Welcome to the 16th annual Breakthrough Performers list, where we shine a spotlight on rising actors who are on track to become Hollywood’s next big stars.
For the past 16 years, I’ve been tracking emerging talents and predicting their lasting impact on cinema. This tradition has consistently highlighted standouts, some of whom are pictured above. Last year, Jacob Elordi joined the ranks of past honorees like Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Florence Pugh, and Timothée Chalamet – actors who’ve topped the list in previous years. Elordi had a standout year, starring in both Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn and Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla. He’s set to play The Monster in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein this year, and will take on the role of Heathcliff opposite Margot Robbie in Fennell’s upcoming Wuthering Heights (2026). His career continues to soar.
The Breakthrough Performances feature has now found a new home at AwardsWatch, after being hosted previously by Awards Daily, Awards Circuit, and Award Contenders. The list boasts a pretty stellar history, with past honorees like Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Brie Larson, Mahershala Ali, and Ariana DeBose, who all went on to win Oscars. In fact, 10 of the 15 past title-bearers have received acting Oscar nominations. Over 20 other actors from the list have earned Oscar nods and/or wins, including Jeremy Renner, Carey Mulligan, Anna Kendrick, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Lakeith Stanfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Rooney Mara, Lupita Nyong’o, Alicia Vikander, Lucas Hedges, Ruth Negga, Naomie Harris, Daniel Kaluuya, Margot Robbie, Adam Driver, Cynthia Erivo, Riz Ahmed, Chadwick Boseman, Jessie Buckley, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Stephanie Hsu.
The “rules” are pretty simple: individuals who have already received nominations for a SAG (Film), Oscar, Globe (Film), or Emmy in previous years are not eligible. The list rarely features actors under 18, given the challenge of predicting the trajectory of a young actor’s career.
This list is created based on standout performances, presence, future projects, and, of course, personal opinion. With that, and a heartfelt thanks to the AwardsWatch team, I present the Breakthrough Performers of 2024.
10. Brandon Wilson – Nickel Boys (by Mark Johnson)
Brandon Wilson’s portrayal of Turner, the street-smart and pragmatic teenager in RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys, is one of the standout performances of the year. Sharing the screen with Ethan Herisse, who plays the idealistic Elwood, Wilson’s Turner serves as the perfect counterpoint to his more idealistic friend – grounded, wary, and shaped by the harshness of the world around him.
Wilson masterfully taps into Turner’s trauma, portraying his tough exterior as a shield forged from years of enduring systemic racism and the relentless violence at the Nickel Academy. Beneath that tough facade, Wilson delicately uncovers Turner’s vulnerability, showing the emotional scars that lie just below the surface. Through his haunted gaze and quiet strength, Wilson gives the character a depth that speaks to both resilience and a yearning for something more.
The performance is even more remarkable considering Ross’ innovative filmmaking approach, using body-mounted cameras to capture an intimate, first-person perspective. This technique adds an extra layer of intensity to Wilson’s portrayal, making the audience feel as if they are right alongside Turner and Elwood in their journey.
Though there are no future projects listed for Wilson on IMDb at the moment, it’s clear that his talent has left a lasting impression, and we can only expect bigger roles and opportunities to come his way as he continues to make his mark in the industry.
9. Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing (by Daniel Bayer)
At an awards season FYC event for Sing Sing, the legendary Jane Fonda likened star Clarence Maclin, a real-life graduate of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program who plays a version of himself in the film, to Marlon Brando. Beyond the superficial brooding giant aura, Maclin possesses an intensity similar to Brando’s. It’s especially noticeable when he tears into Hamlet’s famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy, but it’s present right from the start, as Maclin makes use of his imposing aura to shake down a fellow, greener innate for money. When he joins the RTA program, he acts as a destabilizing force, throwing a wrench into the group’s dynamic that’s hard to read at first. But as the film goes on, Maclin opens up and softens, showing a vulnerable side that expresses depths which again brings Brando to mind.
