RISING STAR
BAFTA FILM SPECIAL 12 FILMS TO WATCH NOW
At just 26, Mia McKenna- Bruce is already a bit of an industry veteran. Born and raised in London, she was ten years old when she joined the cast of Billy Elliot the Musical, which was quickly followed by TV appearances in Holby City, EastEnders, The Bill and CBBC’s Tracy Beaker Returns. She has since appeared in Netflix’s The Witcher, ITV’s Vera and the film Persuasion, but it’s new indie movie How to Have Sex that has landed her on Bafta’s Rising Star shortlist — 16 years after her career actually started…
How does it feel to be nominated for a Rising Star Bafta?
I can’t get my head around it. Every time someone says it, I’m just like: “What on earth?” It’s the dream.
If you win, what will you do with your award?
I saw an interview with Kate Winslet where she said she put her Oscar in the toilet so that people can do their Oscar acceptance speech in private. Maybe I’ll follow in her footsteps.
Who would you love to meet at the awards?
Kate Winslet. Can you tell that I’m obsessed? She seems so real and grounded. My aim as an actor is to be as honest and real as possible, so I look up to her. Also, watching Titanic made me realise that acting was something that I wanted to do.
You started as a child actor on TV — what was it like making the transition to adult actor?
It was hard. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I was having panic attacks before and after auditions. I’d had such a good run of it as a child and I didn’t want it to end. I had to step away for a bit. I left my agent and went to Australia with my best friend and got a job in a call centre. After six m
