (An Education).

The creative director, Gaylene Gould, and several leading film and art journalists were also involved.

Alicia said: ‘Being a BAFTA EE nominee for Rising Star has been an important milestone in my career and it is an honor and pleasure to be shortlisted for this year’s award along with the impressive panel of judges .

“In a turbulent year for the industry, it gave me hope and excitement to see these new faces for the upcoming film.”

Jo added: ‘Film was really an escape during this seclusion period. Not just to entertain me, but also to inspire me professionally.

‘It’s an absolute honor to celebrate the fresh faces on our screens with the EE Rising Star Award 2021 jury, and I can not wait to see what this next generation of talent will achieve.

“The award is an enviable honor, and I can not wait for the public to see the shortlist.”

Naomi rounded off the trio, saying: ‘It was a great honor for me to discuss these talented candidates.

‘It was really hard to pick just five actors for this year’s shortlist, and I’m sure I’ll still enjoy all of the actors’ work for a long time to come. The industry is bursting with talent and with the last year we have faced together, I am so grateful that projects are still being done.

‘For me and I are sure that many other arts, in its many mediums, are an important and necessary procrastination as we adapt to our new reality.

The EE Rising Star Award was created in honor of the late Mary Selway. A highly respected and BAFTA award-winning casting director whose 36-year career has led her to work on more than ninety films and work with leading directors such as Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood.

Mary’s work contributed to the creation of some of the silver screen’s most memorable characters and in 2001 she received BAFTA’s Outstanding British Contribution to the Cinema Award.

Nominations for all categories at the EE British Academy Film Awards will be announced on 9 March. The ceremony will be broadcast on BBC One on 11 April.