Best Young Actors in Hollywood

original-written date: 7/8/2024

One of my favorite podcasts for the past couple years has been The Big Picture on The Ringer Podcast Network, where hosts Sean and Amanda discuss newly released movies, do movie drafts from past years, interview directors and movie stars, and much more. One of my favorite episodes every year is their annual, "35 Under 35" ep - where they rank the Top 35 actors and actresses in Hollywood under the age of 35.  For my purposes, I'm shortening this ranking to a Top 10 (with 5 honorable mentions cuz I'm indecisive) and I'm including Actors who are currently 35 for consideration. I'm looking at the full body of work of these actors, not just their feature film resumes, but also TV work since that's where a lot of my viewing time is spent. I'm also taking into account their potential as stars, and considering the trajectory they're currently on. Whether that be announced upcoming projects or just a rise in popularity, the names on the list are people who I think will be as popular as any actors 5, 10, 15 years down the line. So with that - let's dive in!

Honorable Mentions:

• Jeremy Allen White -- JAW (not sure if this is a nickname but I'm rolling with it) is on a generational run as the star of one of the most popular shows on television right now: The Bear.  When he isn't scooping up Best Actor Emmys, he's turning in strong performances in The Iron Claw and Fingernails (not a great film but thought he did well). He also was in another 2023 film called Fremont - which I haven't seen but is a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes.

• Mia Goth -- This is more of a respect honorable mention because I've only seen one of her movies (X) but seeing a trailer for her next film MaXXXine has me extremely excited to see her again. I need to get around to Pearl first but I think she's such a visceral, emotional actress who's equally capable of surprising you, making you feel bad or endeared toward her, then terrified of her all over again.

• Tom Holland -- I'm a HUGE Tom Holland fan. I think he's the best live-action Spider-man ever, thought he was a perfect casting in Uncharted, and I thought he was really good in both Cherry and The Devil All the Time despite not loving either movie.  I was excited for The Crowded Room to see him play such a different character, but have been too dissuaded by bad reviews to watch it yet. But it wouldn't feel right leaving him off this list because he's so charismatic and lovable, and he's starring in the biggest movie franchise of the last decade.

• Sydney Sweeney -- I've respected Sweeney's game for a while now since watching Euphoria (and she's a pretty good-looking lady) but seeing her in Anybody but You made me like her even more. She was super funny and had great chemistry with Glen Powell (how could you not?).  Also was a fan of her in The White Lotus and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in limited roles. Thought she had a good performance in Reality which was kind of a bore to watch, but kept me invested somehow. Haven't seen Immaculate or Madame Web - and probably never will.

• Jacob Elordi -- Another Euphoria star cracks the list as my last HM. I have mixed feelings with Elordi but think the good outweighs the bad with him.  Think what you will about Saltburn but he made a ton of sense in that role and thought he did well with what he was given. He's great in Euphoria, people seem to like him in The Kissing Booth movies, and by all accounts he did great as Elvis in Priscilla. On the negatives, his recent film He Went That Way was truly awful and I thought he stunk in it, same goes for Deep Water. Need to watch The Sweet East for him and Ayo Adebiri.

#10 - Jennifer Lawrence

Now I will say right off the bat that J-Law is a much more accomplished, successful, and probably better actor than several of the people ahead of her on this list. I grew up on J-Law movies -- was a HUGE Hunger Games fan, read all the books, and thought she was a perfect Katniss -- I really do think she's a phenomenal actress. She's usually my favorite part of the movies she's in. My issue is that since she's been around so long doing great work, she feels almost like a separate entity from these other actors. She feels older than the rest of the people on this list, so I wanted to put her at the beginning  because I think it'll flow better 9-1.  With all that being said, a lot of her best performances are in movies I just don't like very much. Not a fan of Silver Linings Playbook but thought she did a great job, Don't Look Up really wasn't for me, Passengers, Red Sparrow, Mother!, Joy are not ones I liked or ones I'd ever revisit. I like American Hustle and thought she was fun in that one, same goes for No Hard Feelings.  I'd guess the majority of people would have J-Law as a no-brainer top 5 for this list, but she's such a household name and such a powerhouse actress already that's been doing blockbusters for a decade plus -- I have no qualms about kicking off this list with her at #10.

