The next 30: A new generation of talented actors
by mishrust | created - 1 month ago | updated - 1 month ago | PublicAs the title suggests, these will be the next swathe of actors and actresses that will take over the industry and be seen for years if not decades to come
Criteria: Under 40 years of age at start of 2024, must have not reached peak, not well known to older generations, have made an impact in cinema, leading actor chops
1. Emma Stone
Actress | La La Land
Emily Jean "Emma" Stone was born on November 6, 1988 in Scottsdale, Arizona to Krista Jean Stone (née Yeager), a homemaker & Jeffrey Charles "Jeff" Stone, a contracting company founder and CEO. She is of Swedish, German & British Isles descent. Stone began acting as a child as a member of the ...
Just 35 and already won 2 Oscars! What a talent Stone is. Started her career off in the funny "Superbad" movie, then taking things next level with "The Help" and then "La La Land". She stamped herself at the top of this list after winning Best Actress for her role in "Poor Things"
2. Margot Robbie
Actress | Suicide Squad
Margot Elise Robbie was born on July 2, 1990 in Dalby, Queensland, Australia to Scottish parents. Her mother, Sarie Kessler, is a physiotherapist, and her father, is Doug Robbie. She comes from a family of four children, having two brothers and one sister. She graduated from Somerset College in ...
Goes from strength to strength, in 2023 she starred in the hugely successful "Barbie". Robbie shot to fame with her role in "The Wolf of Wall Street" and continued her rise with "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood". Tipped to reach No.1 on this list at some point
3. Paul Dano
Actor | There Will Be Blood
An actor for all seasons and all kinds of roles (from dark, difficult characters to more loving ones) Paul Dano has an extensive body work that includes working with directors such as Paul Thomas Anderson, Steve McQueen, Dayton & Ferris, Ang Lee, Denis Villenueve and Paolo Sorrentino; acting with ...
Just sliding into this list only turning 40 in June is Paul Dano. Had some great roles over his already large career such as his one in "There Will Be Blood". Most recently seen as 'The Joker' in the Batman remake
4. Robert Pattinson
Actor | Twilight
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson was born May 13, 1986 in London, England, to Richard Pattinson, a car dealer importing vintage cars, and Clare Pattinson (née Charlton), who worked as a booker at a model agency. He grew up in Barnes, southwest London with two older sisters. Robert discovered his ...
Speaking of "Batman" here he is. Though perhaps actually better known in another franchise (Twlight? Harry Potter?). Has shown he has the acting chops in such films as "Good Time" and "Tenet"
5. Jennifer Lawrence
Actress | The Hunger Games
As the highest-paid actress in the world in 2015 and 2016, and with her films grossing over $5.5 billion worldwide, Jennifer Lawrence is often cited as the most successful actress of her generation. She is also the first person born in the 1990s to have won an acting Oscar.
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence...
Probably was No.1 on here not long ago with the hugely successful "Hunger Games" films while they were capturing the attention of fans around the world. Has taking more than one turn in her career already with movies such as "The Silver Linings Playbook" and 'No Hard Feelings"
6. Timothée Chalamet
Actor | Call Me by Your Name
Timothée Hal Chalamet was born in Manhattan, to Nicole Flender, a real estate broker and dancer, and Marc Chalamet, a UNICEF editor. His mother, who is from New York, is Jewish, of Russian Jewish and Austrian Jewish descent. His father, who is from Nîmes, France, is of French and English ancestry. ...
A rapid rise to fame with his breakout "Call Me By Your Name", Chalemet was recently seen in starring roles for "Wonka" and "Dune" part 1 and 2
7. Miles Teller
Actor | Whiplash
Miles Alexander Teller is an American actor and musician. For his performance in the film The Spectacular Now (2013), he won the Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. He has appeared in the films Rabbit Hole (2010), Footloose (2011), Project X (2012), That ...
Teller is far from his peak, wowing audiences in the film "Whiplash"
8. Florence Pugh
Actress | The Falling
Florence Pugh is an English actress. She is known for Midsommar (2019), Little Women (2019), her MCU debut Black Widow (2021), and Fighting with My Family (2019).
Pugh made her film debut in The Falling (2014). She also appears in Lady Macbeth (2016), Outlaw King (2018), Malevolent (2018), and the ...
Another fast mover on this list, Pugh has got some nice credits with "Oppenheimer", "Midsommar" and "Little Women"
9. Austin Butler
Actor | Elvis
Austin Robert Butler was born in Anaheim, California, to Lori Anne (Howell), an aesthetician, and David Butler. He has always enjoyed movies of all types. When he was 13 he was walking around at the Orange County Fair and was approached by a representative from a background-acting management ...
10. Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Actor | Kick-Ass
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is an English stage, television, and film actor.
He was born Aaron Perry Johnson in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, to Sarah and Robert Johnson, a civil engineer. He has a sister, Gemma Johnson, who had a small role in his movie Tom & Thomas (2002). Aaron is of ...
11. Saoirse Ronan
Actress | Hanna
Saoirse Una Ronan was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States, to Irish parents, Monica Ronan (née Brennan) and Paul Ronan, an actor. When Saoirse was three, the family moved back to Dublin, Ireland. Saoirse grew up in Dublin and briefly in Co. Carlow before moving back to Dublin ...
12. Jesse Plemons
Actor | Game Night
Jesse Lon Plemons is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and achieved a career breakthrough with his major role as Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights (2006-2011). He subsequently portrayed Todd Alquist in season 5 of the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad...
13. Zac Efron
Actor | High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Zachary David Alexander Efron was born October 18, 1987 in San Luis Obispo, California, to Starla Baskett, a secretary, and David Efron, an electrical engineer. He has a younger brother, Dylan. The surname "Efron", which is Hebrew and a Biblical place name, comes from Zac's Polish Jewish paternal ...
