Her big breakthrough came when, at 24, she was cast in her first leading role as Jenny in the 2009 independent film "An Education", directed by Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig and written by Nick Hornby. Over a hundred actresses auditioned for the part, but Mulligan's audition impressed Scherfig the most. The film and her performance received rave reviews, and she was nominated for an Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, Critics Choice and won a BAFTA Award. Lisa Schwarzbaum of "Entertainment Weekly" and Todd McCarthy of "Variety" both compared her performance to that of Audrey Hepburn. "Rolling Stone"'s Peter Travers described her as having given a "sensational, starmaking performance," Mulligan was the recipient of the BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination, which is voted on by the British public.