#9 - Ayo Adebiri

This is probably a bit premature relative to her actual "Fame" (I know her name isn't known by all, including my old parents), but she has been stacking so many great projects that it's only a matter of time before she's headlining and directing more films.  She gained notoriety to me in FX's The Bear -- a show of many unknown actors (to me) when it first debuted, but she has shown through three seasons now that she's a powerhouse.  As Sydney she's hilarious and chaotic, and she plays the fish-out-of-water so well in the first season with all the crazies in the mix.  As I watched The Bear I began to notice Ayo popping up in so many other things: she had voice roles in a handful of projects I love like Big Mouth (didn't realize she replaced Jenny Slate during that whole woke "scandal"), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.  She also joined the cast for Inside Out 2 which just came out a couple weeks ago to ravenous reviews.  She made an appearance on my favorite current sitcom Abbott Elementary as Quinta Brunson's sister, which was a ton of fun.  She's also starred in two of the better comedies I've seen in the past few years in Theater Camp and Bottoms. She played less of a role in Theater Camp but was so damn funny when she was on-screen (this whole movie rocks - Jimmy Tatro and Ben Platt are hilarious).  In Bottoms she starred alongside her friend Rachel Sennott -- who also co-wrote the screenplay. This movie was so outlandish and shocking and funny, I wish more people had seen it but know it's not the subject material for everyone (shouout Marshawn Lynch he was fun in this). As far as upcoming projects, she was cast in a Marvel project Thunderbolts (Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld) but has seemingly been replaced due to scheduling issues.  She also was recently cast in a thriller titled After the Hunt (Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield), a horror film called Opus (John Malkovich), and a comedy-drama-sci/fi film with a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes called Omni Loop. She also appeared in The Sweet East this past year which has earned solid reviews.  She continues to do incredible work (and a ton of it!) and continues to become more of a household name in Hollywood.

#8 - Barry Keoghan

A bit of a divisive actor following the release and social-media-explosion of his most recent film Saltburn -- a film that has driven a massive amount of discourse and has hit both ends of the review spectrum. Regardless of how you feel about it, it's hard to dispute Keoghan's acting prowess after seeing the film, as he goes all out (literally) to bring life to his complex character.  My first exposure to Keoghan was in 2017's The Killing of a Sacred Deer -- starring alongside fellow Irishmen Collin Ferrell and Nicole Kidman. This was not the most enjoyable watch, but my biggest takeaway was Keoghan is a future star. He flipped the switch from innocent, to creepy, to sinister like it was nothing. He popped up again in Dunkirk where I enjoyed him in the limited role, and I thought he was the best part far and away of a really bad Eternals movie. My personal favorite performance of his as in Banshees of Inesherin -- where his character actually helped me digest the plot in a more meaningful way upon second viewing. He played a dull, innocent, goofy kid who tags along with Collin Ferrell's character to avoid his family issues.  He was the representation to Ferrell's character of what he was to Colm (Brendan Gleeson) and I just thought the parallel was interesting. I have yet to see Apple TV+'s Masters of the Air just yet (currently working thru Presumed Innocent in the Apple-realm) but am sure he does a good job. He's also slated to portray perhaps the most infamous comic book villain of all time, The Joker in Matt Reeves' Batman universe. After a short, but memorable scene in the 2022 film, he'll take on larger role in Reeve's Gotham in one of the upcoming movies.  I've seen a little bit of Oscar buzz for Keoghan (Premiered at Cannes so take with a grain of salt) for a new movie titled Bird.  Another upcoming project I've caught wind of is a thriller titled Bring Them Down -- where he will star alongside Christopher Abbott.  I just think Keoghan has unreal acting chops and has such a distinguished look and charisma that he will continue to skyrocket in popularity. (Also, he's dating Sabrina Carpenter -- clearly he's got the it-factor).

