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Vegan actor Mia McKenna-Bruce won the only BAFTA decided by public vote at the 2024 awards.
At a glitzy ceremony at Royal Festival Hall in London, McKenna-Bruce won the EE Rising Star Award for her representation of Tara in the movie How to Have Sex (2023).
The 26-year-old from Kent has been vegan for seven years.
McKenna-Bruce told Plant Based News (PBN): “I’m still in total shock, I don’t think there will ever be words to describe how grateful I am to BAFTA and everyone who voted.”
The award
How to Have Sex was directed by Molly Manning Walker. The film follows three teenage friends on a holiday in Malia, Crete, and it explores the topic of sexual consent.
Other nominees for the Rising Star Award were Ayo Edebiri, Sophie Wilde, Jacob Elordi, and Phoebe Dynevor.
At the star-studded ceremony, other BAFTA winners included Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, and Robert Downey Jr for their contributions to Oppenheimer.
McKenna-Bruce described her win as a “dream come true to be surrounded by so many people in the industry that I’ve looked up to for years.”
McKenna-Bruce’s veganism
McKenna-Bruce joins a long list of influential vegan actors.
Natalie Portman, Bella Ramsey, Sadie Sink, Evanna Lynch, Elliot Page, and Joaquin Phoenix are just a few examples of high-profile vegan actors. Last year, Phoenix wore a plant-based hat in film Napoleon.
“I’ve definitely seen it get easier on set being vegan,” McKenna-Bruce told PBN. “In the early days it would sometimes just be a lettuce sandwich for lunch, which isn’t ideal on a 12 hour day!
“Now it’s mostly pretty good, especially when filming in the UK.”
