On The Rise 2016: 20 Actors & Actresses To Watch

Rosa Salazar
James Cameron has been planning a movie version of manga “Battle Angel Alita,” about a cyborg bounty hunter, since 2000 — for a while, it was going to be his first movie after “Titanic.” Now busy on the “Avatar” sequels, Cameron’s stepped away, but the project’s finally moving forward with Robert Rodriguez directing, and Rosa Salazar is the person who’s been chosen to star. The 31-year-old Maryland narrative first turned heads with recurring roles in “American Horror Story” and “Parenthood,” before co-starring with Adam Pally in comedies “Night Owls” and “Search Party” (she’s more or less the best thing in the latter). She also managed a rare feat in appearing in both “The Divergent Series: Insurgent” and “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” thereby proving that the two are separate entities; and most recently had a good arc on FX’s “Man Seeking Woman.” Next summer, she’ll star with Dax Shepard and Michael Peña in the “CHiPs” reboot, and if she hasn’t blown up by then (and we reckon she will), “Battle Angel Alita” hits in July 2018.

Chris Sullivan
You would think that an actor with such a domineering physical presence as Chris Sullivan would find it difficult to be a chameleon, but the New Yorker has been popping up in all sorts of unexpected places since we first started taking notice of him. Sullivan made his film debut in Sundance drama “North Starr,” and booked notable TV gigs including “Elementary,” “The Americans” and, inevitably, “Law & Order: SVU” before a major movie debut in Tom Hardy crime pic “The Drop.” Around the same time, he booked the role that really put him on the map: as brutish ambulance driver Cleary on Steven Soderbergh’s “The Knick,” he was one of the standouts in an impeccable cast, giving his character an unexpected amount of pathos by the end. He recently cropped up in “Stranger Things,” in a brief but welcome role as diner owner Benny, but the movies have come calling, and in the next 12 months, he’ll star in Ridley Scott-produced sci-fi “Morgan,” have a major role in Ben Affleck’s crime epic “Live By Night,” and play villain Taserface in “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.”

Kim Tae-Ri
As you’ll know from our glowing review, or from the lavishly beautiful trailer, Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden” is one of the must-see films of the coming fall season. And if there’s any justice, it’ll be a starmaking role for its young lead, Kim Tae-ri. The 26-year-old actress makes her feature debut in the movie as Sook-hee, a young pickpocket hired by a scheming, fallen aristocrat and con man to infiltrate the home of a vulnerable heiress as her maid. And she’s sensational in the part, relishing a meaty role that goes through all kinds of twists and turns. Park has compared discovering the actress with casting Kang Hye-jung in “Oldboy” — she went on to a daring and impressive career after, and we’re expecting Kim to do much the same, if not much more.

Kelly Marie Tran
With “The Force Awakens” proving an utterly successful reboot of the “Star Wars” franchise, and launching John Boyega and Daisy Ridley to instant stardom, the news that a new young female lead would be added for Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars: Episode VIII” made it one of the most sought-after roles in years. Brilliant actors like Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tatiana Maslany, Olivia Cooke, Gina Rodriguez and Bel Powley were reportedly up for the part, but the shock was that it went to a complete unknown, Kelly Marie Tran. Even now, the actress remains somewhat shrouded in mystery, beyond a handful of credits on CollegeHumor videos, sitcom “About A Boy,” and Amazon kids’ show “Gortimer Gibbon’s Life On Normal Street.” She’ll be seen soon in a small role in Netflix EDM movie “XOXO,” but it’s “Star Wars” that everyone’s keeping an eye on, with her part rumored to be a co-lead, who overlaps with Finn. The casting on the new films has been perfect so far, and that’s more than enough to give us huge amounts of faith in Tran.

Adriana Ugarte
One can’t argue with Pedro Almodóvar’s track record for discovering, or helping to boost, new talent. From Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz to Elena Anaya, Lola Dueñas and Leonor Watling, his track record is pretty much impeccable, so that Adriana Ugarte plays the title role in his latest, “Julieta” (well, to be completely accurate, shares it with Emma Suárez), means that she’s worth paying attention to. Ugarte (whose grandfather Eduardo worked with Luis Buñuel, the pair co-writing “The Criminal Life Of Archibaldo De La Cruz” among others) has been kicking around for a while — she was nominated for the Goya for Best New Actress in 2006 for “Cabeza De Perro,” but has been best known for her TV work since, including the hit drama series “La Señora.” But “Julieta” should give her a huge boost: While it’s Suárez that dominates as the older Julieta, Ugarte is a perfect fit for the younger incarnation of the character, and we hope she becomes one of Almodóvar’s regulars soon.

We could go on all day with some of the names that could also break out in the near-future, but we want to keep our powder dry for next year’s feature. Nevertheless, a few extras you should keep an eye out for are Pom Klementieff, who’ll play Mantis, the newest member of the “Guardians Of The Galaxy;” Trevante Rhodes, who stars in Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight;” Ellie Bamber, who’s impressed on the London stage but will break into movies with Tom Ford’s “Nocturnal Animals;” new Spider-Man leading lady Zendaya; “Certain Women” breakout Lily Gladstone; “BFG” lead Ruby Barnhill; “Love & Friendship” scene-stealer Tom Bennett; and Jacob Latimore, who’s going from Sundance hit “Sleight” to Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit movie.

Also look out for “First Girl I Loved” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” actress Dylan Gelula; “Little Men” leads Michael Barbieri and Theo Taplitz; “Sing Street” star Lucy Boynton, “Hunt For The Wilderpeople”’s Julian Dennison; Zoey Deutch, who’s in everything including “Everybody Wants Some!!;” Joe Cole of “Green Room” and the upcoming “Thank You For Your Service;” Sia surrogate-turned-“Book Of Henry” star Maddie Ziegler; “Pete’s Dragon” lead Oakes Fegley; “The Magnificent Seven” stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Martin Sensmeier; “A Monster Calls” actor Lewis MacDougall; Eiza González, who’ll star in Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver;” Fionn Whitehead, a co-lead of Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk;” “Underground” stars Aldis Hodge and Amirah Vann; and Aurora Perrineau, who joins Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence in “Passengers.” Anyone else you think deserves a shout out? Let us know in the comments.