#7 - Paul Mescal

Similar to Keoghan and Adebiri, Mescal is an actor that I think is currently ascending and is not close to reaching his peak popularity, so this is equally a predictive ranking as it is a current ranking for me.  I believe Paul Mescal will be a name synonymous with the greatest actors in the world within the next 5-10 years. By all accounts, he's not just a talented actor on screen, but he's a lovely human being whom his co-stars rave about.  My first exposure to Mescal came in a begrudging-watch of his limited series Normal People, where he starred alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones.  I really didn't love this show generally (was just very sad, slow, and a bit dull to me - but that doesn't take away from the incredible lead performances and the rabid fans this show has) but it opened the door to me watching more of his work.  The craziest thing about Mescal is I'm not a big fan of most of his films -- but I like his performances so much that it brings the whole of these films up a notch for me.  My favorite film of his (and favorite performance from him) is in Aftersun.  It's a deep and layered performance and I was happy to see him get recognition critically for it.  Though its slow-moving at times, I think it tackles important (and difficult) themes especially regarding mental health.  I thought he was the best part of a not-awesome movie All of Us Strangers starring alongside Andrew Scott.  Mescal shows his range and open-mindedness in this film, getting out of his comfort zone while looking comfortable as can be..  He was also my favorite part of The Lost Daughter  and equally enjoy him in a complimentary role as I do when he stars.  Foe, Carmen, and God's Creatures are projects I haven't seen, but regardless of critical acclaim it's widely agreed-upon that Mescal did great work.  Perhaps the biggest reason for his inclusion is that he's the star of Gladiator II - a prequel to the Ridley Scott masterpiece in 2000.  He is the headliner in a cast including Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Connie Nielsen, and with Ridley Scott returning to direct, I have ZERO doubts this movie will be a hit, and will surely catapult Mescal into mainstream popularity (for those under a rock that haven't caught on already).   I've found it difficult to find 100% factual sources for more of his upcoming projects, but some more rumored roles I've heard him connected to include: Playing William Shakespeare in Chloe Zhao-led project, a romantic film alongside Josh O'Connor called The History of Sound, and is reportedly in talks to play Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes' quartet of Beatles Movies (Barry Keoghan is actually rumored to play Ringo Starr - another notch to his belt if true). A 2020 TV series he appears in called The Deceived has also seen a surge of popularity. 

 

 

