# British Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Performance

The British Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Performance is an annual award given by the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA). The award was first presented in the 1998 ceremony, until 2020 the category was presented as Most Promising Newcomer.
Actress Laila Morse was the first recipient of this award for her performance as Janet in Nil by Mouth. The category with a wider meaning of "newcomer", including new actors but also directors, cinematographers, editors, etc., since 2001 the category is directed towards only actors.
According to BIFA, the category is for "British performers taking their first significant role in a theatrical feature film", it also states that "eligibility of performers with significant theatre or TV credits will be determined by the Nomination Committee". The category includes both leading and supporting performances.

## Winners and nominees
### 1990s
#### Most Promising Newcomer

| Year | Recipient | Film | Character |
| 1998 (1st) | Laila Morse | Nil by Mouth | Janet |
| 1998 (1st) | Enda Hughes (director) | Flying Saucer Rock'n'Roll | Flying Saucer Rock'n'Roll |
| 1998 (1st) | James Breese (director) | My Funny Valentine | My Funny Valentine |
| 1998 (1st) | Jim Pilkington (director) | Pocket | Pocket |
| 1998 (1st) | Simon Rumley (writer/director) | Strong Language | Strong Language |
| 1999 (2nd) | Lara Belmont | The War Zone | Jessie |
| 1999 (2nd) | Keri Arnold | The Darkest Light | Catherine |
| 1999 (2nd) | Simon Bowles (production designer) | Lighthouse | Lighthouse |
| 1999 (2nd) | Alwin H. Küchler (cinematographer) | Ratcatcher | Ratcatcher |

### 2000s
#### Best Newcomer (On Screen)

| Year | Performer | Film | Character |
| 2000 (3rd) | Jamie Bell | Billy Elliot | Billy Elliot |
| 2000 (3rd) | Neil Fitzmaurice | Going Off Big Time | Mark Clayton |
| 2000 (3rd) | Dina Korzun | Last Resort | Tanya |
| 2000 (3rd) | Chris Beattie | Purely Belter | Gerry McCarten |
| 2000 (3rd) | Greg McLane | Purely Belter | Sewell |
| 2000 (3rd) | Lewis McKenzie | There's Only One Jimmy Grimble | Jimmy Grimble |

#### Best Newcomer (Off Screen)

| Year | Recipient | Film |
| 2000 (3rd) | Justine Wright (film editor) | One Day in September |
| 2000 (3rd) | Damian Bromley (cinematographer) | Going Off Big Time |
| 2000 (3rd) | Alison Dominitz (production designer) | Hotel Splendide |
| 2000 (3rd) | Courtney Pine (composer) | It Was an Accident |
| 2000 (3rd) | Igor Jadue-Lillo (cinematographer) | The Low Down |