Alternating between watchful interiority and explosive outbursts, Maclin’s performance is wide-ranging but never broad in its emotions, keeping everything beautifully in line with the film’s naturalistic tone. When he receives notice that he’s going to be released on parole – a moment that lesser actors would have marked with tears and high emotion – Maclin turns himself inward, looking confused, grateful, and scared all at once. The complex emotions of that moment don’t need dialogue because his face tells you everything, the mark of a truly great performer. This is a performance of extreme charisma and great skill, despite it being Maclin’s first film. He may not have gotten an Oscar nomination, but he’s got the talent. Let’s hope Hollywood doesn’t squander it and casts worthy roles immediately.
8. Aaron Pierre – Rebel Ridge, Mufasa: The Lion King (by Jay Ledbetter)
The draw for 2024’s Rebel Ridge was the return of one of the most exciting and thoughtful genre filmmakers, Jermey Saulnier, after a six-year hiatus, but the biggest takeaway from the film was the starpower and innate presence of Aaron Pierre. Pierre, who had previously appeared in M. Night Shyamalan’s Old (perhaps you have heard of his character, Mid-Sized Sedan) and Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad saw his profile shoot up dramatically after playing the leads in both Rebel Ridge and Mufasa: The Lion King. It’s hard to take away much from his vocal performance in Mufasa, other than the continuation of his professional relationship with Barry Jenkins. After Mufasa grossed nearly $700 million internationally, it is safe to assume that Jenkins will have carte blanche to make whatever he wants with his next film and it is very possible that Pierre could be a major player in that project. Hitching your cart to the talents of Barry Jenkins is pretty much a sure bet, moving forward, and it looks like Pierre could become a Jenkins mainstay.
But while starring in Mufasa was a great way to plant a foot more firmly in Hollywood, it was Rebel Ridge that showed his movie star potential. Pierre has incredible presence, both physically and emotionally, and it was all on display in one of 2024’s best films. In Ridge, Pierre plays an ex-Marine on his way to bail out his cousin, when the police unlawfully seizes his cash. Needless to say, Pierre’s character, Terry, does not take too kindly to that. You would expect a film with that premise to devolve into a vengeful cacophony of blood and violence, but Saulnier had a different way of showing revenge in a film world oversaturated with one-note stories of Rebel Ridge’s ilk. Saulnier asks Pierre not to be full of anguish and furious anger, but a calm, stalking force bent on getting his cousin out of jail with as little collateral damage as possible. When he needs to, Pierre is an unbelievably convincing fighter, hulking over his adversaries and going through precise combat motions with equal parts power and grace. Pierre has a preternatural, magnetic appeal, a permanent look of confidence hiding behind his piercing hazel eyes. Rebel Ridge is a film that asks so much of Pierre and he is able to capture intense pathos and hulking physicality in equal measure. He was more than up for the task of playing one of the most complex characters in any genre film in 2024. He has become one of the more exciting young talents in Hollywood. The sky’s the limit for Pierre, as both a classical performer and action juggernaut.
7. Nell Tiger Free – The First Omen (by Cody Dericks)
Before its release, The First Omen didn’t seem like anything special. Those of us who call ourselves horror fans have lately been bombarded with numerous unnecessary, uninspired, and unasked for horror sequels, prequels, and reboots. But this prelude to the 1976 horror classic The Omen proves to be different than most retreads by making the bold choice to actually be good. In her feature debut, director Arkasha Stevenson has put together a thoughtfully plotted and beautifully crafted movie that shirks the too-cute, knowing tropes that are usually found in modern series continuations. And it’s scary! A good portion of the film’s success must be laid at the feet of its lead actress Nell Tiger Free, who gives a ferocious performance worthy of her middle name.
Previously best known for her work on M. Night Shyamalan’s TV show Servent, The First Omen is Free’s first major studio film, first leading role, and certainly the first time that most audience members have ever noticed her. But her intense, terrifying performance ensures that viewers won’t soon forget her. The film is entirely centered around her as she journeys from a naive young novice nun to eventually becoming the mother of the ultimate evil. In order to sell this progression, Free is asked to physicalize and personify a wide range of otherworldly actions and transformative emotions. In her most noteworthy scene, she emulates Isabelle Adjani’s legendary subway freak out from Possession. It’s a big ask for a young actress to try and embody a reference to one of the most famous and lauded horror performances of the past half century, but Free is more than up to the task. She quite literally throws her whole body into the film, assisting Stevenson in delivering a truly scary and worthy follow-up to the 70s classic.
