Lashana Lynch, Paapa Essiedu, And Russell Tovey On The Next Generation Of Stars, The Future Of Film, And Why Community Matters

BAFTA’s EE Rising Star award is one of the most prestigious in the industry, spotlighting amazing emerging talent who are en route to becoming household names.

Now in its twenty-second year, you’ll be familiar with many of its previous winners, which include the likes of David Jonsson, Emma Mackey, and Tom Holland.

This year, Russell Tovey, Paapa Essiedu, and Lashana Lynch have joined the panel to decide the shortlist for the next batch of nominees. 

As the jury gathered today, we sat down with the three of them to talk about the future of film and championing the next generation of performers.

Lashana, you won the EE Rising Star Award in 2022, and now you're back as a juror. Has your understanding of what it means to be a rising star changed since your own win?

Lashana Lynch: Yeah, it is a full-circle moment, but also a position that I don't recognise, which is very welcome. I love the fact that having a seat at the table means I get to see what the conversations have been in previous times. But now I'm in the conversation. I'm very honoured, actually, to be able to discuss young talent.

I think when I won, I very much focused on the rising of the star. Whereas now I see a lot of young actors who would seem like they're rising, but they've actually been ascending for a very long time. And that's what my career was too.

So I think my understanding now is that there are many people out there with a collection of things in their roster that they've been doing.

When you're watching the performances and considering this year's nominees, what is it that makes an actor really stand out to you? Is there a particular quality that makes you think someone has star potential?

Lashana Lynch: I think the key is just seeing people who have that glow, that light in their eyes that you see when you watch a film, and you know you see it, because you either want to cry or you want to jump or you want to run away – or you want to continue watching them in another film. You see their name listed somewhere and you're like, ‘I want to watch that film because they're in it’. That is a quality that not everyone has.

Paapa Essiedu: You know, I'm really not looking for a certain thing, you know, I kind of feel like I'm just watching the movie and then seeing what jumps out at me, and with certain people, it's different things. You know, sometimes it's a sense of humour, sometimes it's an ease, sometimes it's a charisma, sometimes it's a simplicity. It's often something more raw, I guess. And technique is something that generally comes with experience.

Russell Tovey: It's just a freedom, but when you're younger, I feel like, personally, I was probably quite edited, or I didn't know; I was trying to be the version of myself which I thought people wanted me to be. As I've got older, I've realised that the qualities that I'm leaning into instinctively are the things that people are responding to, and that's been great, but that's taken a while. 

If you're young and you already trust those instincts and you're emotionally available and authentic, it's incredible because it's so brave, but you don't realise you're being brave. And to be that emotionally available, or to be that pure, is generous, but again, you don't realise you're being generous; you're just being. So that's when you recognise someone who's a younger actor who's able to access that and be that free and open; it's amazing.

Russell, you've played a wide range of queer characters throughout your career, and LGBTQ+ representation on screen has evolved so much over the years. How do you feel about the stories being told today, and how important is it to you to champion that representation?

Russell: In terms of roles, stories being told? I think it's incredible. And in the current climate, I'm so proud and excited that there is so much getting through on a really big commercial level that's being talked about and is really part of the discussion. As someone on the jury looking for queer representation, it's very important. But the way I approach this is I'm looking at performances, and there are a lot of queer characters in there, which is amazing.

And there's still more to do, across all representation; look at Being Human, which is a film with non-able-bodied people,  disabled people telling their true stories. That is so important. We don't see enough of that on the mainstream commercial level. 

There are so many minoritised people, and art's responsibility is to prove that people exist. So we can't deny their existence. And that's what we have to keep pushing forward to do.

To see yourself, if you see yourself on the screen or on a gallery wall, you can't deny your existence because you're there. And that's what we have to keep striving to do with storytellers: to tell everyone's story – or allow everyone's story into the conversation.

Paapa, you've taken on the role of Severus Snape in Harry Potter, a character that audiences already know and love. How have you approached making such an iconic character your own?

Paapa: It's a lot of things, and I think there's a reason why this character is so beloved. You know, there's a reason why people all over the world of all different ages and backgrounds love this character. And that's because it's so elusive and so compelling and mysterious, so I've got a long road to explore.

Hopefully [we’ll get into] every nook and cranny and pull out all the things that we hope we can find, and things that we didn't know that we could find in this one.

Paapa, Lashana, you're both working on major upcoming projects, Children of Blood and Bone and Harry Potter, alongside some incredibly talented young actors. Has anyone particularly impressed you on set – what has it been like watching the next generation of talent at work?

Lashana: There are two young people that you need to watch out for. I don't want to give anything away, but I worked with them, so that will let you know when you watch it. Absolutely amazing. So sparky, so quick, so alive and genuinely ready for the industry. I'm excited for them.

Paapa: They're amazing. Because again, it's something that they haven't had the time to learn, you know, so they're just doing. At that age, I was still like, ‘how do you even read aloud a whole sentence or a paragraph?’ They’re understanding this idea of character and subtext and all of this. So incredibly intelligent, talented, hardworking, but also funny little kids – they're a good laugh.

Finally, having all built such varied careers, what's the one piece of advice you'd give to young actors who are just starting and hoping to make their mark in the industry?

Lashana: I would say to make sure that the ‘why’ at the beginning of your career is big, really big, like unnecessarily big in your mind. You know, when you try on a coat or something, and you don’t understand how you’re ever going to grow into it. You will. 

It's a kind of passion and a grounding and an unearthing at the beginning that will have you create a foundation that will genuinely stand the test of time. So to keep your why so big and so strong that you feel confident that you're growing into your shoes instead of them becoming too small really early on.

And also do other things, properly live your life, so that when you go back to work you can be like, I've collected all these experiences, and now I can put it in this character. Yeah, collect experiences in your life.

Paapa: I think the advice I always give to actors is to just act, to act as much as you can in whatever way that is. If that means writing your own thing, if that means getting into collaborating with your friends, getting a camera together, like writing a script, putting a scene down, whatever, it's just doing it. Eventually, that's the way that it becomes second nature. Anyone can think about being an actor, but to do it, to become one, you have to do it.

Russell: Find your community. Reach out to, become obsessed with film or theatre, become obsessed with whatever it is you do, and try to see as much as you can. And then you have this direct link to creatives –they might not see your message; they might ignore you, but someone will notice you. Directors, writers, reach out to them and go, ‘I love what you've done. It's really inspired me.’ And find other actors that you can go and see things with, support, and build.

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