British actor and performer Bukky Backray won the 2021 EE BAFTA Rising Star award.

Born in London, Bukky made her debut in the movie ‘Rocky’ in 2019. Her performance got her two British Independent Film Award (BIFA) nominations. She also got a nomination for best actress at the BAFTA awards. 

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BAFTA tweeted Bukky’s reaction to winning the award. 

BAFTA’s official website published a bio of Backray which reads, “As a kid in East London, Bukky remembers watching Training Day with Denzel Washington and after recreating his scenes, immediately looking up ‘How to be an actor’. Feeling like this career was intangible, she decided to go another way. She had no idea that just a few years later, she would be cast as the eponymous lead in Sarah Gavron’s Rocks.”

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The bio further says that Bukky “feels the weight of responsibility as a young black woman” representing many things to a large population.  

“Bukky is inspired by the success of colourblind casting in films like The Personal History of David Copperfield and is keen to be cast in as many different kinds of genres and roles as possible,” the bio further says. 

The 18-year-old will next be seen in Netflix TV and BBC One’s adaptation of the bestselling novel “You Don’t Know Me” by Imran Mahmood.