So, the dust has finally settled in 2018 and we’re starting 2019 with great anticipation of movies filled with superheroes, mutants and monsters. This looks to be an epic year for movies, and we can hardly wait. With these amazing movies come a slew of equally amazing actors, and here are 9 actors to watch out for this year.
Millie Bobby Brown
We know her as Eleven, the girl with special powers raised in a lab and now on the loose in the 2016 breakthrough series, Stranger Things. At just 13, Millie Bobby Brown became the youngest person to be featured in Time’s 100 list of the most influential people. She is also the youngest person to be appointed as a UNICEF Goodwill ambassador. Her stunning performance in Stranger Things has definitely brought the burgeoning teenager places. Before Stranger Things, the starlet only had guest-starring roles in a handful of television series.
Since the phenomenal success of the Sci-Fi series, movies came knocking, and Brown answered. She will next be seen in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and beyond that, Godzilla vs Kong is awaiting. After that, the sky’s the limit for this shining star.
At the grand old age of 30, Henry Golding scored his first movie role, in a Hollywood film, no less. That’s not quite the traditional way of getting into the industry, but that doesn’t stop this English Malaysian actor from going places. His performance as Nicholas Young in Crazy Rich Asians has gotten him much attention from both the audience and the industry, that he was added to the poster of his second film, A Simple Favor, starring heavyweights like Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, at the eleventh hour.
The original promotional posters for the movie only had Lively and Kendrick, but with the success of Crazy Rich Asians, Golding was given billing and a space on the poster days before the movie was released. That says a lot about Golding’s rising fame.
He already has three films in the pipeline, all slated for release in 2019, including Last Christmas, co-starring his mother from Crazy Rich Asians- Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson and the mother of dragons herself, Emilia Clarke.
Timothée Chalamet
Before Call Me By Your Name, Timothée Chalamet had bit parts in movies like Interstellar, Love the Coopers and a handful of others. Call Me By Your Name made us sit up to notice this lean and lanky 23-year old. And Beautiful Boy had us on our feet to root for his character.
Chalamet’s delicate features remind us of a wounded bird, and he’s not afraid to show his vulnerability in his characters. If 2018 had been a great year for him, 2019 will be even better. He will star in Greta Gerwig’s remake of Little Women, and has recently completed filming for Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York. He is currently filming the French Dispatch by Wes Anderson.
The Guyanese-born British actress started her career in 2011 in British Television series. She was first noticed in the award-winning film Urban Hymm, a coming-of-age drama that won critics hearts at several film festivals, including Toronto International Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival. Right before Black Panther came along, Wright appeared in an episode of the high profile Black Mirror, which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.
Black Panther thrust the actress into the limelight, with good reason. Wright brings Shuri to life in her own way- youthful but wise, cheeky yet serious. In the hands of another actress, Shuri could have been very different. Wright’s next appearance will be in the highly anticipated Avengers: Endgame. And after that, we can see her in Guava Island, starring Danny Glover and Rihanna.
Known as Scream Queen, Taylor-Joy first appeared on our radar as the unsuspecting victim of James McAvoy’s character in Split. She brings audiences on a terrifying journey of trying to escape from a slew of characters that McAvoy portrays, and will return as her character in the upcoming Glass.
In between these two movies, Taylor-Joy squeezed in time for the dark comedy Thoroughbreds, as one of two girls planning a murder on her step-father, which she abhors. Starring opposite Olivia Cooke, Taylor-Joy gives us a convincing performance of a bored upper-class teenager who nonchalantly plans a murder with a friend. Apart from Glass, Taylor-Joy has four other films lined up in 2019, including yet another horror movie- The New Mutants.
Sophie Turner
Can you believe that Game of Thrones is Turner’s acting debut? We saw the then 15-year old blossomed both on and off screen since the popular series started in 2011. Turner’s acting shines in especially the last few seasons of the series, as Sansa transformed from a damsel in distress into a tough leader of the Stark stronghold.
Turner has also transitioned from the small screen to the big screen, as the rising Phoenix in X-Men: Apocalypse. This year, she will unleash her powers in Dark Phoenix, as she reprises her role as Jean Grey.
With Games of Thrones ending this year, the lanky British actress is not resting on her laurels. Turner has three other films lined up after Dark Phoenix. But first, we want to see her light up the big screen as a fiery phoenix.
Before 2018, Sheridan is best known for being Cyclops/Scott Summers in X-Men film series since 2016. But last year, he is the one who cracked the hardest game there is in Ready Player One. As the nerd filled with pop-culture knowledge, he is able to save the OASIS from the clutches of evil businessman Nolan Sorrento.
Named as one of Variety's 10 Actors to Watch, Sheridan is one of Hollywood's most sought-after young talents. This year, he will reprise his role as Cyclops alongside Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey in Dark Phoenix.
With her success stateside, it’s hard to imagine that Cooke is actually a Briton born and raised in Oldham, England. She had bit parts in television shows in Britain before moving on to films with the 2014 horror movie The Quiet Ones, followed by Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Her performance in The Quiet Ones led to her securing an agent in America, and she made her US debut in the series Bates Motel, opposite fellow countryman Freddie Highmore. Cooke gained recognition for her role in Thoroughbreds opposite Anya Taylor-Joy, as a girl void of any emotions.
She starred in the role of a lifetime alongside Tye Sheridan in Ready Player One, as fellow egg-hunter bent on saving OASIS from a ruthless conglomerate. In 2018, Cooke was also part of the ensemble cast in Life Itself, a drama that follows multiple couples over numerous generations, and how they connected by a single event. Due to her mostly American roles and her convincing accent, Cooke is often mistaken as an American. She has a handful of TV and movie projects lined up, so we’ll be seeing her onscreen soon.
Chan gave up a career in law following her graduation at Oxford University to pursue her passion for acting, despite having no formal training. That did little to stop her from getting roles in high profile movies including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Transformers: The Last Knight.
Chan makes an impression as Astrid, the rich, elegant cousin of Nicholas Young in Crazy Rich Asians, and will have a bigger part to play in its upcoming sequel, Rich China Girlfriend. But before that, Chan can be seen in Mary Queen of Scots, and will star as Minn-Erva opposite Brie Larson in Captain Marvel. For someone who didn’t have any acting background, Chan is certainly doing very well.
