SIENNA MILLER - BAFTA RISING STARS ANNOUNCED

BAFTA RISING STARS ANNOUNCED

British actors Sienna Miller and Sam Riley have been earmarked as future stars ahead of the British Academy Film and Television awards (Baftas).

Stardust actress Miller and Control star Riley have been nominated for the Orange Rising Star award, set to be announced at the official ceremony on February 10th.

Alongside Miller and Riley are Shia LaBeouf, tipped for action stardom after his role in Transformers; Ellen Page, who has received a Golden Globe nomination for her part as a pregnant teen in Juno; and Wei Tang, recognised for her spirited turn in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution.

LaBeouf voiced Cody Maverick in the animated hit Surf's Up and is currently in production on the fourth Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, while ex-factory worker Riley was awarded the best actor prize at the Edinburgh international film festival for his portrayal of late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in Anton Corbijn's acclaimed Control.

Miller's superb performance as socialite Edie Sedgwick in Factory Girl is to be followed with parts in the The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Hippie Hippie Shake, while Wei Tang makes her astonishing feature film debut in Lust, Caution, having carved out a stellar reputation on Chinese television.

And 20-year-old Nova Scotia native Page is to follow her critically lauded performance in Juno with parts in Light-House and Jack and Diane.

The category was established in honour of the late casting director Mary Selway, who died in 2004, with Atonement star James McAvoy taking the inaugural award.

This year's nominees were announced at the academy's headquarters by last year's recipient, Casino Royale actress Eva Green, who said: "This year's five nominees are all actors who have really stood out in their work and I'm sure we'll see a lot more of them throughout 2008."

Duncan Kenworthy, deputy chairman of the Academy, added: "The Orange Rising Star award is the perfect award to be voted for by the public, as it's the British audience who create film stars by going to see their movies.

"This significant award shines a very bright spotlight on the young actors and actresses who are on the cusp of movie stardom and helps in the important task of bringing on the talented next generation of acting talent."