#### Most Promising Newcomer

| Year | Performer | Film | Character |
| 2001 (4th) | Ben Whishaw | My Brother Tom | Tom |
| 2001 (4th) | Natalia Verbeke | Jump Tomorrow | Alicia |
| 2001 (4th) | Ingrid de Souza | Princesa | Fernanda |
| 2001 (4th) | Mark Letheren | South West 9 | Mitch |
| 2002 (5th) | Martin Compston | Sweet Sixteen | Liam |
| 2002 (5th) | Parminder Nagra | Bend It Like Beckham | Jesminder "Jess" Kaur Bhamra |
| 2002 (5th) | William Ruane | Sweet Sixteen | Pinball |
| 2002 (5th) | Kathleen McDermott | Morvern Callar | Lanna |
| 2003 (6th) | Harry Eden | Pure | Paul |
| 2003 (6th) | Chiwetel Ejiofor | Dirty Pretty Things | Okwe/Olatokumbo Fadipe |
| 2003 (6th) | Romola Garai | I Capture the Castle | Cassandra Mortmain |
| 2003 (6th) | Jamie Sives | Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself | Wilbur |
| 2004 (7th) | Ashley Walters | Bullet Boy | Ricky |
| 2004 (7th) | Atta Yaqub | Ae Fond Kiss... | Casim Khan |
| 2004 (7th) | Toby Kebbell | Dead Man's Shoes | Anthony |
| 2004 (7th) | Emily Blunt | My Summer of Love | Tamsin |
| 2004 (7th) | Nick Frost | Shaun of the Dead | Ed |
| 2005 (8th) | Emily Barclay | In My Father's Den | Celia |
| 2005 (8th) | Rupert Friend | The Libertine | Billy Downs |
| 2005 (8th) | Samina Awan | Love + Hate | Naseema |
| 2005 (8th) | Alexander Nathan Etel | Millions | Damian Cunningham |
| 2005 (8th) | Thelma Barlow | Mrs Henderson Presents | Lady Margot Conway |
| 2006 (9th) | Thomas Turgoose | This Is England | Shaun Fields |
| 2006 (9th) | Rafi Gavron | Breaking and Entering | Mirsad "Miro" Simić |
| 2006 (9th) | Harry Treadaway, Luke Treadaway | Brothers of the Head | Tom Howe, Barry Howe |
| 2006 (9th) | Dominic Cooper | The History Boys | Stuart Dakin |
| 2006 (9th) | Samuel Barnett | The History Boys | David Posner |
| 2006 (9th) | Jodie Whittaker | Venus | Jessie |
| 2007 (10th) | Sam Riley | Control | Ian Curtis |
| 2007 (10th) | Imogen Poots | 28 Weeks Later | Tammy |
| 2007 (10th) | Matthew Beard | And When Did You Last See Your Father? | Blake |
| 2007 (10th) | Bradley Cole | Exhibit A | Andy King |
| 2007 (10th) | Kierston Wareing | It's a Free World... | Angela |
| 2008 (11th) | Dev Patel | Slumdog Millionaire | Jamal Malik |
| 2008 (11th) | Asa Butterfield | The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas | Bruno |
| 2008 (11th) | Ayush Mahesh Khedekar | Slumdog Millionaire | Jamal (toddler) |
| 2008 (11th) | Bill Milner | Son of Rambow | Will Proudfoot |
| 2008 (11th) | Will Poulter | Son of Rambow | Lee Carter |
| 2009 (12th) | Katie Jarvis | Fish Tank | Mia Williams |
| 2009 (12th) | George MacKay | The Boys Are Back | Harry |
| 2009 (12th) | Hilda Péter | Katalin Varga | Katalin Varga |
| 2009 (12th) | Christian McKay | Me and Orson Welles | Orson Welles |
| 2009 (12th) | Edward Hogg | White Lightnin' | Jesco White |

