The Screen Nation Awards are back for another year to celebrate the cream of the crop of black British and global talent. We'll be profiling all of the nominees – first up are the talented thespians up for the Emerging Talent award.
Anthony Welsh – various
Anthony is well known for his work in theatre as well as the hit film Starred Up, My Brother the Devil, U.S. historical movie Red Tails and BBC One's The Secrets.
Fisayo Akinade – various
Fisayo is best known for his roles in Fresh Meat, Ordinary Lies, Banana and Cucumber.
Melanie Liburd – How Sarah Got her Wings, The Grinder, Runaway Island
Melanie was born in Hertfordshire, England. Before training as an actress at The Identity Drama School, she was a fashion/beauty model and traveled all over the world. She has appeared in numerous TV series such as Dracula, Stalker and C.S.I. and was recently added to the cast of Game of Thrones.
Michaela Coel – Chewing Gum
Michaela has appeared in the Channel 4 drama Top Boy and played leading roles at the National Theatre, including the award-nominated Home and the critically acclaimed Medea at the Olivier Theatre. Her first play, Chewing Gum Dreams, was first seen at The Yard Theatre in 2012. It shortly after won the Alfred Fagon Award for Best Playwright of African or Caribbean Descent. The play then went on to be produced by the Bush Theatre, Royal Theatre Holland, Royal Exchange Theatre and the National Theatre. Michaela then wrote and starred in E4 sitcom Chewing Gum, inspired by her play. She also appeared in BBC One drama London Spy and will play a lead role in upcoming E4 drama The Aliens.
Osy Ikhile – Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, various
Osy is an actor and director known for In the Heart of the Sea, Jet Trash, U.S. blockbuster Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Clap!.
Weruche Opia – Bad Education, When Love Happens
Weruche made her professional acting debut in 2010 when she appeared on the hit UK police drama The Bill and then went on to claim roles in a number of theatre productions at The Shakespeare Globe, National Theatre Studios (UK) and Ice and Fire theatre. In September 2010, she returned to Nigeria and joined Renegade Theatre Company, lead by writer/director Wole Oguntokun, and appeared in The Inheritors and The Waiting Room. Weruche returned to the UK in 2012 and landed a role on the second series of Channel 4 drama Top Boy Channel 5's Suspects. More recently she has starred as 'Cleopatra' in BBCThree comedy Bad Eduction and played the lead in Nigerian RomCom When Love Happens.
The awards take place on Saturday 19th March at London's Hilton Metropole Hotel. To see the full list of nominees click here and to buy tickets to attend, follow this link.
