by Nathaniel R
Saoirse Ronan for Vogue magazine
It's 27 days until Oscar so we thought we'd have a little speculative discussion prompt with the magic number of 27. Saoirse Ronan, who turns 27 next month, is the only actor born in 1994 to have been Oscar nominated so far. What's more she's already done it an incredible four times. Still Saoirse won't be the only Oscar-nominated member of the '94 vintage for much longer. The late twentysomething years is when female actors start getting Oscar-nominated and it's when the male actors start buiding the kind of fame that eventually earns them nominations (we don't make these double standard arbitrary age rules but it's how Hollywood operates, statistically and generally speaking).
So who do you think will be the first to join Saoirse from this crop of actors turning 27 in 2021? We've selected six that we're most impressed by (currently) after the jump as well as a few handfuls of alternates. Which of these actors are you rooting for and who has the brightest future?
PRIME BORN IN '94* SUSPECTS FOR FUTURE OSCAR NOMINATIONS
They're turning 27 this year and big careers could be coming...
Dakota Fanning former child star
As an enormously popular child star (I Am Sam and War of the Worlds) she was so widely considered bound for Oscar that SNL even made jokes about it. But her career quieted in her teenage years as her little sister Elle's fame grew. She's been showing signs of renewed strength, though. She had a tiny fun cameo in Oceans Eight and reminded everyone of her considerable hold on the camera with her disturbing sequence in Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood. Though we'd argue she was a bit stiff in the series The Alienist we believe that with the right role the accolades would surely pile up again. Up next: Two very promising-sounding projects. First is the World War II era sibling drama Nightingale opposite her sister Elle (due this Christmas in theaters) and then, supposedly, the screen adaptation of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar which she's also producing.
Julia Garner the Emmy darling
We first noticed Garner opposite Lily Tomlin in Grandma (2015) but that was definitely the Lily show so we confess we didn't see an amazing future. We were wrong! Julia's career took off soon thereafter with her popular role on the crime drama Ozark (2017). She's won two Emmys for it already! But why should TV get to keep her? She proved her ability to carry a film with a beautifully understated turn in The Assistant (2020) so we're hoping for even bigger and better roles in the near future. Up next: One final season of Ozark and then her schedule is wide open. We're guessing she's being inundated with offers right about now.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. charisma for days
He was really building momentum pre-pandemic with huge roles in two polarizing ambitious films Luce (with Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer) and Waves (with Sterling K Brown)... He was our gold medalists last year for Breakthrough Actor. He recently appeared in The Trial of the Chicago 7 as Fred Hampton (a role that scored Daniel Kaluuya his current Oscar nod in a different film, Judas and the Black Messiah) but we're eager for him to be challenged again because Chicago 7 barely had time for him since he wasn't truly part of the trial. Bonus points for Kelvin's clear love of actresses (not something you often hear from young male stars). If you read or listen to interviews with him you'll note right away that he regularly cites very excellent female actors as inspirations and influences. Up next: a supporting part in Joe Wright's take on the Cyrano de Bergerac story (with Peter Dinklage in the very famous big-nosed role), and playing B.B. King in Baz Luhrmann's untitled Elvis Presley biopic. Both are due in 2022 so this year will be the quiet before the (hopeful) storm.
Connor Jessup. a not-so hidden gem
This out Canadian actor is a true talent, having already delivered memorable nuanced performances in both Closet Monster in theaters and American Crime on TV. He's also a cinephile with good taste in directors so hopefully there's lots of exciting collaborations in his future. Up next: another season of Locke & Key which we're looking forward to but which nobody will be winning awards for. Where is the next American Crime level role for him? We know he'll nail it.
Margaret Qualley good genes
Andie MacDowell's daughter made minor headway toward prestige-land in the nun drama Novitiate (2017) and as the angry daughter in The Leftovers but things really heated up in 2019 playing Ann Reinking in the much lauded Fosse/Verdon miniseries and especially with her scene-stealing barefoot "Kitty Kat" in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood. Up next: She has the leading roles in both the miniseries Maid for Netflix and director Scott Cooper's next drama A Head Full of Ghosts.
Taylor Russell the stealth powerhouse
She sneaks up on you. She unexpectedly owned the second half of Trey Edward Shults's riveting family drama Waves in a role that arguably shouldn't have been that affecting on the page. That film definitely marked her as a future Oscar hopeful if the right role happens. What else can she elevate? You may have also seen her in Escape Room, Lost in Space, or Words on Bathroom Walls but we're eager for her next Waves level effort. C'mon Hollywood. Get to it! Up next: A sequel to Escape Room. Hey, an actor's gotta eat.
Other possibilities depending on talent, opportunities, taste levels, their teams, and dumb luck...
Kyle Allen - pictured right (The Map of Tiny Perfect Things and the upcoming West Side Story), Moises Arias -pictured left (The King of Staten Island, Five Feet Apart, and upcoming The Things They Carried), Lucy Boynton - pictured above (Sing Street, Bohemian Rhapsody, and the upcoming Faithfull), Zoey Deutsch (Set It Up, Everybody Wants Some, The Politician), Alice Englert (Them That Follow, Top of the Lake, The Rehearsal), Taissa Farmiga (The Mule, The Nun, Bling Ring), Noah Galvin (Booksmart, The Real O'Neals), Eili Harboe (The Wave, Thelma, and the upcoming thriller The Northwoods), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things, upcoming The Souvenir Part II), Brigette Lundy-Paine (Aytpical, Bill & Ted Face the Music, Bombshell), Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things, Power Rangers), Erin Moriarty (Captain Fantastic, Jessica Jones, The Boys), Dakota Blue Richards (Golden Compass, Beecham House), Jessica Sula (Split, Godless, The Lovers) and Kofee Siriboe (Girls Trip, Queen Sugar) and probably hundreds more who haven't landed a good role yet.