Florence Pugh. Ana de Armas. Noah Jupe. Kaitlyn Dever. These are just some of the few rising stars who had a success-filled 2019, following up their fame the year after. While some of these performers found their big break in critically-acclaimed films, some of them have carried on their work in reputed television series too.
For instance, Dever earned a Golden Globe nomination for Netflix's Unbelievable while balancing her newfound popularity from Booksmart. Similarly, Jonathan Majors (of The Last Black Man In San Francisco fame) played the lead in last year's Lovecraft Country. All in all, these new-age actors offer a lot of promise in their future filmography.
10 Ana De Armas
Even though Ana de Armas has become a Hollywood mainstay, she has been a popular face in Cuban film and TV since the late 2000s. After moving to LA, de Armas picked up English-speaking parts in films like War Dogs and Hands of Stone. Her appearance as Joi in Blade Runner 2049 brought her further recognition.
However, it was in 2019 when her performance in Knives Out as nurse Marta Cabera established her screen presence as a lead actress, along with earning her a Golden Globe nomination. Currently, she has several big-budget projects lined up including the next James Bond film No Time To Die, and a Marilyn Monroe biopic titled Blonde.
9 Noah Jupe
British actor Noah Jupe had a few supporting roles in his credit, including hits like Wonder and A Quiet Place. In 2019, Honey Boy offered him a major opportunity to unleash his dramatic potential in his portrayal of a troubled child actor. He received nominations at the Independent Spirit and Critics Choice awards.
In the same year, he also appeared in the sports biopic Ford vs Ferrari in which he played Ken Miles' (Christian Bale) son. Establishing himself as one of the most popular stars of his age, Jupe was last seen in A Quiet Place Part II reprising his role from the horror blockbuster's predecessor.
8 Paul Walter Hauser
Paul Walter Hauser can be recognizable from small parts in I, Tonya, and Blackkklansman, along with providing comic relief Stingray in Netflix's Cobra Kai. However, it was his collaboration with Clint Eastwood that provided him with a much-needed spotlight on his acting prowess. Playing the titular lead in Richard Jewell, Hauser brought a childlike innocence in playing a security guard falsely accused of a terrorist bombing.
Since then, he has gone on to appear in supporting roles in Da 5 Bloods, and more recently, in Cruella in which he played Horace Badun, a thief and one of Cruella de Vil's childhood friends.
7 Jonathan Majors
Jonathan Majors earned a wide array of accolades for his performance in the social drama The Last Black Man in San Francisco. His career only furthered with a lead role in Lovecraft Country. A horror set in the 1950s, the HBO series dealt with a journey into segregated United States as Atticus Freeman (Majors) searches for his missing father. In his travels, he not only encounters supernatural terror but also real-life threats like white supremacists.
Majors' other screen credits include the revisionist Western Hostiles and Spike Lee's war drama Da 5 Bloods. His tryst with the Western genre continues with the upcoming The Harder They Fall in which he will play the legendary cowboy Nat Love. Another highly-anticipated role is that of Kang, The Conquerer in the next Ant-Man film.
6 Kaitlyn Dever
Kaitlyn Dever has been acting since 2011 with small parts in Bad Teacher, and Short Term 12. 2019 offered an opportunity to explore her range further with two completely opposite characters in Unbelievable and Booksmart. In the former miniseries, she played a woman dealing with the trauma of sexual abuse. In Booksmart, she co-starred with Beanie Feldstein as a studious high-schooler who wishes to go on a rule-breaking spree on her last day of school.
Having provided the voice and motion capture for Cassie Drake in Uncharted 4, Dever would also voice a character in the upcoming video game Open Roads. Her next film appearance is to be in the musical teen drama, Dear Evan Hansen.
5 Julia Butters
Juli Butters had a few film and TV roles to her credit but it was her role in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood that brought her widespread attention. Butters shared brief yet impactful scenes with Leonardo DiCaprio playing the child actress Trudi Fraser. While DiCaprio's Rick Dalton is a washed-out star struggling with his lines, his Lancer co-star Trudi gives him an unexpected pep talk to motivate him.
While Butters had a main role in the sitcom American Housewife, she left after the fourth season to pursue her newfound cinematic success. Since then, she has been filming for The Gray Man, an action thriller by the Russos that's slated for a 2022 release.
4 Da'vine Joy Randolph
Da'Vine Joy Randolph has a decorated background in theatre, earning a Tony nomination for Ghost: The Musical back in 2012. When it comes to her filmography, Randolph found her big break in the Eddie Murphy-starrer Dolemite is My Name. Inspired by the life of comedian and film producer Rudy Ray Moore, the biopic found her playing the part of the actress Lady Reed aka Queen Bee.
Since then, she has appeared in Kajillionaire, and Trolls World Tour, along with a recurring role in Hulu's High Fidelity. Her upcoming projects include The Guilty, a thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua.
3 Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. is best known for his starring role in the 2019 drama Waves. The film mainly deals with the emotional struggles that a high-school wrestler has to go through after a life-altering injury. This drastic change ends up testing his relationship with his family, especially his controlling father (Sterling K. Brown).
Harrison succeeded in capturing the melancholic tones of the film making Waves an intense coming-of-story. An underrated gem in comparison was Luce in which Harrison shared screen space with seasoned veterans like Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts, and Tim Roth. 2020 saw him in another ensemble-driven film as he portrayed Fred Hampton in The Trial of the Chicago 7. He's also expected to play BB King in Elvis.
2 Taylor Russell
Taylor Russell starred as Kevin Harrison Jr.'s on-screen sister in the aforementioned Waves. Along with her co-stars, her performance too was well-received by critics and audiences alike. Another popular film of hers would be the psychological horror Escape Room. Even though it generated mixed reviews, the film was a sleeper hit and has spawned an upcoming sequel that would yet again feature Russell in the lead.
In television, she's known for playing Judy Robinson in the ongoing Netflix revival of Lost In Space. The show's third and final season is expected to release this year.
1 Florence Pugh
Florence Pugh stunned audiences with her haunting act as Dani Ardor in Midsommar. Playing an emotionally unstable character in the backdrop of a pagan cult-like festival, her character is one of the most identifiable in modern horror. Along with Midsommar, 2019 proved to be a good year for Pugh with her Oscar-nominated turn as Amy, one of the March sisters, in Greta Gerwig's adaptation of Little Women.
Another notable hit from that year was Fighting With My Family, a dramatized account of WWE wrestler Paige's life. Having started out with independent films like Lady Macbeth, Pugh is having her taste with blockbuster cinema too with a supporting role in the highly-anticipated Black Widow.
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June 17, 2021 at 12:00AM
