by Nathaniel R
Since it's 25 days till Oscar, we thought we'd talk about Hollywood's brightests stars hitting their quarter century mark in 2021. The year 1996 has been a surprising "early bird" year with the Academy since not many 1990s vintages have produced Oscar nominees yet. People born in 1996 are turning 25 this year but already this vintage has somehow produced FIVE Oscar nominees: Maria Bakalova (nominated this year for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea), Florence Pugh (Little Women), and Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit). Do you think any of them will snag nomination #2 soon?
After the jump we've chosen the six actors "most likely to" follow them to Oscar glory. That said we know that Hollywood is always on the lookout for fresh faces and the next Oscar nominee born in 1996 could well be some unknown who hasn't even landed their first role yet. Who would you bank on from this list or the "alternates"? And what kind of a situation or role do you think it will take?
PRIME BORN IN '96 SUSPECTS FOR FUTURE OSCAR NOMINATIONS (ALPHA ORDER)
KAITLYN DEVER MVP guarantee
She's slayed every role handed to her whether it was a high school lesbian activist (Booksmart), a damaged foster child (Short Term 12), a rape victim who is further violated by the system (Unbelievable), or a struggling single mom (Monsterland) just to name a few of them. Up next: the grieving sister / misled girlfriend in the musical adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen.
TOM HOLLAND friendly neighborhood superstar
As a child actor he won raves on the musical stage (Billy Elliott) and on film (The Impossible) and major stardom hit with his long-running Spider-Man gig for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's trying to stretch now (Cherry, The Devil All the Time) but neither case was met with much enthusiasm despite his obvious talent. His Oscar role could come soon or he might be one of those former child stars they finally get around to in their late 30s after several instances of brilliance like a Christian Bale... or never get around to at all despite a few golden opportunities like a Kurt Russell. Who knows! Up next: More action franchising with Uncharted and another Spider-Man film.
PAUL MESCAL the sensitive leading man
He was 2020's most jaw-dropping discovery as the introverted college student and gifted writer Connell in the mini-series Normal People. One famous job, even if it netted you a well-deserved Emmy nomination, isn't much to go on and complex layered roles for young men are NOT as plentiful as they are for young women. Still, what a gift. Up next: He's completed two film roles that we'll hopefully see in 2021, a supporting role in Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut The Lost Daughter starring Dakota Johnson, and the male leading role in a MUSICAL (!!!) Carmen (a modern adaptation of the opera) via another directorial debut, this one from ballet star and Natalie Portman's husband Benjamin Millipied.
TONY REVOLORI under the radar secret weapon
This choice might be wishful thinking. So far Revolori has mostly excelled in comedy which we know Oscar has difficulty with but he's already proven he can steal scenes with the best of the them (Spider-Man, Dope) and hold his own opposite one of the greatest actors in the world (Grand Budapest Hotel). Up next: Wes Anderson's French Dispatch and another Spider-Man movie and maybe something called Exchanged, a thriller about an American exchange student in Europle.
ANYA TAYLOR-JOY the "it" girl
She was all the rage in 2020 with two leading actress Globe nominations (one of them winning) in two very difficult roles in the comedy Emma., and the miniseries The Queen's Gambit but this explosion of media and audience interest was no surprise to those of us who've been paying close attention since her feature debut in The Witch and her two artistically or commercially successful follows up, Thoroughbreds and Split. Up next: She's the definition of "in demand" at the moment so we'll be seeing a lot of her in the 2020s. She has two films in pre-production including the leading role in the Mad Max spinoff Furiosa, she's currently filming the new David O. Russell film (untitled but you know how often he scores Oscar nods for his actors), and has already completed work on a viking drama from her director on The Witch Robert Eggers which is called The Northman. She's also got the comedy Last Night in Soho from director Edgar Wright in the can.
ZENDAYA a very big deal
She's already an Emmy winner courtesy of her extra-brilliant work as a recovering junkie in HBO's Euphoria. She received Oscar buzz (if quickly deflated Oscar buzz) for her black and white romantic drama Malcolm & Marie on Netflix (also, alas, playing a recovering junkie). She's had major box office success in supporting roles via the musical The Greatest Showman and the Spider-Man films. Up next: more Spider-Man, more Euphoria, and a supporting role in the sci-fi epic Dune.
Alternates. Other actors who could well have a breakthrough soon given their talent or the right opportunities or luck. Maxim Baldry (Years and Years, upcoming Lord of the Rings series), Kelli Berglund (Cherry, Now Apocalypse), Dove Cameron (Dumplin'), Harris Dickinson - pictured right (Beach Rats upcoming Where the Crawdads Sing), Edward Chen (Your Name Engraved Herein), Mason Gooding (Love Victor, Booksmart), Katherine Langford (Love Simon, Knives Out), Jacob Latimore - pictured left (Detroit, Like a Boss), Leah Lewis (The Half of It), Emma Mackey - pictured above (Sex Education, Death on the Nile), Lili Reinhart (Hustlers, Riverdale) Tye Sheridan (Ready Player One, upcoming Voyagers), Connor Swindells (Emma., Sex Education), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones), and Jeff Wahlberg (Cherry, Dora and the Lost City of Gold)