Lupita nominated for Bafta Rising Star award.
Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o was nominated on Monday for Bafta’s Rising Star Award for her role in “12 Years A Slave“, in a further sign that it is heading for Oscar glory.
Nyong’o is considered the frontrunner for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award alongside French actress Lea Seydoux, the star of the intense lesbian love story “Blue Is The Warmest Colour“.
British actors Will Poulter, star of “We’re The Millers” featuring Jennifer Aniston, and George MacKay — who got his big break starring alongside Clive Owen in “The Boys Are Back” — were also among those shortlisted.
Nyong’o made her movie debut in “12 Years A Slave“, based on the true story of a free African-American man who was kidnapped in the 19th century and forced into slavery.
Directed by British filmmaker Steve McQueen, the movie has seven nominations for the US Golden Globes, 13 at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and four for the Screen Actors Guild awards.
Seydoux joined Poulter and MacKay in London to celebrate their nominations.
The French actress, who has admitted how difficult she found it to endure the long sex scenes in “Blue Is The Warmest Colour“, said that starring in the highly acclaimed film had changed her life.
“It was a big success in France and all over the world,” she said.