#6 - Florence Pugh

This is the beginning of what I call "Dune Valley" as the stars of the Dune franchise begin to fly off the board.  And I also think this is a turn from the still-budding-stars, to fully established superstars in Hollywood.  Florence Pugh has been around for several years now, and at just 28 years old (she will be a staple on lists like these or years to come) she has starred in a variety of films from blockbusters to indies.  2019 was the year she truly burst onto the scene for me (I know she starred in Lady Macbeth in 2016 but I did not see this one), starring in THREE films that were all critically acclaimed and commercially successful. They were also vastly different films: Midsommar, Little Women, and Fighting with my Family. The first, Midsommar, is a truly disturbing film from the mind of Ari Aster. Pugh plays the main character who goes through a lifetime of trauma and horror in the matter of a few weeks in the film.  She shows her range from endearing to tragic to shocking, and although I will never watch this horrifying movie again, she was amazing.  Little Women isn't my favorite type of movie, but it was widely praised critically and was nominated for many awards, and she was my favorite character in the movie.  And finally, Fighting with my Family, a family-comedy about wrestling, was such a shockingly heartfelt and funny movie that was so enjoyable.  I expected a flop and it was actually really sweet and full of heart.  Since her coming-out-party in 2019 she's been on an absolute tear, racking up not just starring roles, but playing side characters in some of the biggest movies of the 2020s.  She was top billing in a few movies (of varying critical/commercial success) that further cemented her star quality in Don't Worry Darling, A Good Person, and The Wonder. Regardless of how the films were received, her performances were absolutely not the downfall of these films, in fact they were the highlights.  What I love most about Pugh's career to this point are the smaller roles she's taken in masterpiece films like Oppenheimer and Dune Part Two. In Oppie she played Jean Tatlock -- a mistress of Oppie and communist supporter who bridges the gap between the government's case against Oppenheimer post-WW2 and his work on the Manhattan Project.  In Dune, she plays a very small role as the daughter of the Emperor -- Princess Irulan. She's almost used a chess piece in the film, but it's clear she will have a much larger role in the 3rd movie to come, and I really enjoyed her portrayal and look forward to her character getting more screen-time.  She also played a complimentary role in Black Widow, entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Black Widow's sister Yelena. Since then she's appeared in MCU show Hawkeye (my favorite part of one of the better MCU shows) and will star in a project titled Thunderbolts.  She's built a ridiculous resume at age 28 and I see her career taking a Margot Robbie-esque path where she becomes the de facto "It-Girl" in Hollywood.

#5 - Austin Butler

Who'd have thought the Nickelodeon/Disney Channel kid would make it this big?? I remember seeing Butler popping up in Zoey 101, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Ned's Declassified way back in the day, wondering why all the girls in my class were so smitten by him -- Tall, Blonde, blue eyes: Disgusting! But in recent years Butler has elevated himself to one of the finest working young actors in the world.  Seeing him pop up as Tex in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is where I was reminded (not only of his existence) that he's an uber-talented actor.  He was almost unrecognizable from a visual standpoint, but also his voice was so different than I'd ever heard from him. ('I remember you, what was your name?' , "I'm the Devil, and I'm here to do the Devil's business" , 'No it was stupider than that, something like.. Rex' -- such a funny scene and Butler's voice is unrecognizable).  Next thing you know he's announced as being cast as Baz Luhrman's Elvis Presley in a 2022 biopic Elvis. I thought the movie stunk (Because Tom Hanks' character was a fucking JOKE) but Butler was undeniably great.  He became Elvis -- both literally and figuratively as it took him a year to kick the Elvis voice in interviews.  He starred in the 3rd installment from the Band of Brothers world in Apple TV+'s Masters of the Air alongside Callum Turner.  The show wasn't as widely beloved as BOB or even The Pacific, but was successful and displayed Butler's range even further.  Most recently he gained a ton of acclaim for his portrayal of Feyd Rautha in Dune Part Two. In limited screentime he created a menacing, complex, bone-chilling villain who had some of the film's best scenes. I haven't seen his newest project, The Bikeriders, just yet, but pairing him with Tom Hardy and Jodie Comer based in Chicago -- I'm SOLD.  Additionally he's keeping the ball rolling following the announcement of him being cast in Heat 2 -- One of the absolute GOAT action/thrillers. They say he'll be playing a youngemr version of Val Kilmer's character from Heat, and I couldn't be more excited. He's also been connected to Darren Aronofsky's next film Caught Stealing,  described as an action movie where he'll play an alcoholic bartender in trouble with the Russian mob.  The glow up was real for AB and it doesn't look like he's slowing down anytime soon.

