Kaluuya wins BAFTA rising star award

PIC: Kaluya kissing the award he won

ENTERTAINMENT | THE OSCARS

British actor of Ugandan origin Daniel Kaluuya has won the BAFTA rising star award for his stellar performance in critically acclaimed horror film Get Out.

The 28-year-old actor beat out stiff competition from Florence Pugh, Josh O'Connor, Timothée Chalamet and Tessa Thompson in the EE-sponsored category, which was voted for by the public.  

Kaluuya was presented with the award by 2015 rising star nominee Margot Robbie, who is nominated in this year's Best Actress category for I, Tonya and Octavia Spencer, who received a nod in the Best Supporting Actress group for The Shape of Water.

The emotional star praised his fellow rising star nominees in his poignant speech as well as thanking his acting mentors and his family for letting him 'think different.' 

Kaluuya is the first Ugandan to have been norminated for the Oscars

He said: "I've gone blank. Thank you, Tessa, Tim, Josh and Florence. I feel so privileged to be in your guys' company. I am a product of arts funding in the UK. I want to thank people who support that, mainstream arts and grass roots levels."

"Thank you for letting me think different. I wasn't supposed to say that. We break all the rules," an emotional Kaluuya added.

According to a UK-based newspaper, the Daily Mail, Kaluuya, the first Ugandan to be nominated for an Oscar, paid tribute his mother.

"Mum - you're the reason why I started, why I'm here, you're the reason I keep going. This is yours. Love peace let's get it.

Kaluuya also picked up Oscar, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for his role as Chris Washington in the 2017 horror film.

He won the Best Actor award at the MTV Movie Awards and the NAACP Image Awards.

Kaluuya is known for his roles in hit TV shows, Skins, Psychoville and Black Mirror and has also starred in films, including crime thriller Sicario, Johnny English Reborn and Kick Ass 2.

Kaluuya has always been interested in uncovering the truth. He wrote his first play at nine. His big breakthrough was joining gritty British teen drama Skins as a staff writer at 18, drawing on his own experience growing up in London.