Timothée Chalamet, Noah Centineo and Letitia Wright were some of the breakout stars from 2018. Hollywood is an industry that depends on fresh faces. These new talents usually require luck, timing, critical reception and box office success in order to make it in this cut-throat industry.
For 2019, we’ve decided to list out some of the up-and-coming actors who have been making waves. Many of these entertainers are already holding their own opposite A-listers. Their names might not ring a bell right now, but in a few months time, most of them (if not all) will probably reach new heights in the careers. Meet these new crop of talented stars:
1. Marwan Kenzari
- Age: 36
- Previous films: “Ben-Hur”, “The Mummy”, “Murder on the Orient Express”
- Awards: Won a Golden Calf for Best Actor in “Wolf” (2013)
- You’ll see him next in: “Aladdin“
- Our thoughts: Sorry Aladdin, but Disney fans are all about Hot Jafar at the moment.
2. Justice Smith
- Age: 23
- Previous films: “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”
- You’ll see him next in: “Detective Pikachu“, “All the Bright Places”
- Get excited because: Smith will be playing Tim Goodman, a boy who befriends Pikachu in the extremely cute-looking “Detective Pikachu” movie. Ryan Reynolds is portraying the titular character.
3. Henry Golding
- Age: 32
- Previous films: “Crazy Rich Asians”, “A Simple Favor”
- You’ll see him next in: “Last Christmas“, “Monsoon“
- Our thoughts: Being a Hollywood star was never in the cards for this Malaysian-born actor, but thanks to his role in the biggest rom-com, this humble chap is going places.
4. Anthony Ramos
- Age: 27
- Previous films: “A Star Is Born“
- You’ll see him next in: “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”
- Our thoughts: From Lady Gaga’s BFF, Ramos – who received acclaim for his dual roles in “Hamilton” – will be reuniting with Lin-Manuel Miranda for “In The Heights”.
5. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
- Age: 32
- Previous films: “Aquaman”
- You’ll see him next in: “Us”, “All Day and a Night”, “Watchmen”
- What he told The Hollywood Reporter: “I really like to start to put together a line of work that just really represents a guy on a Thursday with the problem. A simple guy with two feet on the ground with really complex problems and I think that’s something that I’m looking forward to within this next year or maybe this next little phase.”
6. Thomasin McKenzie
- Age: 18
- Previous films: “Leave No Trace”
- You’ll see her next in: “The King”, “Jojo Rabbit”, “True History of the Kelly Gang”, “Lost Girls”
- Our thoughts: This young Kiwi actress has been receiving a ton of nominations for her breakthrough role in “Leave No Trace”. This year is set to be another exciting year for this star.
7. Victoria Pedretti
- Age: 24
- Previous series: “The Haunting of Hill House”
- You’ll see her next in: “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
- Our thoughts: In Netflix’s “The Haunting of Hill House”, she plays Eleanor ‘Nell’ Vance, who has one of the most tragic story-lines. Her character stood out to us. Pedretti is due to star as real life convicted killer LuLu in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”.
8. Florence Pugh
- Age: 23
- Previous film: “Outlaw King”
- You’ll see her next in: “Fighting with My Family”, “Little Women”
- Our thoughts: After garnering praise for her vibrant portrayal in 2017’s “Lady Macbeth” and commanding presence in Netflix’s “Outlaw King”, the British actress is about to be in several more big films.
9. Naomi Ackie
- Age: 27
- Previous film: “Lady Macbeth”
- Awards: Won the British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer
- You’ll see her next in: “Star Wars: Episode IX”
- Our thoughts: The “Star Wars” franchise has proved to be a powerful launchpad for many newcomers like Daisy Ridley and John Boyega. “Star Wars: Episode IX” is expected to do the same for Ackie.
10. Rosa Salazar
- Age: 33
- Previous film: “Maze Runner: The Death Cure”, “Bird Box”
- You’ll see her next in: “Alita: Battle Angel”
- Our thoughts: Having just starred alongside Sandra Bullock in Netflix’s “Bird Box”, we’ll get to see Salazar in full-blown action mode in Robert Rodriguez’s high-octane spectacle “Alita: Battle Angel”.
It’s impossible to list everyone else down but here are some honourable mentions:
- Sonoya Mizuno
- Owen Teague
- Jay Ryan
- Mena Massoud
- Naomi Scott
- McKenna Grace
- Maya Hawke
- Charlie Plummer
Who else do you think should be included in the list? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