Servant ended after its fourth season, with the series finale airing in March 2023. Free’s next big project is a reboot of the 1993 Sylvester Stallone vehicle Cliffhanger, co-starring Lily James, Pierce Brosnan, and Franz Rogowski. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, Black Adam, Carry-On), filming began this past October.
6. David Jonsson – Alien: Romulus (by Erik Anderson)
David Jonsson got his acting start the way several (most?) British thespians do, in the theater, learning the rules and risks of breakneck paces and working live without a net. “What I learned in theater is there’s a certain sacrifice that you make in taking on any role,” he told Variety. “The more you do, the more you learn … You’re going to look like an idiot for a bit, and you’re going to get back up and go again.”
Jonsson soon found himself in television, first noticed as gay number crunch Gus Sackey in 2020’s sexy HBO series Industry and then in the lauded 2023 Searchlight/Hulu rom-com Rye Lane, which earned him a BIFA for Best Joint Lead Performance nomination with his co-star Vivian Oparah. The pieces were starting to fall into place and then he was cast in the biggest role of his career, as Andy, the malfunctioning android in last year’s Alien: Resurrection, the ninth film in the Alien series and taking on the kind of iconic role previously played by Sir Ian Holm and Lance Henriksen and doing so fluidly, with fierceness and empathy. The film was a modest hit worldwide and catapulted his name and status into orbit, culminating in winning the BAFTA Rising Star Award last week, an award previously won by the likes of John Boyega, Kristen Stewart, Daniel Kaluuya, and Tom Holland.
An actor having a breakthrough moment in their career kind of only means something if that career plays out and we can look back at a moment, or moments, that manifested its existence. And Jonsson looks to be making good on his breakthrough; he has no less than eight major projects lined up including an Alien: Romulus sequel, Hype, a TV series he’s writing and producing, The Long Walk from director Francis Lawrence, Grammy-winning musician Frank Ocean’s directorial debut, and perhaps his biggest role yet, playing Sammy Davis Jr. for Academy Award-nominated actor/director Colman Domingo in Scandalous, about the performer’s relationship with actress Kim Novak and co-starring Sydney Sweeney.
For David Jonsson, his is a star that isn’t just rising, it’s breaking through the stratosphere.
5. Joseph Quinn – Gladiator II, A Quiet Place: Day One; and Fred Hechinger – Gladiator II, Thelma, Nickel Boys, Kraven the Hunter (by Karen Peterson)
It’s fitting that two of the year’s biggest breakthrough performers ended the year playing twins. Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger were each on their own roads to stardom before joining forces as twin emperors Geta and Caracalla in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II.
Quinn first stole the show as new cast member Eddie Munson in the fourth season of Stranger Things for Netflix. That role opened a lot of doors for the young British actor, who jumped to the big screen first with the BAFTA-nominated film Hoard, and then with the summer blockbuster A Quiet Place: Day One. The surprisingly emotional story he shared with Lupita Nyong’o showed a new side of Quinn, which shifted again when he played one of the aforementioned diabolical young Roman emperors. This summer, Quinn joins the MCU as Johnny Storm in the newest iteration of The Fantastic Four, and is expected to continue into the new Avengers movies.
It’s hard to imagine anyone was busier in 2024 than Quinn’s co-star, Fred Hechinger. Audiences also found him on Netflix with the Amy Adams-starring adaptation, Woman in the Window, and then the Fear Street trilogy. But he also started the year at Sundance as June Squibb’s grandson in the charming comedy Thelma. He also appears in Best Picture-nominated Nickel Boys, and closed out the year opposite Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Kraven the Hunter. Hechinger has shown he can move deftly from a sweet and funny boy to an unhinged villain. Although we aren’t sure yet when we’ll see him next, we can be sure it will be a lot of fun to watch.