Has come a long way from his "High School Musical" days. Showed alot in the recent 'Iron Claw' film
14. Taron Egerton
Actor | Kingsman: The Secret Service
Taron Egerton is a British actor and singer, known for his roles in the British television series The Smoke, the 2014 action comedy film Kingsman: The Secret Service, and the film Rocketman (2019). He has also played Edward Brittain in the 2014 drama film Testament of Youth, appeared in the 2015 ...
15. Dev Patel
Actor | Slumdog Millionaire
Dev Patel was born in Harrow, London, to Anita, a caregiver, and Raj Patel, who works in IT. His parents, originally from Nairobi, Kenya, are both of Gujarati Indian descent. His first role was in the UK TV series Skins (2007). His breakout role was in the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire (...
16. Daniel Kaluuya
Actor | Get Out
Daniel Kaluuya is a British actor and writer. He is best known for Get Out (2017), Black Panther (2018) and for portraying Fred Hampton in Judas & The Black Messiah (2021).
He had a supporting role in Sicario (2015).
He also starred in the Black Mirror episode "Fifteen Million Merits".
For his work in...
17. Shailene Woodley
Actress | Divergent
Actress and activist Shailene Woodley was born in Simi Valley, California, to Lori (Victor), a middle school counselor, and Lonnie Woodley, a school principal. She has one brother, Tanner. She was educated at Simi Valley High School in California. When Woodley was four years old she began ...
18. Léa Seydoux
Actress | La vie d'Adèle
French actress Léa Seydoux was born in 1985 in Paris, France, to Valérie Schlumberger, a philanthropist, and Henri Seydoux, a businessman. Her grandfather, Jérôme Seydoux, is chairman of Pathé, and her father is a great-grandson of businessman and inventor Marcel Schlumberger (her mother also ...
19. Barry Keoghan
Actor | The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Barry came to prominence in the 2017 film 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' with his truly terrifying portrayal of Martin, an American teenager exacting a grisly revenge on drunken surgeon Colin Farrell, but he was neither an American nor a teenager. Born in Dublin on 17th October 1992, he has a ...
The Irishman will almost certainly keep grabbing some big roles over the coming years. Had some good credits with films such as "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" and "Dunkirk". Recently starred in "Saltburn".
20. Zendaya
Actress | Spider-Man: Homecoming
Zendaya (which means "to give thanks" in the language of Shona) is an American actress and singer born in Oakland, California. She began her career appearing as a child model working for Macy's, Mervyns and Old Navy. She was a backup dancer before gaining prominence for her role as Rocky Blue on ...
21. Anya Taylor-Joy
Actress | The Queen's Gambit
Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy (born 16 April 1996) is a British-American actress. She is best known for her roles as Beth Harmon in The Queen's Gambit (2020), Thomasin in the period horror film The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015), as Casey Cooke in the horror-thriller Split (2016), and as ...
22. Michael Cera
Actor | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Canadian actor Michael Cera was born in Brampton, Ontario, to parents who worked for Xerox. His mother, Linda, who is from Quebec, has English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry, and his father, Luigi Cera, is Italian (from Sicily). Michael is the middle child between two sisters. He was educated...
23. LaKeith Stanfield
Actor | Sorry to Bother You
LaKeith Lee Stanfield is an actor and rapper from Victorville, California. At the age of fifteen, LaKeith began attending the John Casablancas Modeling & Career Center in Orange County. A few years later, he auditioned for Destin Cretton's then college thesis film Short Term 12 (2008). Later, the ...
24. Dakota Fanning
Actress | War of the Worlds
Hannah Dakota Fanning was born on the 23rd of February 1994, in Conyers, Georgia, USA, to Heather Joy (Arrington) and Steven Fanning. Her mother played professional tennis, and her father, now an electronics salesman, played minor league baseball. She is of German, Irish, English, French, and ...
25. Glen Powell
Actor | Top Gun: Maverick
Glen Thomas Powell Jr. is an American actor. He began his career with guest roles on television and small roles in films such as The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and The Expendables 3 (2014) before making his breakthrough performance as Chad Radwell in the Fox comedy-horror series Scream Queens (2015-...
26. Margaret Qualley
Actress | Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood
Margaret Qualley was born on October 23, 1994 in Kalispell, Montana, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019), Fosse/Verdon (2019) and Kenzo World (2016). She has been married to Jack Antonoff since August 19, 2023.
27. Tye Sheridan
Actor | Mud
Tye Sheridan was born on November 11, 1996 in Palestine, Texas as Tye Kayle Sheridan. Having been named 1 of Variety's 10 Actors to Watch, he has emerged as 1 of Hollywood's most sought after young talents. He has been seen in Ready Player One (2018) as the lead character Wade Watts. He also ...
28. Bill Skarsgård
Actor | It
Bill Istvan Gunther Skarsgard is a Swedish actor, producer, director, writer, voice actor, and model. He is best known for portraying Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the supernatural horror films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. He also voiced the ...
29. Michael B. Jordan
Actor | Black Panther
Michael B. Jordan, the middle of three children, was born in Santa Ana, California and raised in Newark, New Jersey. He is the son of Donna (Davis), a high school counselor, and Michael A. Jordan. His middle name, Bakari, means "noble promise" in Swahili. (He is not related to, or named after, ...
30. Amanda Seyfried
Actress | Les Misérables
Amanda Seyfried was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Ann (Sander), an occupational therapist, and Jack Seyfried, a pharmacist. She is of German, and some English and Scottish, ancestry. She began modeling when she was eleven, and acted in high school productions as well as taking ...
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