The 2011 BAFTA Rising Star Nominees have been announced.  According to THR, "the nominations recognize five international actors and actresses whose talent has captured the imagination of the British public."  The nominees are Emma Stone (Easy A), Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), Tom Hardy (Inception), Gemma Arterton (Tamara Drewe), and Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass).  It's hard to argue that any of these actors aren't rising stars, especially when two of them are starring in the Spider-Man reboot (Stone and Garfield) and one is costarring in The Dark Knight Rises (Hardy).  Previous winners include James McAvoy (2006), Eva Green (2007), Shia LaBeouf (2008), Noel Clarke (2009), and Kristen Stewart (2010).

Winners will be announced Sunday, February 13th.  Other 2011 BAFTA nominations will be announced January 18th.