#4 - Zendaya

Speaking of Disney Channel/Nickelodeon stars! If you weren't watching her on Shake It Up, Zapped, or Frenemies during your grade school years like I was, then you may have been late to the Zendaya hype-train.  But I've been strapped in from the start and have really enjoyed seeing her get so many more opportunities to show her range as an actor.  2017 was the beginning of her meteoric rise as she starred in two MASSIVELY successful films -- the third re-imagining of the Spider-man franchise, this time canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Spider-man: Homecoming. She also appeared in The Greatest Showman -- starring alongside Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron in the musical that made well over $400 million at the box office.  I know several people who cite this as their favorite movie period.  Also, combing those earnings with those of Homecoming, her two feature films made over 1.3 BILLION DOLLARS. These successes opened the door for her into other circles of Hollywood, as well as her continuing her role as MJ in the next two Spider-man films (Far from Home and No Way Home).  She also got the leading role in HBO's sensation-series Euphoria.  This drama tackles tons of complex themes like addiction, mental health, drug abuse, and much more from high schoolers' perspectives (which is terrifying, I'm never having kids) and launched the careers of several great young actors alongside Zendaya (Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, Hunter Schaefer, Maude Apatow).  On the big-screen in the years since she's added another blockbuster film universe to her utility belt -- starring as Chani in Dune parts one and two. Her brief appearance in the first led to her starring role in the second, and it's a powerful performance to say the least.  She also headlined one of the best movies of 2024 as Tashi Duncan in Challengers.  In this film she's the driving force of essentially the entire plot and is one of the truest "starring" roles an actor could ask for. She knocked it out of the park by all accounts and showed a side of her talent that she hadn't shown before.  As far as upcoming projects for Zendaya, there hasn't been much released, however there are lots of rumors that Denis Villeneuve's next film (post Dune: Messiah we can only assume) will be about Cleopatra, with Zendaya starring as the Egyptian Queen.  I'm behind any and all Villeneuve projects, and the same goes for this one if the rumors are confirmed soon.  (Have heard other rumors of a Gal Gadot led Cleopatra film directed by Kari Skogland - that would be a trainwreck compared to the potential of Zendaya/Villeneuve).

#3 - Timothee Chalamet

Upon doing my research for this blog, I don’t think I realized just how many films the 28 year-old actor has already appeared in over his young career.  The first film I remember seeing Chalamet in was Interstellar.  The fact that I love this movie so much and was so impressed by it the first time I saw it definitely affects my thoughts toward Chalamet in it, but I thought he was memorable in the small role.  Since then he has absolutely boomed in popularity and his work reflects that. He starred in Greta Gerwig's first big film Lady Bird, alongside Saoirse Ronan (who is more than deserving of a spot on this list, but I'm really not a fan of many of her movies where she plays a prominent role) and Lucas Hedges.  In the same year (2017) he starred in Hot Summer Nights (Maika Monroe),  Call Me By Your Name (Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlberg), and had a smaller role in Hostiles (Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Jesse Plemons) which all have received solid to great reviews.  He appeared in Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch,  Adam McKay's Don't Look Up, and reunited with Greta Gerwig for her adaptation of Little Women.  These were smaller roles in massive ensemble films where he got to work with the likes of Leo DiCaprio, Bill Murray, Meryl Streep, Benicio Del Toro, and so many more.  In more prominent roles he starred alongside Steve Carell in Beautiful Boy, where he portrays a young man battling addiction.  The King was another huge part for Chalamet where he took on a very different challenge than his previous roles and got to work with the likes of Robert Pattinson and Joel Edgerton.  In 2024 he took on the iconic role of Willy Wonka for Paul King's new adaptation Wonka.  Even with this never-ending list of credits for the young accomplished Chalamet, there's still some I didn't include in the list, and we haven't even gotten to his biggest acting credit to date.  Chalamet took on the mantle of Paul Atreides in Dune Part One in 2021.  I've recently started reading Frank Herbert's novel, and don't think I processed just how big this universe is, as well as how many diehard fans there are of the book.  Becoming Paul Atreides is no easy task -- he is a deeply complex and divisive character who is asked to do so much, especially in Denis Villeneuve's two film adaptations.  Chalamet is transcendent in the role and fully embodies Paul Atreides -- his evolution from the beginning of the first movie to the end of the second mimics his character's journey in the book beautifully, and allows Chalamet to flex his acting chops on countless occasions.  I was a doubter early on in his career, but I'm fully on the Timothee Chalamet Bandwagon now -- Lisan Al-Gaib!  As far as upcoming projects, he will of course have the final chapter of the Dune franchise at some point (Dune Part Three: Messiah).  He's also starring as Bob Dylan in an upcoming biopic that will likely be huge, PLUS he's rumored to star with Zendaya in a reimagining of Edward Scissorhands as the titular character.  He's a shrewd business-man in addition to an incredible actor, he has a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. to collaborate on future projects as both an actor and producer, which is unheard of for an actor his age.  He's had a lifetime of work in his short career, and is definitely on a Leo DiCaprio-esque trajectory in Hollywood.

