Rising star’s Bafta nod proves mother knows best
Florence Pugh, nominated for prestigious award, sent in first audition tape only after parental persuasion
ANY up-and-coming actress who knows her lines will use an awards acceptance speech to thank her agent, her co-stars and her parents.
Florence Pugh, 22, has more reason than most to acknowledge the latter, after she was nominated for the Bafta Rising Star Award for a fledgling career which started with a well-timed prompt from her mother.
Pugh, who was yesterday announced as one of five nominees, sent off her first audition tape with 20 minutes to spare before the deadline, after being talked around from believing it would be a waste of time.
Days later, the then-17-year-old was called in for her first audition for The Falling, winning over director Carol Morley, who likened her to a “young Kate Winslet”. From there, Pugh has gone on to critical acclaim in the film Lady Macbeth and secured a leading role in the BBC’S new John le Carré adaptation, Little Drummer Girl.
Yesterday, she said she was “truly honoured” with her Rising Star nomination, adding: “The journey to get to this rewarding moment has been exhilarating, and so to feel recognition for doing something I love and the hard work many have put in feels very touching. It’s a very proud moment.”
Pugh grew up in Oxford the daughter of a restaurateur and a dance teacher. She got her big break after seeing an advert inviting video auditions for a part in a film. Fearing no one would watch a submission from a “normal girl”, she had resolved not to enter until her mother asked, just before deadline, whether she had and the pair “came to the agreement” that she should. It secured her a role in The Falling, co-starring Maisie Williams and Maxine Peake.
She told The Daily Telegraph she was feeling “pretty wicked” about her week so far. She attributed her success to “a lot of people” in the industry, as well as her “brilliant” parents.
She is joined on the Rising Star shortlist by British actors Daniel Kaluuya and Josh O’connor, stars of Get Out and God’s Own Country respectively, and Americans Timothee Chalamet, who appears in Call Me By Your Name, and Tessa Thompson, star of Thor: Ragnarok. The winner, chosen by a public vote, will be revealed at the Baftas on Feb 18.
The award hails new talent in the film industry and previous nominees include Carey Mulligan, Eddie Redmayne and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Nominees were selected by a jury of industry experts including Robbie Collin, The Telegraph’s chief film critic.