4. Lily-Rose Depp – Nosferatu (by Daniel Bayer)
If you suffered through Sam Levinson’s TV series The Idol, then you have an idea of the depths to which Lily-Rose Depp can go for a role. Wielding her sexuality like a knife, she’s fully committed to the show’s increasingly ridiculous provocations, a fully believable pop star with Dua Lipa’s pout and Britney Spears’s dancing abilities. She even shows her range in the series’ first scene, in which she runs the gamut of emotions for the camera at a photo shoot. But none of that could have prepared you for her all-timer of a performance in Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu. The film opens on her face as Ellen, frightened and alone, cries out for a source of comfort. When Bill Skarsgård’s Orlok first appears to her, a shadow captured against the billowing curtains of her bedroom, she’s in awe, surrendering to him. By the end of this terrifying prologue, her entire body is convulsing like an epileptic, and these violent spells continue throughout the film’s first half. In a fantastic example of pure movie magic, her performance wasn’t aided with any special effects or stunt doubles, coming entirely from her own being. Depp worked with a specialist in Butoh, the Japanese “dance of darkness,” to achieve these uncontrollable spasms, and the effect is breathtaking as we watch her seemingly lose control of her own body in various states of ecstasy and distress. In doing so, Depp captures the true nature of women’s “hysteria” of the time period that so many men couldn’t bring themselves to see – that women have needs beyond what society allowed, and ignoring them can cause great suffering.
Writer/director Robert Eggers also gives Ellen several mesmerizing monologues that Depp tears into with passionate intensity. When she tells her husband of a dream of dancing with death at her wedding, it’s as if she’s reliving it while describing it, and when she later tells him of the great pain and shame she has carried around with her since first meeting Orlok awakened her sexual desires, she believably turns her fragility into strength, lashing out at not just the one man who is supposed to love her whole self, but all the men who have denied her, told her to be quiet, and dismissed her experience. Even more so than the great Isabelle Adjani, who played this role in Werner Herzog’s 1979 version of Nosferatu, Depp manages to make Ellen’s attraction to Orlok feel palpable beyond his vampy powers, and when she must become both predator and prey in the film’s thrilling climax it thus feels both victorious and tragic in ways other versions of this story have struggled with. While some of this is due to Eggers’s richly layered screenplay, it wouldn’t have been possible without Depp’s bone-deep commitment to the role. Her wide-open face and saucer-like eyes fit in beautifully with the period trappings, but the way Depp expresses Ellen’s inner turmoil using every tool at her disposal, each sharpened to a fine point, feels modern in the best way, making this story’s themes feel as contemporary as can be. Horror films are a tough sell to the big awards bodies, but Depp deserves all the accolades she can get for a performance that is both more technically exhausting and emotionally revealing than any other this year. And if anyone still considered her a nepo baby, this performance should silence them. Lily-Rose Depp is the real deal. Let’s hope this leads to even more interesting, complex roles in the future.
3. Adria Arjona – Hit Man, Los Frikis, Blink Twice (by Karen Peterson)
After years of supporting roles in film and TV (Father of the Bride, Andor), Adria Arjona kicked off 2024 with the Sundance premiere of Hit Man, the throwback to Old Hollywood’s noir-meets-screwball-comedy. Starring opposite Glen Powell, the film turned out to be a big hit for Netflix, and showed audiences a new side of Arjona. Channeling some of the best femme fatales from the classic era, Arjona brings her own unique blend of funny and sultry, proving she can command the screen as a leading lady.
She also co-starred in Los Frikis, an award-winner along the festival circuit, and Blink Twice, the twisty, psychological thriller from Zoë Kravitz. For an actor to have three such different and unique films in a breakthrough year does more than just showcase her talent. It proves she is not afraid to try new things. And we can see that in the growing list of upcoming projects she has signed on for. She will soon appear in the upcoming Prime Video series Criminal, as well as the new season of Andor for Disney+. She also has several films in the works, signing on to work with directors Jayro Bustamente, Adam Wingard, and more.