#2 - Glen Powell

The inspiration of this blog -- The Ringer's Big Picture pod -- wouldn't include Powell in this list, as they strictly keep it to under 35-year old actors and actresses, and Powell is currently 35.  However, my argument is shut the hell up, Glen Powell was the inspiration for me writing this blog in the first place, so the haters can kick rocks.  This is a biased pick and I don't give one singular fuck.  Glen Powell is the man.  He's appeared in so many movies over his career, many of which I have not yet seen -- Sand Castle, Expendables 3, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and many more.  The first time I recall seeing that chiseled jaw and million-dollar-smile on screen was in The Dark Knight Rises as he popped in as a finance bro that Bane was ready to pummel into a pulp.  He also had smaller roles in some critically-acclaimed films like Hidden Figures (Taraji P Henson, Janelle Monae, Octavia Spencer), Devotion (Jonathan Majors) and Fast Food Nation (Greg Kinnear, Bruce Willis, Paul Dano).  More recently, he's either been the star of, or a side character that completely steals the show, in some of my favorite movies of the past decade.  I recently watched his second collab with Richard Linklater Everybody Wants Some -- and I've since watched it three more times.  Talk about an all-time "good vibes" movie that doesn't skip a beat, has an awesome soundtrack and aesthetic, and a perfect vehicle for Powell to showcase his talent.  He played Finnegan, team captain and CEO of vibes, and was the star of the show for me by far.  Zoey Deutch also appears in this film, and the two reunite in one of my favorite rom-coms in recent memory Set it Up.  Playing two secretary/assistants for two powerful executives that treat them like animals, Powell and Deutch team-up to try and set the two of them up so they stop making life a living hell for their assistants.  This was the first of Powell's films where it was crystal-clear how much chemistry he has with his co-stars -- which will become a very common theme as this goes on.  A few years later we were blessed with another picture-perfect role for Powell -- Hangman in Top Gun: Maverick.  Much like EWS, I probably rewatched this movie 3 times in the weeks following its release, and would be shocked if I haven't clocked double-digit viewings of this film since. He steals every scene and is my favorite character in the movie for how he challenges Rooster, his over-confident aura, his triumphant 3rd act, and just how well he seamlessly fits in this world (I saw an interview clip of him saying he went out for Rooster originally, didn't get it, and had essentially given up on the film. Then Tom Cruise got involved and talked him into taking the Hangman role - which suits him so much better imo).  In 2023 he starred in another rom-com -- this time alongside Sydney Sweeney -- in Anybody but You.  I really enjoyed this film and it was another shining example of his ability to have incredible chemistry with his co-stars, especially female co-stars.  It's very funny and actually has some heartfelt moments as well.  Most recently I've been obsessed with Powell's latest film, Hitman.  I've watched it 5 times since its release on Netflix and absolutely love it.  He gets to display his full range and talent, and we get little glimpses at his take on certain character-molds through the different hitmen personas.  I think it's a very funny flick, but it also has a lot of intriguing suspense and mystery (despite being pretty easy to predict as my girlfriend proved) and it had some of my favorite movie scenes of the year (the cell phone interrogation w/ Madison, the Jasper confrontation).  Adria Arjona and him had perfect chemistry and I'm convinced Powell could make a rom-com with a tortoise and make it believable.  Powell also has a sure-to-be-BANGER coming out very soon in Twisters. I'm excited to see him alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones in this reimagining or the 1996 predecessor Twister.  Storm-chasing with Glen Powell? Sign me the fuck up. Sign me up for ALL the Glen Powell movies.

