The Spotlight Prize Winner 2020

Nimshi Kongolo, a graduate of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, has been named Best Screen Actor for this year's Spotlight Prize and will receive the £2000 award. Nimshi was one of 20 students nominated from the UK’s leading drama schools who competed for the Spotlight Prize 2020. Huge congratulations to Nimshi - we look forward to seeing him progress in his career.

“Absolute madness, I don’t really know what to say. This feels like a mad privilege. Big thank you to everyone at Spotlight for their votes of confidence. big love to all those down my end who’ve helped me get here!”

It was my delight to watch this tape from Nimshi. What an immensely talented and charismatic actor he is. I am very excited to follow his career which is sure to be super successful!

An impressive, captivating tape from a very exciting, natural talent! A standout in a very talented group of young actors.

Watch all the performances by the finalists here, and find out more about the performers here.

This year's nominees were directed by Paulette Randall, MBE, who has worked extensively in theatre, film and television. Associate to Danny Boyle on the Olympics 2012 Ceremony; Paulette has directed at the Royal Court, at many of England’s leading theatres, was formerly Artistic Director of Talawa and is renowned for her direction of August Wilson’s seminal cycle of 10 plays ‘The Ground on Which I Stand’ covering African-American history. 

I’m delighted we have been able to celebrate the Spotlight Prize in 2020, albeit in a very different way to our usual event! I’d like to congratulate all the finalists, who really have performed incredibly well under challenging conditions. Huge congratulations to Nimshi Kongolo, winner of the Spotlight Screen Prize 2020 – all of us at Spotlight look forward to watching you flourish in your career.

The 2020 Judging Panel included: Nina Gold (The Crown), Shaheen Baig (Peaky Blinders), Debbie McWilliams (No Time to Die), Daniel Edwards (Co-Cast Line of Duty), Laura Windows (Carnival Row), Louise Kiely (Normal People), Natalie Cheron (DNA), Rowland Beckley (Casualty), Rich Mento (Warm Bodies, Co-President Casting Society of America) and Rachelle Williams-Parker (Doctors).