My Top Favorite Breakthrough Actors of 2018
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- Sunny Suljic is an American child actor and skateboarder. He is known for The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), Mid90s (2018), Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot (2018) and The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018).
Suljic also did voice work and motion capture for Atreus, the son of Kratos in the 2018 video game, God of War.
His acting debut was in the short film Ruined (2013).Mid90s - Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Rafael Casal is a critically acclaimed Writer, Producer, Actor, and Poet. He made his Feature debut in "Blindspotting," which he wrote, produced, and starred in. The celebrated film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and Lionsgate won a major bidding war. Rafael recently wrapped production on Season 1 of the Series adaptation for Starz, as Showrunner, Co-Creator, Writer and reprising his film role. He acted opposite Hugh Jackman in the Emmy-winning HBO film "Bad Education" and Ethan Hawke in Showtime's "The Good Lord Bird." He wrote music for the Apple series "Central Park" and is writing and composing for Season 2. Rafael is also well-known to audiences for his work on HBO's Def Poetry. His digital content and music albums have garnered millions of views and listens. His Theatre-in-Verse Works have been presented at Venues across the Country and his Music has been featured on MTV and Showtime series as well as at SXSW and Sundance. Rafael is the Co-Founder and the Artistic Director of the landmark Bars Workshop at the famed New York City's Public Theater. He founded and served as the Creative Director for the University of Wisconsin-Madison's First Wave Undergraduate Arts Program and Scholarship, which was their first Four-Year Contemporary Performing Arts Program.Blindspotting- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
John David Washington is an American actor, producer, and former professional football player. He played college football at Morehouse College and signed with the St. Louis Rams as an Undrafted free agent in 2006. Professionally, Washington spent four years as the running back for the United Football League's Sacramento Mountain Lions. Washington shifted to an acting career like his father, Denzel Washington, and mother, Pauletta. He was part of the main cast of the HBO comedy series Ballers (2015-2019). His breakthrough came playing Ron Stallworth in Spike Lee's 2018 crime film BlacKkKlansman, for which he received both Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. In 2020, he starred in Christopher Nolan's science fiction action-thriller film Tenet, for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Actor.BlackKklansman- Actor
- Director
Lamar Johnson was born on 18 July 1994 in Toronto, Canada. He is an actor and director, known for The Last of Us (2023), The Hate U Give (2018) and Your Honor (2020).Kings/the Hate U Give- Actor
- Producer
British-Malaysian television host, actor and model Henry Ewan Golding was born in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, to Margaret Likan and Clive Golding. His father is English and his mother is Malaysian. His mother is from the Iban people, an Indigenous group in Sarawak, and Henry completed the bejalai, an Iban rite of passage, in the jungles of Borneo.
Henry spent his early years in Terengganu. His family moved from Malaysia to Surrey, England when he was eight. When he was twenty one, he moved back to Malaysia, living in Kuala Lumpur, pursuing acting work, and becoming known as a host of travel shows.
Henry made his feature film debut in the smash hit Crazy Rich Asians (2018), playing Nick Young, a Singaporean multi-millionaire who must carefully navigate his relationship with an American, Rachel Chu (Constance Wu). Later that year, he starred opposite Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in the thriller A Simple Favor (2018). Since his 2018 success, he has starred opposite Emilia Clarke in the romantic comedy Last Christmas (2019) and played a more villainous role in the comedy-thriller The Gentlemen (2019). He will also star as the title character in the action film Snake Eyes (2021).
Henry married Liv Lo, an Italian-Taiwanese TV presenter and yoga instructor, in August 2016.Crazy Rich Asians/A Simple Favor- Mid90s
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Joel Dawson is known for Mary Poppins Returns (2018).Mary Poppins Returns- Actor
- Composer
- Director
Troye Sivan Mellet is South African-born YouTuber, actor, model and singer known for his roles in The Spud Franchise, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Boy Erased (2018). He moved to Perth, Australia when he was two years old. Troye has two brothers and a sister, and was raised Modern Orthodox. In 2018, his family moved to Melbourne. Troye lives in LA where he has a house. He has over 6.6 million subscribers on YouTube as of October 2018, with videos ranging from song covers to challenge videos to original songs and music videos. One of his earlier videos, a collaboration filmed with fellow YouTube star Tyler Oakley titled 'The Boyfriend Tag' even won a Kid's Choice award in 2014.
Over the past couple of years, Troye has released two EPs, the one in 2014 being TRXYE and the one in 2015 being WILD. His unique blend of electro-pop and smooth melodies have taken him as high as number fifteen on Billboard's Social 50 list, which chronicles the most influential names in music today. Along with WILD and the lead single Talk Me Down off of his new album Blue Neighbourhood which came out on 4 December 2015, he released a trilogy of music videos titled Blue Neighbourhood.
