Meet BAFTA’s EE Rising Star Nominee Sheila Atim

The Woman King star is up for the prestigious award

Sheila Atim - EE Rising Star Nominee

by Charlotte Roberts |
Updated on

The nominees for this year's EE Rising Star Award has been announced and one of 2023's cohort is the ever-so-talented Sheila Atim.

Spanning across music, theatre and film, the 32-year-old has made her mark in the acting world, starring in Disney's live action Pinocchio, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, 2022's The Woman King.

In 2022, the star bagged herself a second Olivier award - winning Best Lead Actress at the prestigious awards ceremony for her performance in the play Constellations.

And just this month the actor's latest project, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, made its dazzling debut at Sundance - with its praise no doubt being a sure fire sign of good things to come when it hits the big screen.

It's no doubt that Sheila is more than a rising star, she already is one.

But for all the flashy lights and glam events, Sheila keeps it 'simple', sharing with Grazia how she remains grounded on earth rather than 'off in space.'

How does it feel to be nominated for the EE Rising Star Award - and what would it mean to win?

It feels great to be nominated alongside such wonderful artists. I really admire them and all of their work, so it’s nice to just be a part of that.

It would be lovely to win, but honestly, the nomination is enough. It’s already something to celebrate. And having met the other nominees, I’ve just had a really nice time with them all already, so I’m happy if anyone wins.

You starred in The Woman King alongside Lashana Lynch and John Boyega, who are both previous winners of the award. Does that add another level of how special it is to be nominated?

It really does, because it feels like a real affirmation of what I’m doing. Specifically in the case of Lashana - if I do win, then she’ll be the one passing me the award, and so that would be a really special moment because we worked together so closely on the film. Yeah, it’s always really nice when you are following in the footsteps of your peers. It’s a special thing.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given when it comes to acting?

It’s not so much advice, but I think something that always comes back into my head is that acting isn’t pretend, it's just a version of the truth. Which is useful because it reminds me what I’m doing. It reminds me to stay grounded and not blast off into space with fancy ideas of what it means to be an actor. You’ve just got to keep it simple or at least I like to keep it simple and make sure I’m trying to reflect a version of the truth.

Was there a specific moment when you knew you wanted to be an actor?

Not really, that came later. It kind of happened by accident when I was finishing university, because I had been a part of some workshops for a play during my studies. Then when I finished my studies, a few weeks later that play got put on at Shakespeare’s Globe. Even then, I wasn’t thinking I was going to be an actor. I was just doing the play, and thought ‘this is what I’m doing after my studies.'

So that part of knowing only came after I got an agent, to be honest. But I did A Level drama, and I always did all the shows at school... Acting has always been a huge part of my life - but the actual moment where it became a career choice came a lot later.

You mentioned university - you studied Biomedical Science, didn't you? So acting was always something you loved, but never something you thought of as a path?

Yeah, pretty much. I thought I was going to be a doctor, and then I thought I was going to be a singer, and then I ended up being an actor who sings! And so yeah, it was always just an interest. But when I look back I realise how much time, effort and passion I put towards it, even when I was at school, and how dedicated I was. Now it makes complete sense that I’m doing what I’m doing, but at the time, I couldn’t see it.

Who would you say has been your biggest inspiration over the years?

You know, I’d say my cousins actually. My older cousins are two staunchly independent women, and from an early age they were carving out paths for themselves that were unorthodox. And so I definitely took a lot of that on as the younger cousin for a while. I think to have people doing that who were also the same generation as me was very, very informative. I owe a lot to them.

Is there a dream character that you’d love to play in the future?

Not really, but I would love to incorporate more music into my acting work going forward! You know, I am still a musician as well as an actor. I had a lot of opportunities when I was doing theatre to incorporate music. So yeah, I’m hoping to do more of that going forward.

Look - it depends on what’s being made really, doesn’t it? [Laughs] But also, I would love the opportunity to either do something that has music in it or portray a musician. The different ways that music can be incorporated, I’d love to explore that.

You’ve worked on some incredible projects - has there ever been anyone you met who left you starstruck?

Probably Tom Hanks in Pinnochio. Not because he’s a real starry guy - he’s a nice guy, a really nice guy.  But I think Tom Hanks is such an iconic figure in the world of cinema. Definitely for me, he was there throughout my childhood and onwards.

And I think with somebody like Viola Davis for example, I ended up working with her more extensively so there was an opportunity to build more of a friendship. I wouldn’t say I’m friends with Tom Hanks. [Laughs]. There wasn’t enough time, so there’s still that kind of distance that keeps him in my head as Tom Hanks. Yeah, that was cool. It just reminded me of so many different pivotal and crucial childhood memories.

Sheila in The Woman King
<br>Sheila (right) in The Woman King ©Sony

Actors experience a lot of rejection - what advice would you give to someone on how to keep going?

I would say keep busy and make sure you have other interests that are outside of acting. Whether they're still related to the entertainment industry or not - ideally both.

It's tough. You can be as good as you can be, but there are lots of things that are out of your control. So make sure you have things in your life that you can have some autonomy over as you try and build your career and your agency alongside.

If you weren't an actor, what else would you want to be?

I think being a doctor was what I thought I wanted to do at the time. I think now, it would have to be something artistic. I think I might have tried to go into hair and makeup, or something... Or even if it was still science related, it would have had to have been some kind of career that collaborated with the creative arts. Not necessarily a doctor, but maybe a drama therapist or a music therapist. There would have had to be some kind of connection, definitely.

What's a film or TV show that you'll never get bored of watching?

The Thick Of It. I could watch that at any point in the day, week, year, circle of life - and I could watch any episode.

Especially now - it’s just become ridiculously poignant now, it’s almost awkward. Even before this mad political state that we’re in, it just struck such a chord with me. I think the humour is spot on, and they’re only 25 minutes long so they’re these bitesize chunks. And there is an overall story arc, but because of the crazy nature of politics - which we’ve seen ourselves - things are chopping and changing so much that you can drop in anywhere. I’m a huge fan of [Director] Armando Iannucci’s work.

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.

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