2. Mikey Madison – Anora (by Sophia Ciminello)
When Mikey Madison stepped into the Criterion Closet this winter, she was drawn to the pink spine of Charles Vidor’s sultry noir, Gilda. Madison shared that she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it yet but gushed about Rita Hayworth. This was a film she had to take home. After watching Madison’s brilliant, brassy performance in Sean Baker’s screwball comedy-meets-twisted fairytale, Anora, it’s only natural that she would be enamored with a star like Hayworth, whose charisma, sexiness, and tenacity lit up the screen and made her a superstar.
Viewers may be familiar with Madison’s comedic work in Pamela Adlon’s Better Things or her pyrotechnic turns in Scream (2022) and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, but with Anora, Madison earned her true “a star is born” moment. In Anora, Madison plays the titular Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, a New York sex worker who gets caught up in a whirlwind when she meets Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the immature, wealthy-beyond-his-years son of a Russian oligarch. Ivan wants a girl who can understand Russian, and the ever-professional Ani goes with the flow, eventually seeing their relationship as a way out of the apartment she shares with her sister in Brighton Beach and the daily hustle of her life as she currently knows it.
Madison’s Ani is smart, confident, and funny, and, like a modern-day Tess McGill in Working Girl, a window into an unfamiliar world and a heroine you can’t help but root for. As she steps into Ivan’s orbit, Madison renders Ani as wide-eyed but never naive–she knows she has more in common with the staff left to clean up Ivan’s mess. Within the delicate subtleties of Madison’s performance, it becomes clear that Ivan never tricked Ani; she simply deceived herself, which is all the more painful. We all should’ve seen the heartbreak of the film’s final moments coming. Baker was never going to give us a Cinderella story with a happy ending, after all. So why does it sting so much when we see that tear on Ani’s cheek? When her street savvy is no match for the wealth and cruelty of Ivan’s mother? That’s the power of Mikey Madison, who, with her fighting spirit, convinces us that the American Dream might not be a ruse but a tangible reality glimmering like the tinsel in her hair.
1. Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown (by Mark Johnson)
Choosing between Mikey Madison and Monica Barbaro for the top spot this year was no easy task. Both gave standout breakout performances, earning well-deserved Oscar nominations. It was the kind of “good problem” to have, given the incredible talent on display.
Barbaro takes on the role of legendary folk singer Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown, embodying both the muse and love interest of Bob Dylan, portrayed by Timothée Chalamet (who topped this list in 2017). Much like Chalamet, Barbaro sings and plays guitar herself, infusing each note with emotional depth. The challenge of mastering a new instrument and stepping into the shoes of an iconic figure was no small feat, but the true test lay in capturing Baez’s distinctive, haunting vocal style. Barbaro’s performance is vulnerable and delicate, adding a layer of authenticity that is crucial to the film’s success.
In an interview with the Marin Independent Journal, Baez reflected on Barbaro’s portrayal, saying, “I loved what she did in this film… she looked enough like me, and she had my gestures down. You could tell who it was.”
Ultimately, what tipped the scale in Barbaro’s favor was her remarkable versatility. She effortlessly transitioned from her supporting role in Top Gun: Maverick to her powerhouse performance as Baez, showcasing a remarkable range of emotional depth and skill in two vastly different characters.
To borrow a line from Robert Shelton’s review in The New York Times – which James Mangold quoted in A Complete Unknown – Barbaro “sends one scurrying to the thesaurus for superlatives.”
Looking ahead, Barbaro has an exciting lineup of projects. She’ll star in Crime 101, directed by Bart Layton, alongside a star-studded cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Barry Keoghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, Nick Nolte, Tate Donovan, and Corey Hawkins. She’ll also appear in season two of FUBAR and in Army of the Dead: Las Vegas.
And that’s a wrap on year 16 of the Breakthrough Performers list! We’d love to hear your thoughts – who do you think should have made the cut, and who’s on your radar for the next big breakout?
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