Both of his EPs have debuted at number five on the Billboard Top 200, his album debuting at number seven and he has won several awards for his work, including most recently an EMA.Boy Erased- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Calum Worthy began his acting career at the age of nine and made his film debut in the BBC award-winning mini-series I Was A Rat. Worthy's most acclaimed roles include Hulu's The Act, Netflix American Vandal, Eminem's Bodied, and Disney Channel's Austin & Ally.
Worthy is a vocal activist for the environmental movement and is currently working with Al Gore's Climate Reality Project and Bono's One organization. He has millions of followers across his social media platforms which he dedicates to educating and empowering his young fan base on the climate crisis and gender inequality in developing countries.Bodied- Actor
- Additional Crew
Included in Variety's 2018 "Young Hollywood Impact Report" of talent poised for break-through, Myles Truitt was seen as the lead in the Lionsgate feature film Kin (2018). He portrays Eli, an adopted teenager searching for connection. The film begins as Eli is reunited with his step-brother, and details his cross-country journey of self-exploration. He stars opposite Dennis Quaid and James Franco. Earlier this year, Truitt co-starred in a pivotal flashback episode of the Emmy-winning FX comedy "Atlanta," which focused on middle-school bullying. Truitt also co-stars on OWN's "Queen Sugar" and the CW's "Black Lightning."
In 2017, Truitt co-starred as young Ronnie DeVoe in the BET mini-series "New Edition." The three-night television event chronicling the legendary music group set an all-time ratings record for the network. Also that year, Truitt appeared as Arlo Hastings in the Syfy original series "Superstition." Additionally, he completed production on the film "Dragged Across Concrete" alongside Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn, which is set to be released soon.
Since 2014, Truitt has worked with The Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, performing a powerful solo during the presentation of "Soweto." A lover of the arts, and with aspirations to write, direct and produce original content, he has toured across HBCU campuses for a variety of youth presentations. When not singing or acting, Truitt enjoys playing basketball and spending time with his family. He lives in Atlanta. His slogan "Tru2itt" is the motivating force behind his upcoming t-shirt and apparel line.Kin- Actor
- Producer
Winston Duke was born on 15 November 1986 in Trinidad and Tobago. He is an actor and producer, known for Black Panther (2018), Us (2019) and Nine Days (2020).Black Panther- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Trevor Jackson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He is an actor and director, known for SuperFly (2018), Grown-ish (2018) and Burning Sands (2017).Superfly- Jake Ryan was born in Long Island, New York. He is an actor, known for Asteroid City (2023), Eighth Grade (2018) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).Eighth Grade
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Alden Ehrenreich is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in Francis Ford Coppola's film Tetro (2009), and appeared in Coppola's subsequent film Twixt (2011).
In 2013, he starred as Ethan Wate in the film adaptation of the novel Beautiful Creatures (2013). He then played the stepson of Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen's drama film Blue Jasmine (2013). In 2016, Ehrenreich became more widely known for his co-lead role of Hobie Doyle in the Coen brothers film Hail, Caesar! (2016), alongside a cast that included Josh Brolin and George Clooney.
On May 5, 2016, Ehrenreich was cast as Han Solo, in a prequel film that Solo's early life before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).Solo: A Star Wars Story- Jahi Di'Allo Winston was born on 30 November 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia USA. He is an actor, known for The Dead Don't Die (2019), Queen & Slim (2019) and We Have a Ghost (2023).Proud Mary
- Azhy Robertson is best known for Marriage Story (2019), Invasion (2021- ), The Plot Against America (2020) and Come Play (2020).
Moreover, he has won the Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award for Marriage Story.
He plays the role of Luke Malik in the new AppleTV Plus drama series, Invasion (2021).
