Gemma Arterton up for Bafta Rising Star award

Clockwise from top left: Gemma Arterton, Andrew Garfield, Tom Hardy, Emma Stone, Bafta mask, Aaron Johnson

Former Bond girl Gemma Arterton has said she is "thrilled" to be up for this year's Bafta Rising Star award.

Inception star Tom Hardy, new Spider-Man actor Andrew Garfield, US actress Emma Stone and Kick-Ass star Aaron Johnson are also in the running.

"I'm in very good company with the other actors who have been nominated," said Arterton, 24, who appeared in 2008 Bond film Quantum of Solace.

The winner will be announced at the Bafta awards on 13 February.

Arteton starred opposite Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench in Quantum of Solace, the most recent entry in the 007 film series.

The Gravesend-born actress also appeared in Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Stephen Frears' Tamara Drewe.

Film critic and Bafta member Mark Kermode said that Arterton's inclusion summed up what the Rising Star award was about.

"It's not a beginner's list, it's about people on the cusp of stardom," he told the BBC.

He said that despite starring in big budget movies like Clash of the Titans, Arterton "came into her own" in the low-budget kidnap thriller The Disappearance of Alice Creed.

"On the strength of that you could show that to any casting director and say that's the range that she can do," Kermode said.

Garfield, 27, was recently nominated for a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor for his role in The Social Network, about the Facebook website.

He recently landed the lead role of Peter Parker in the next Spider-Man movie, due for release in 2012.

Stone will also appear in Spider-Man, playing the part of Gwen Stacy. The 22-year-old's other films include Easy A, Superbad and Zombieland.

Kermode said: "Being in a Spider-Man movie will irrevocably change anyone's life. It's a big project. Peter Parker is one of the great roles. I thank that what's nice is that this nomination has happened now - in advance of that."

Hardy made his name in Spielberg's TV series Band of Brothers and drew plaudits for his lead role in Bronson, in which he played infamous British criminal Charles Bronson.

The 33-year-old has been linked to roles in the latest Mad Max and Batman films and will be seen later this year in a new version of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Johnson, 20, played the young John Lennon in Nowhere Boy and was seen last year in comic book movie Kick-Ass.

He and Nowhere Boy's director, the artist Sam Taylor-Wood, had a baby daughter last summer.

Previous recipients of the Rising Star award, sponsored by telecommunications giant Orange, include Shia LaBeouf and Kristen Stewart.

Musician and actor Ben Drew, better known as rapper Plan B, is among this year's judges.

Drew said of the nominees: "They've proved they can act - it's about who can take it to the next level. We're looking for a name that can carry a film, like the DiCaprios of this world."