### 2010s

| Year | Performer | Film | Character |
| 2010 (13th) | Joanne Froggatt | In Our Name | Private Suzy Jackson |
| 2010 (13th) | Manjinder Virk | The Arbor | Lorraine Dunbar |
| 2010 (13th) | Andrea Riseborough | Brighton Rock | Rose |
| 2010 (13th) | Tom Hughes | Cemetery Junction | Bruce Pearson |
| 2010 (13th) | Conor McCarron | Neds | John McGill |
| 2011 (14th) | Tom Cullen | Weekend | Russell |
| 2011 (14th) | Jessica Brown Findlay | Albatross | Emelia |
| 2011 (14th) | John Boyega | Attack the Block | Moses |
| 2011 (14th) | Craig Roberts | Submarine | Oliver Tate |
| 2011 (14th) | Yasmin Paige | Submarine | Jordana Bevan |
| 2012 (15th) | James Floyd | My Brother the Devil | Rashid |
| 2012 (15th) | Paul Brannigan | The Angels' Share | Robbie |
| 2012 (15th) | Eloise Laurence | Broken | Skunk |
| 2012 (15th) | Zawe Ashton | Dreams of a Life | Joyce Carol Vincent |
| 2012 (15th) | Elliot Tittensor | Spike Island | Tits |
| 2013 (16th) | Chloe Pirrie | Shell | Shell |
| 2013 (16th) | Harley Bird | How I Live Now | Piper |
| 2013 (16th) | Caity Lotz | The Machine | Ava/The Machine |
| 2013 (16th) | Jake Macapagal | Metro Manila | Oscar Ramirez |
| 2013 (16th) | Conner Chapman, Shaun Thomas | The Selfish Giant | Arbor, Swifty |
| 2014 (17th) | Sameena Jabeen Ahmed | Catch Me Daddy | Leila |
| 2014 (17th) | Gugu Mbatha-Raw | Belle | Dido Elizabeth Belle |
| 2014 (17th) | Cara Delevingne | The Face of an Angel | Melanie |
| 2014 (17th) | Lliam Walpole | The Goob | "Goob" Taylor |
| 2014 (17th) | Ben Schnetzer | Pride | Mark Ashton |
| 2015 (18th) | Abigail Hardingham | Nina Forever | Holly |
| 2015 (18th) | Milo Parker | Mr Holmes | Roger Munro |
| 2015 (18th) | Bel Powley | A Royal Night Out | Princess Margaret |
| 2015 (18th) | Agyness Deyn | Sunset Song | Chris Guthrie |
| 2015 (18th) | Mia Goth | The Survivalist | Milja |
| 2016 (19th) | Hayley Squires | I, Daniel Blake | Katie Morgan |
| 2016 (19th) | Sennia Nanua | The Girl with All the Gifts | Melanie |
| 2016 (19th) | Dave Johns | I, Daniel Blake | Daniel Blake |
| 2016 (19th) | Steve Brandon | My Feral Heart | Luke |
| 2016 (19th) | Letitia Wright | Urban Hymn | Jamie Harrison |
| 2017 (20th) | Naomi Ackie | Lady Macbeth | Anna |
| 2017 (20th) | Harry Michell | Chubby Funny | Oscar |
| 2017 (20th) | Harry Gilby | Just Charlie | Charlie Lyndsay |
| 2017 (20th) | Cosmo Jarvis | Lady Macbeth | Sebastian |
| 2017 (20th) | Lily Newmark | Pin Cushion | Iona |
| 2018 (21st) | Jessie Buckley | Beast | Moll |
| 2018 (21st) | Molly Wright | Apostasy | Alex |
| 2018 (21st) | Michaela Coel | Been So Long | Simone |
| 2018 (21st) | Liv Hill | Jellyfish | Sarah Taylor |
| 2018 (21st) | Marcus Rutherford | Obey | Leon |
| 2019 (22nd) | Samuel Adewunmi | The Last Tree | Femi |
| 2019 (22nd) | Lorn Macdonald | Beats | Spanner |
| 2019 (22nd) | Vicky Knight | Dirty God | Jade Nugent |
| 2019 (22nd) | Roxanne Scrimshaw | Lynn + Lucy | Lynn |
| 2019 (22nd) | Honor Swinton Byrne | The Souvenir | Julie |

### 2020s

| Year | Performer | Film | Character |
| 2020 (23rd) | Kosar Ali | Rocks | Sumaya |
| 2020 (23rd) | Niamh Algar | Calm with Horses | Ursula |
| 2020 (23rd) | Conrad Khan | County Lines | Taylor |
| 2020 (23rd) | Frankie Box | Perfect 10 | Leigh |
| 2020 (23rd) | Bukky Bakray | Rocks | Olushola "Rocks" Omotoso |
| 2021 (24th) | Nell Barlow | Sweetheart | AJ |
| 2021 (24th) | Lauryn Ajufo | Boiling Point | Andrea |
| 2021 (24th) | Max Harwood | Everybody's Talking About Jamie | Jamie New / Mimi Me |
| 2021 (24th) | Jude Hill | Belfast | Buddy |
| 2021 (24th) | Ellora Torchia | IN THE EⱯRTH | Alma |
| 2022 (25th) | Safia Oakley-Green | Out of Darkness | Beyah |
| 2022 (25th) | Frankie Corio | Aftersun | Sophie |
| 2022 (25th) | Leo Long | I Used to Be Famous | Stevie |
| 2022 (25th) | Kíla Lord Cassidy | The Wonder | Anna O'Donnell |
| 2022 (25th) | Rosy McEwen | Blue Jean | Jean |
| 2023 (25th) | Vivian Oparah | Rye Lane | Yas |
| 2023 (25th) | Le'Shantey Bonsu | Girl | Ama |
| 2023 (25th) | Lola Campbell | Scrapper | Georgie |
| 2023 (25th) | Priya Kansara | Polite Society | Ria Khan |
| 2023 (25th) | Mia McKenna-Bruce | How to Have Sex | Tara |
| 2024 (27th) | Nykiya Adams | Bird | Bailey |
| 2024 (27th) | Susan Chardy | On Becoming a Guinea Fowl | Shula |
| 2024 (27th) | Saura Lightfoot-Leon | Hoard | Maria |
| 2024 (27th) | Ruaridh Mollica | Sebastian | Max Williamson |
| 2024 (27th) | Jason Patel | Unicorns | Aysha |