Emma Mackey ‘forgot’ to tell family and friends about BAFTA nomination: ‘They found out when it was announced’

EXCLUSIVE: Mackey, 27, speak to The Standard after being nominated for the EE Rising Star Award at this year’s BAFTAs
Emma Mackey nominated for the EE Rising Star Award
Chris Chapman
Lisa McLoughlin 3 February 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Last year saw Emma Mackey captivate audiences as Emily Bronte in the period epic Emily and rubs shoulders with Hollywood acting heavyweights in Kenneth Branagh’s neo-noir mystery Death On The Nile.

Next up, film fans will see her continue to show off her acting prowess alongside Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Greta Gerwig’s high-anticipated flick, Barbie, out later this year.

But before then, Mackey will be heading to the BAFTAs later this month with hopes of bagging the EE Rising Star Award, with the actress nominated alongside Naomi Ackie, Sheila Atim, Daryl McCormack and her Sex Education co-star Aimee Lou Wood.

And while humbled by her nod, the Eiffel star told The Standard she was so taken aback she forgot to inform her family and friends about it, leaving them to learn about her huge honour when the public did.

She shared: “I forgot to tell people. I didn’t really shout it from the rooftops.

“They found out when it was announced. I didn’t really tell anyone and put it to the back of my brain.

Mackey pictured at the EE BAFTA Vanity Fair Rising Star on Thursday
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

“But being recognised in any way is so, so special, and having [Sex Education co-star] Aimee [Lou Wood] there after everything we’ve been through, we’ve spent our twenties growing up together, that, to me, is what makes me even more excited about the nomination.”

Mackey’s excitement over her and Wood’s nomination comes as no surprise, much like their characters, Maeve Wiley and Aimee Gibbs, on the popular Netflix series, they are both best friends on and off the screen.

They are also no strangers to battling it out during awards season having previously both been nominated for the Best Female Comedy Performance at 2021’s TV BAFTAs, which Wood won.

Mackey shared her delight about them being recognised for their film work – and even more so, for having a friend by her side on the night.

“It’s just so wonderful,” she told us. “She’s one of my best friends and I love her dearly, so this is just a lovely thing to do together and I’m quite glad I’ve a companion for the evening.

“And in a selfish way, I’m glad that we’ll be together.”

Emma Mackey
The Emily actress spoke about sharing her nomination with her friend Aimee Lou Wood
Dave Benett

Admitting she finds it difficult to talk about her successes “without sounding a bit w**ky”, Mackey said she views her nomination as celebration of the hard work she, the nominees and those behind-the-scenes have put in.

“It’s a celebration of the work that we do,” she continued. “Including the crews that we work with, in the parts that we get to play, all of those hours, those early mornings, the traveling, the loneliness and all this stuff goes on behind closed doors.

“It’s an evening that is a celebration of everything that comes with our job.”

Voting for the EE Rising Star Award is now open at ee.co.uk/BAFTA and the winner will be announced at the EE BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday 19th February on BBC One.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in