At Sundance, this young British phenom was called “the next Audrey Hepburn,” wowing critics with her acting chops and grace. The 24-year-old starred in two of the hottest films at the fest— An Education (the new Nick Hornby film about a teenager in swinging London who sleeps with a 35-year-old man played by a saucy Peter Sarsgaard) and The Greatest (a drama about a pregnant teen—Mulligan—who must deal with the traumatic accidental death of her boyfriend). In December, she’ll also appear in Brothers, alongside Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal—pretty much all of young Hollywood. As if she didn’t have enough star power on her side, she’s also recently reported to be dating Shia LaBeouf—her co-star in yet another promising upcoming film, Oliver Stone's Wall Street sequel, Money Never Sleeps.
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Alia Shawkat earned a devoted fan base starring as the spunky and rebellious Maeby Fünke in Arrested Development—and she’s likely to win more portraying another rebellious cousin, Palestinian-American Salma in Sundance favorite Amreeka Shawkat, 20, is up next in roller-derby girl-power flick Whip It—Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut—alongside Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, and Juliette Lewis, set to hit theaters October 9. Looks like Arrested co-star Michael Cera might have some competition in the cool/alternative young star department.
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There couldn’t be more pressure heaped on to the big-screen arrival of Where the Wild Things Are, the adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s novel. Luckily for 11-year-old Max Records, most of that burden is placed on the grownups. After months of chaos and reshoots, the film premieres October 16, and the Dave Eggers-scripted, Spike Jonze-directed movie is getting mixed reviews, but Max (whose character has the same name) can do no wrong. “He is the soul of the movie. He's a very special sort of kid. Deep and thoughtful. Sweet and sincere,” Jonze has said. To play the young character who escapes his home life to become king of the wild things, Records spent four months filming in Australia, but doesn’t plan to move to the bright lights of Hollywood soon—or ever. Regardless of how the film turns out, he’ll still probably be every hipster’s favorite sixth grader—he has already starred in music videos for Death Cab for Cutie and Cake.
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Chris Massoglia is going to have a very high profile end of the year. He snagged the main role in Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (opening October 23) as a suburban kid-turned-vampire who travels with a bearded lady (played by Salma Hayek) and older vampire (John C. Reilly)—not a bad gig for a 17-year-old. With the pedigree of Cirque du Freak—based on the cult books of the same name, and directed by Paul Weitz (co-director of American Pie, along with his brother, New Moon director Chris Weitz)—Massoglia could easily be elevated to a household name by 2010. So jump on the bandwagon now when his Twitter followers are still below 200.
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Already a huge star—and certified heartthrob—in Korea, Daniel Henney is still unknown to most in the United States. He had a modeling career while in college, traveling around Hong Kong, France, and Italy, but is most famous for his role in the extremely popular Korean drama My Name Is Kim Sam-Soon. The 29-year-old actor (his parents are British and Korean-American) had his first Hollywood role this year as Agent Zero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and is coming to television this fall in Three Rivers, CBS’ hot doc answer to Grey’s Anatomy.
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Paul Wesley has been a staple of teen shows for the past five years, playing small but integral roles in Smallville and The O.C. The 27-year-old paid his dues as the drug-addicted boyfriend of Amy Abbott in Everwood and is getting his own starring role this fall in The Vampire Diaries, The CW’s capitalization off the burgeoning vampire craze. This fall, Wesley and Ian Somerhalder star as brothers (who, naturally, are unrealistically attractive vampires) fighting for the love of the same woman. Wesley certainly looks the part of a small-screen Robert Pattinson, and for blood-sucking fans that can’t wait until the next Twilight film, seeing him smolder once a week may prove enough of a fix.
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Speaking of vampires, after originating the role of Jacob Black in Twilight, there was talk Taylor Lautner wouldn’t be cast in the sequel. Fortunately, the director was convinced and Lautner bulked up to play the older role in the follow-up New Moon, which hits theaters this November—and he’ll reprise it again in the next installment, Eclipse, slated for summer 2010. And among ladies who are more into werewolves than vampires, the newly crowned teen hunk is giving Robert Pattinson a bloody good run in the heartthrob department.
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Simmons stars in the Diablo Cody-penned Jennifer’s Body, a comedy/horror (horredy?) movie being released next week about a possessed cheerleader who goes bananas and kills her classmates. Unfortunately, his character’s name is Chip Dove, which is a smidge too cutesy to bode well for staying alive. Death by co-star Megan Fox? He could do worse. Simmons will also appear alongside Michael Cera in next year’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a film adaptation of the eponymous comic-book series.
