CAREY MULLIGAN

Having graced several high-quality television productions such as Bleak House and My Boy Jack, Carey Mulligan is about to hit the big time with the lead in Lone Scherfig's An Education. Set in the 1960s, the film is a coming-of-age drama in which she plays a 17-year-old who abandons her suburban life for the heady whirl of London's artistic set. Her co-stars include Rosamund Pike, Peter Sarsgaard and Emma Thompson. She has also completed supporting roles in Michael Mann's Public Enemies and Jim Sheridan's Brothers. 'She's a completely natural talent, charming, fragile but strong,' says Lucy Bevan, who cast her in An Education after seeing 'masses of girls'. Now Mulligan is following the advice given her by Pike: 'Go for the best material, wherever it is.'