FIRST FEATURE
THIS YEAR’s BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS
December 04, 2009
Each year, a pool of pretty young things tries to break into the big time with a breakout role. Some have succeeded, some have faded into obscurity.
Juliana June Rasul looks at a few of 2009′s new faces bombarding the theatres this week and finds out who are on the brink of celluloid stardom
JESSE EISENBERG, 26
He’s the next: Michael Cera
Breakout role: Lead zombie assassin Columbus in comedy Zombieland, co-starring Woody Harrelson.
Next change: He’s currently filming The Social Network, where he plays Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. This David Fincher-helmed dramedy also stars Justin Timberlake.
Why him: After chalking up experience in well-reviewed indies like The Squid And The Whale (2005), Eisenberg is ready to be the next indie go-to guy (sorry, Michael Cera and Paul Dano), a role he’s perfect for with his fast-talking, awkward ways.
EMMA STONE, 21
She’s the next: Lindsay Lohan
Breakout role: Gun-toting zombie slayer Wichita in Zombieland.
Next change: The lead role in teen comedy Easy A, with co-stars like Stanley Tucci and Malcolm McDowell.
Why her: This pretty girl knows how to use her natural comedic talents – she has proven her comic timing in a slew of funny films, working with some of today’s most popular comedians (Jonah Hill in Superbad, Rainn Wilson in The Rocker) and is now ready to make the switch to the big time with a juicy part in Zombieland.
JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER, 21
He’s the next: Robert Pattinson
Breakout role: Young, hopelessly romantic singing sailor Anthony Hope in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street.
Next change: Now part of the Twilight behemoth as Volturi member Caius, he will tackle another major franchise soon – the Harry Potter one, as the young version of dark wizard Grindelwald, Albus Dumbledore’s frenemy.
Why him: He has that scruffy sexiness that assures at least a few good years of work in teen-friendly movies.
Also, playing an important character in the upcoming two-parter Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows means instant stardom and teen adoration. Just look at what playing Cedric Diggory did to Pattinson.
JACKSON RATHBONE, 25
He’s the next: Johnny Depp
Breakout role: Always pale, always queasy vampire Jasper Hale in the Twilight movies.
Next change: He joins M Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender as Sokka, a good-guy warrior.
Why him: This Singapore-born actor – his father travelled for business – is a serious type who has said he has a taste for playing the bad guy.
With the right hair, Rathbone also looks like a young Johnny Depp. And there are two more Twilight movies to keep him in the limelight.
ANNA KENDRICK, 24
She’s the next: Amanda Seyfried
Breakout role: As Bella’s ditzy classmate, Jessica, in Twilight and New Moon.
Next change: As an upstart employee who has to work with George Clooney in Up In The Air.
Why her: It seems the strawberry blonde bimbo from the Twilight films is actually a very experienced stage actress who started acting when she was 12.
She has caught the attention of the right people – Juno director Jason Reitman wrote her Up In The Air role specifically for her, and she has become fast friends with Clooney on the set of the film.
CAREY MULLIGAN, 24
She’s the next: Audrey Hepburn
Breakout role: As the sweet teenager seduced by a man almost twice her age in the Nick Hornby-penned An Education.
Next change: Shia LaBeouf’s love interest in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street 2.
Why her: Critics have been raving about both An Education and Mulligan’s brilliant performance.
She was nominated for a British Independent Film award this year, and has even inspired some Oscar buzz.
In true up-and-coming starlet style, she has also nabbed a blockbuster boyfriend in the form of Wall Street2 co-star and Transformers leading man LaBeouf.
The NewPaper