The British Academy Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles is a discontinued British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) until 1984.

The category has had several name changes throughout its history, as detailed on the recipient's list below:

• 1952–1959: Most Promising Newcomer to Film
• 1960–1979: Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles
• 1980–1982: Most Outstanding Newcomer to Leading Film Roles
• 1983–1984: Most Outstanding Newcomer to Film

Note: The BAFTA site differs on what the category title is for the 1980s, with the actors own pages on the site using the titles given above, while other pages use Most Promising Newcomer to Film.^[1]

A similar award honoring new acting talent, the Rising Star Award, was introduced in 2006. Even though its nominees are selected by the BAFTA juries, the eventual Rising Star winner is decided by public votes via text, internet, or phone.

In the following lists, the titles and names in bold with a gold background are the winners and recipients respectively; those not in bold are the nominees. The years given are those in which the films under consideration were released, not the year of the ceremony, which always takes place the following year.