‘F1’ star Damson Idris, ‘Sinners’ standout Wunmi Mosaku and Simone Ashley, who will soon star in ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’, are among the talent to be recognized at the Newport Beach Film Festival’s British and Irish Honors event this month. Other talents that are attracting attention include Harry Melling, who co-starred in “Pillion,” Noah Jupe, who starred in “Hamnet,” and Jay Ricago, who broke out in “Steve.”
Now in its ninth year, the star-studded ceremony will be held once again at Raffles at London’s OWO on February 19th, and will be hosted by Edith Bowman and Nick Mohammed.
The Breakout Award recognizes exceptional performance in an impactful project over the past 12-18 months and is given to early career talent. This year’s breakout artists are BAFTA Rising Star nominee Archie Madekwe (Lurker), Melling, Ricurgo and Jupe.
Madekwe’s recognition follows his starring role as Oliver in Alex Russell’s debut feature Lurker, a fascinating exploration of fame, parasocial relationships and the dark edges of modern fan culture.
Melling is being honored for her work on Harry Righton’s Pillion, which was nominated for a BAFTA and won the British Independent Film Award. In this film, he plays Colin, a meek traffic warden and barber singer from the outskirts of London, who has a perverted queer romance with Ray (Alexander Skarsgård) as a sub/dom.
Rikurugo’s breakout role was as Shai in Netflix’s Steve opposite Cillian Murphy, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor award at BIFA in 2025. Jupe’s recognition comes after he received critical acclaim for his role as Hamlet in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet, and is about to make his professional stage debut opposite Stranger Things star Sadie Sink in Robert Icke’s West End production of Romeo & Juliet.
This year’s Spotlight category includes Oscar nominations for Idris, Ashley, Mosaku, BAFTA and ‘Sinners’. The award recognizes “talent at a key moment in their career following outstanding contributions to particularly high-profile projects.”
In addition to “F1,” Idris’ credits include FX’s “Snowfall,” and he will next appear in Paramount’s “Children of Blood and Bone,” directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Ashley’s recognition follows her starring roles in Netflix’s hit show Bridgerton and Prime Video’s Picture This, and ahead of her upcoming role in 20th Century Studios’ long-awaited sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Mosaku’s upcoming projects include Idris Elba’s “This Is How It Goes” for Apple TV+ and Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning,” a sequel to “The Social Network.”
“This latest batch of outstanding talent underscores the Newport Beach Film Festival’s commitment to celebrating and championing artists from across the industry,” said Gary Sherwin, president and CEO of Visit Newport Beach. “From historical fiction to horror and everything in between, breakout and spotlight artists represent a wide range of genres and backgrounds, demonstrating the rich diversity of the film industry on this side of the Atlantic.”
Further winners will be announced in the coming days, including a list of 10 British people to watch, chosen by Variety, the event’s trade publication partner.