Azhy was born in Brooklyn, NY.Juliet, Naked - Blake Cooper, who began acting at 10, is best known for his endearing portrayal of Chuck, the youngest "Glader" in the international blockbuster, The Maze Runner. In May, 2018, Blake, singled out by Variety in their annual Youth Impact Issue as "one to watch", will be seen in the coming of age film Measure of a Man. He plays Bobby Marks, an overweight and bullied teen who experiences a turning point one summer and learns to stand up for himself. Based on the book by legendary sports writer Robert Lypsyte, Measure of a Man, also stars Donald Sutherland, Judy Greer and Luke Wilson. The story behind Blake being cast in The Maze Runner is an example of true persistence and self-belief. After reading James Dashner's book, Blake instantly knew that he was perfect to play Chuck and began a one-man Twitter campaign for the role. As Blake's support continued to grow, director Wes Ball heard about the determined young man, offered him an audition which ultimately landed him the role in the mega hit that grossed over $348MM worldwide. Other credits include The Late Bloomer (2016), alongside J.K. Simmons, Jane Lynch, Brittany Snow and Maria Bello. This black comedy is a true story about a young man who, at 27, finally experience's puberty once he is treated for a benign brain tumor. The quirky film received two awards for Best Comedy at The San Diego Film Festival. In 2015, Blake starred in the highly anticipated Amazon pilot Cocked playing the title role of Xander Paxson, the youngest member of a gun manufacturing dynasty. The cast included Sam Trammell, Jason Lee and Brian Dennehy. Additional credits include Parental Guidance, with Billy Crystal, and USA Network's Necessary Roughness. Blake attends high school in Northern Minnesota and also takes college level courses at a nearby state university where he's on the Dean's List. An outdoor enthusiast, he and his three siblings grew up on a farm outside Atlanta with horses, Jacob Sheep, four dogs, five cats, a mule, a donkey and a flop eared bunny named Charlie Pat. A true music enthusiast, Blake is learning music scoring for film and taking vocal, guitar and piano lessons in his spare time. In 2019, Blake won the Jury Prize for the Best Youth Performance from the International Expert Jury in the Competition of Feature Films at Zlin Film Festival for the role of "Bobby Marks" in the feature film Measure of a Man, directed by Jim Loach Blake splits his time between Northern Minnesota and the northern Atlanta suburb where he was raised. He is represented by Kazarian, Measure, Ruskin, & Associates and his remarkable mom, Sharon.Measure of a Man
- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Josh Dylan was born on 19 January 1994. He is an actor and producer, known for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), Allied (2016) and Noughts + Crosses (2020).Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again- Na-kel Smith is known for Mid90s (2018), Away Days (2016) and Tyler, the Creator Feat. Jasper and Taco: Bitch Suck Dick (2011).Mid90s
- Huck Milner was born on August 14, 2007 in New York City, New York as Huckleberry Milner.
He discovered his passion for acting when he followed his sisters into community theater at 4. His professional debut was the role of Dash in Incredibles 2 (2018).
He continues to act professionally in theater & voice-overs. Besides acting, he enjoys hockey, skiing & playing the bass. He loves Thor, Ironman & Spiderman.
He has stated that he would like to 1 day eliminate homelessness in New York City.Incredibles 2 - Actor
- Soundtrack
McCaul has had four films in four years premiere at Cannes; two in Official Selection - 'American Honey' and 'Port Authority'. The latter is writer-director Danielle Lessovitiz's feature debut, produced by Martin Scorsese's Sikelia Productions and 'Call Me By Your Name' outfit RT Features.
McCaul's first film was A24 / Film4's 'American Honey' from Andrea Arnold. Thereafter, he played a supporting role in Fox Searchlight's 'Patti Cake$' which premiered as part of Directors' Fortnight in Cannes. More recently, McCaul played the lead role in 'We The Coyotes', which premiered in Cannes, as part of ACID, in 2018.
Other notable credits include 'Sollers Point', in which McCaul played the lead role. It was the New York Times' "Critic's Pick" and premiered in competition at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
McCaul's a proud Baltimorean. The son of a health care professional and a high school football coach, he grew up with dreams of becoming a professional athlete - a running back, specifically - but after an injury on the field as a teenager he shifted his focus on to acting.Soller's Point- Alex Neustaedter (pronounced Nu-sted-ter) has been a star on the consistent rise since he first came to the scene as a lead in Meg Ryan's film ITHACA. He currently stars in the drama AMERICAN RUST: BROKEN JUSTICE alongside award winning actors, Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney. Alex portrays series regular 'Billy Poe.' Based on Philipp Meyer's debut novel, the family drama explores the tattered American dream through the eyes of complicated and compromised chief of police Del Harris (Daniels) in a Pennsylvania Rust Belt town full of good people making bad choices. When the woman he loves (Tierney) sees her son (Neustaedter) accused of murder, Harris is forced to decide what he's willing to do to protect him. Originally airing on Showtime, the series soon returns for its second season on Prime Video. Next up, Alex will play young 'Atlas' in the Sony adaptation of the bestsellling Colleen Hoover novel IT ENDS WITH US starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Alex began acting at a young age, formally training while splitting his time between his hometown of Kansas City and Los Angeles, finally making a permanent move to Hollywood in 2011. As previously mentioned, in 2015, Alex starred in Meg Ryan's feature film ITHACA, taking on the lead role of 'Homer' alongside Sam Shepard and Tom Hanks. Shortly after, he landed the role of 'Bram,' a series regular in USA Network's drama COLONY with Josh Holloway. Alex's additional film credits include the 2018 film A-X-L where he played the lead 'Miles' opposite Becky G, AMERICAN WOMAN alongside Sienna Miller, WALKING OUT alongside Bill Pullman, THE TRIBES OF PALOS VERDES starring Jennifer Garner, and in a strong supporting role in Netflix's THINGS HEARD AND SEEN alongside Amanda Seyfried and James Norton.