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It’s tough to think of a prime-time comedy that’s been as hyped as Fox’s Glee—particularly one in which the biggest name attached to it is comedian Jane Lynch, known for her roles in films like Best in Show and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. But it seems the buzz is well-deserved: The pilot for this peppy musical comedy about a nerdy group of high-school choir members, which aired back in May, won hordes of fans, and the next few episodes don’t disappoint. While the names Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith and Lea Michele (who play the show’s choir director, jock and starry eyed singer) might not mean anything to TV viewers yet, chances are they’ll soon become widely familiar to “gleeks” everywhere.
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Starring in a movie called Fame has to improve one’s chances of achieving it, right? These two starlets have enough talent to ensure their places among Hollywood's young pantheon. Before filming the remake of the 1980 film and TV show about a group of artistically gifted high-school students, which debuts September 25, Naturi Naughton, 25, was a member of girl group 3LW; she also appeared in Broadway's Hairspray, and portrayed ‘Lil Kim in Notorious. And blond beauty Kherington Payne, 19, charmed with her Klieg-light smile and amazing moves on 2008’s So You Think You Can Dance. As piano player Denise and dancer Alice, respectively, Naughton and Payne are two names we’ll likely remember.
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Saoirse Ronan may be only 15, but this Irish actress has already garnered worldwide acclaim. She earned an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Atonement, and this fall Ronan has the lead in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the bestselling novel The Lovely Bones, set for a December release.
Paramount Pictures
Jon Michael Hill has already acquired a following as a three-year veteran of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Hill attended the acting program at the University of Illinois and spent last summer playing Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare in the Park. This fall, the young actor comes to Broadway in Superior Donuts with the rest of the original Chicago cast intact. Playwright Tracy Letts (of the Tony Award-winning August: Osage County) wrote the comedy about a crotchety donut shop owner (Michael McKean) who develops a friendship with his employee (Hill) who’s still fresh-faced and believes in the American Dream. Called “a lightning bolt on stage” in the original production, Hill gets his chance to show off his skills when Superior Donuts opens October 1.
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Imagine the pressure of having to portray one of the greatest romances in literary history—the love story of John Keats and muse Fanny Brawne—but audiences will surely fall for Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish in Bright Star, opening next week. Cornish, 27, won an Australian Film Institute Best Actress award for her role in 2004’s Somersault and was named “Australia’s Sexiest Vegatarian” in a 2008 PETA survey. Whishaw, 28, earned his acting stripes on England’s theater circuit, earning renown for his portrayal of Hamlet in a production based at London’s Old Vic theater. He also starred in 2006’s Perfume, a film about a young Frenchman who murders more than a dozen women in his quest to make the perfect scent. Bright stars indeed.
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This young Australian has acting in his blood. His older sister, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, stars in HBO’s Hung as Thomas Jane’s character's daughter, and his father, Andy McPhee, is an Australian television star. But it’s Kodi who’s been getting the most attention lately. He stars alongside Viggo Mortensen in the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer-winning novel The Road, which opens in mid-October. He’ll also appear with his father in next year’s Matching Jack.
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This hot pair stars in the updated version of Melrose Place, premiering tonight. Cassidy, 22, and daughter of Partridge Family god David Cassidy, plays an ambitious publicist named Ella Flynn. Heather Locklear, who previously passed on the opportunity to return to the series for its remake, may even make an appearance as a relative of Flynn’s this season. Cassidy previously played a demon on Supernatural, another series on The CW. You might recognize Rady, 28, from The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (he played Kostas, the love interest of Alexis Bledel’s character, Lena) and Greek. On the new Melrose, the Philadelphia-born actor portrays Jonah Miller, a struggling filmmaker looking for his big break.
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Add Doubleday to the ever-expanding list of actresses who have played a Michael Cera love interest. She stars in next month’s Youth in Revolt—co-starring Ray Liotta, Steve Buscemi, Zach Galifianakis, and Justin Long—which tells the story of how Nick Twisp (Cera) and Sheeni Saunders (Doubleday) meet on vacation in a trailer park (romantic, right?) and hit it off. We expect that the new movie will do better than Doubleday’s first film, 1997’s Legend of the Mummy, a made-for-TV bomb.
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Sidibe makes her film debut as the title character in Precious, which won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize for best drama at Sundance this year and releases nationwide in early November. The actress, who was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant and now lives in Harlem, plays an illiterate, overweight teenage girl who has been raped and impregnated by her father. Serious stuff, but director Lee Daniels (who produced Monster’s Ball) knew he had found his lead immediately after Sidibe’s first audition. And “Gabby,” as she is known, apparently hit it off with co-star Mariah Carey: "Mariah and I would sit and talk about fashion and perfume and jewelry," Sidibe told MTV News. "It was like sitting in junior high and talking to your bestie.”
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