#1 - Margot Robbie

Who else but the queen herself?  Margot Robbie is arguably the biggest female star in the world not named Taylor Swift, and is easily my favorite working actress.  Does it help that she's absolutely gorgeous? Sure. But she's much more than that as a performer.  She's an Aussie, but her accent work is incredible, not just developing an American accent but even specifying them to specific regions for her characters.  Robbie's ability to command the screen regardless of how much screentime she's getting is beyond impressive -- even her brief cameo scene in Adam Mckay's The Big Short where she's explaining the stock market in a bubble bath with white wine in hand. She's just a show-stealer in the best possible way. My first exposure was in The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013 -- and yes I was the perfect age for the stereotype group of males obsessed with this movie.  She was gorgeous of course, an extremely important aspect for this character, but she played the character with so much fire and passion.  She went toe to toe with arguably the world's best actor in Leo DiCaprio and more than held her own.  It would take an additional laptop charge to go in-depth on her entire filmography, so I'm going to focus on my favorite performances of hers, but she has a laundry list of films in which she's received praise (even if the movies themselves didn't) such as Babylon, Bombshell, About Time, The Legend of Tarzan, Amsterdam, Asteroid City, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Mary Queen of Scots, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, and Terminal. I really enjoyed seeing her take on such a different type of character in I, Tonya -- a role where she couldn't depend on her good looks to carry weight for her performance. She embodied Tonya Harding immaculately, not just emulating the figure-skating star's movements and nuances well, but showing such passion and emotion in the role.  Focus is a movie that I think is vastly underrated, starring alongside Will Smith and having some of the best chemistry on-screen I've seen from two actors.  The Super Bowl scene is one of my favorites to rewatch.  She starred alongside Will Smith again in 2016's Suicide Squad -- a movie that I actually really hate, but she was far and away the best part of the movie. She brings so much life and energy to Harley Quinn -- evident by the spin-off film Birds of Prey and her inclusion in James Gunn's reimagining in 2021's The Suicide Squad -- a much better rendition in my opinion.  With all of this, her most notable performance far and away came this past year in Greta Gerwig's Barbie.  This is an important role for a plethora of reasons, but portraying a toy (the most popular toy of all time, mind you) in a live-action movie is a tall task. She was the perfect person for this role and she did as good as I could have ever expected.  The movie is not one I thought I'd enjoy at all but between Robbie and Ryan Gosling, there's just too much to love.  She's elevated herself from a superstar Hollywood actor to a legitimate icon and one of the most recognizable names/faces in the world.  And she's only 34 -- she has a long career ahead and will continue to be one of the finest actors in the entire world.

Phew -- we made it!  Clearly I have too much time on my hands and love movies too much, but I really do think it's a special thing to see young actors elevate themselves to stars.  Seeing a Margot Robbie in Wolf of Wall Street at age 23, then playing the titular character Barbie in a billion dollar movie a decade later is so cool to me.  It's one of the reasons I love movies so much is seeing how actors/actresses' careers develop as they get older. From taking smaller roles in their younger years to headlining blockbusters years later, I find it so fascinating and inspiring.  The people on this list are some of my personal faves, but there's hundreds of worthy choices, which makes doing this so fun.  Finding connections to specific actors is what helps me broaden my lens for movies to watch, and in turn leads me to more beautiful pieces of art that I wouldn't have considered watching before.  And the 10-15 young actors above are ones that I will continue seeking out when I go to the theaters.