Growing up, Alex split his passion for acting with an equal love for sports including football, basketball, and baseball. He played on school sports teams and was named a California All-State baseball shortstop in 2016, graduating that year with honors. He is a self-taught surfer, having surfed in many incredible areas such as Nicaragua, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon and California, to name a few. Additionally, he plays the guitar, and is an avid snowboarder and all-around outdoorsman. He is a loyal supporter of Oceana and believes strongly in protecting our ocean.AXL - Actor
- Music Department
J. Michael Finley was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas and raised in Lebanon, Missouri. He is the second of five children born to Wayne and Betsy Finley. He began singing and acting in Junior High. He attended Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts and began his professional acting career in Chicago and surrounding areas. His stage credits include Chicago theaters such as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Paramount Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre, Writers' Theatre, Court Theatre, and Mercury Theatre.
J. Michael Finley moved to New York City in 2015 where he made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of Les Miserables and as the understudy for Jean Valjean. I Can Only Imagine is his first movie. After the production of I Can Only Imagine was completed, J. Michael Finley returned to Broadway as the Standby for Elder Cunningham in Book of Mormon.
In 2018, J. Michael Finley made his West End debut in the role of Elder Cunningham in Book of Mormon.
J. Michael Finley enjoys watching St. Louis Cardinals baseball and spending time with his new bride, Elizabeth Doran, whom he married December 2nd, 2017.I Can Only Imagine- Billy Howle was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, to a schoolteacher mother and a father who teaches at Kent University, the second of four sons. His older brother, Sam, is a graphic designer. Despite his parents' academic backgrounds, Billy has said that he was not interested in further education, and worked instead at the local Stephen Joseph theater, in community-based projects involving dance and acting. After a year at drama school, he enrolled at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 2013. Having appeared at Bristol in 'The Little Mermaid,' his next stage appearance was in New York at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, opposite Lesley Manville in Richard Eyre's production of Henrik Ibsen's 'Ghosts' and a year later was reunited with Bristol Old Vic, the director, and Ms. Manville in a scorching production of 'Long Day's Journey Into Night' alongside Jeremy Irons - another Bristol Old Vic alumnus - Hadley Fraser, and Jessica Regan, more than holding his own with his older, more experienced co-stars. After a couple of small roles in television drama, Billy's first substantial lead came in the youth-oriented murder mystery Glue (2014) in 2014, opening the first scene in memorable style as he rolled nude down stacks of grain in a barn. In 2016, he was in another murder mystery, The Witness for the Prosecution (2016), as the defendant accused of killing his wealthy benefactress, by which time he had filmed his first forays into cinema: On Chesil Beach (2017) and Anton Chekhov's The Seagull (2018), both with Saoirse Ronan, and The Sense of an Ending (2017).On Chesil Beach
- Mid90s
- Incredibles 2
- Philip Zhao is known for Ready Player One (2018), Kung-Fu Cops and The 40th Annual Young Artist Awards (2019).Ready Player One
- Tully
- Owen Vaccaro was born on 16 December 2005 in the USA. He is an actor, known for Daddy's Home (2015), The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018) and Daddy's Home 2 (2017).House with a Clock In Its Walls
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Hugh was born on 6 January 1985 in London. He attended Eastbourne College from 1998 to 2003. He studied drama at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and on graduation went into stage work. After minor roles in 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' and 'Any Human Heart' on television in 2014 he registered with viewers in two very different ongoing roles, as stupid intern Will in the satirical look at the BBC 'W1A' and as the sympathetic village doctor in the period piece 'Our Zoo'. From 2016 he has been seen in the comedy series 'The Windsors' as a sweet but dumb version of Prince William and in 2018 appeared on the big screen as a younger version of Colin Firth's 'Harry' in the much-awaited 'Mamma Mia - Here We Go Again.'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again- Born in 2007 in Vancouver, Canada, to a Scottish-Canadian father and Japanese mother, Koyu is bilingual in both Japanese and English. Koyu's first role was voicing the character of Atari Kobayashi in Wes Anderson's Oscar-nominated stop-motion animation film, "Isle of Dogs". The film opened the 68th Berlin International Film Festival (2018), which Koyu attended with Anderson and all the other amazing voice cast. Koyu's credits also include a part in DC's Legends of Tomorrow, internationally-screened short films as well as commercials for Toyota and Nintendo. When not acting, he plays provincial-level soccer and also enjoys playing guitar and drums.Isle of Dogs
- Deric McCabe was born on 28 August 2008. He is an actor, known for A Wrinkle in Time (2018), Stephanie (2017) and Hold On (2019).A Wrinkle in Time