13 Up-And-Coming TV Stars to Watch This Year (PHOTOS)
Julia Garner
The New York Times praised this 24-year-old as the “tough but tender heart” of Netflix’s crime drama. You’ve also seen the New Yorker in FX’s The Americans, and she’ll appear alongside Emma Stone and Jonah Hill in the upcoming Netflix dark comedy series Maniac.
Alex Hibbert
After playing young Chiron in the Oscar-winning film Moonlight, this Queens-bred actor is winning even more praise as eighth-grader Kevin in Showtime’s The Chi. The Undefeated culture critic Soraya Nadia McDonald says the 14-year-old “gives his performances a wonderful, innocent interiority.”
Dafne Keen
She held her own opposite Hugh Jackman in Logan, and now this 13-year-old will lead the BBC miniseries His Dark Materials — an adaptation of the same Philip Pullman fantasy book trilogy that begat the 2007 film The Golden Compass — alongside James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Eris Baker
After her first and breakout role as Tess Pearson on This Is Us, Baker booked parts in Disney Channel’s K.C. Undercover, Comedy Central’s Drunk History, and Netflix’s Alexa & Katie. At only 13 years old, this actress is already raking in the dough: TMZ reports she has already banked at least $300K!
Elliot Fletcher
With long-running and well-received roles on Freeform’s The Fosters and Showtime’s Shameless on his résumé, this 22-year-old — the son of two veteran voice actors — is set to appear alongside Lily Rabe, Amy Brenneman, and Charles Esten in the TNT crime drama Tell Me Your Secrets.
Suraj Sharma
This New Delhi native got his start as the lead of the Oscar-winning 2012 film Life of Pi — and won the “Best Scared-as-S**t” MTV Movie Award for his performance — then took a weighty role in the fourth season of Showtime’s Homeland. Now, the 25-year-old is making another bid for stardom as a star of the upcoming CBS drama God Friended Me.
Kiersey Clemons
Clemons has racked up a ton of TV credits in her first 24 years, including recurring roles on Amazon’s Transparent, CBS’ Extant, and MTV’s Eye Candy. After co-headlining the big-screen musical drama Hearts Beat Loud with Nick Offerman, the Californian actress will next be seen in the forthcoming fourth season of TBS’ Angie Tribeca.
Hannah Alligood
This 15-year-old prodigy is wowing critics as middle child Frankie on FX’s Better Things. “There’s something perfect about the way she essays a young person trying to figure out the contents of her own head,” observes Vox’s Todd VanDerWerff.
Ian Chen
Chen regularly steals scenes as youngest child Evan on ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat, and now the 11-year-old will get the chance to do so on the silver screen: He’s been cast in the upcoming film Shazam! as one of the titular superhero’s foster siblings.
Eliza Scanlen
After growing up watching Amy Adams in Enchanted, this Aussie actress co-starred with her idol in this year’s HBO drama Sharp Objects after wowing her in the audition room. “She never backed down,” Adams told Entertainment Weekly of the 19-year-old. “There were a lot of scenes where she surprised me, and that’s exciting … Eliza was able to outmaneuver me.”
Sydney Sweeney
Sweeney co-starred with Scanlen in Sharp Objects and also recurred in another of the year’s most buzzworthy shows: Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Next up, the 20-year-old star alongside Zendaya in the HBO high school drama Euphoria.
Storm Reid
After breaking out in the film A Wrinkle in Time, Reid is starring not just in the aforementioned Euphoria but also in Netflix’s upcoming Central Park Five. The 15-year-old share the screen with Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, and John Leguizamo in the miniseries, which reunites her with Wrinkle director Ava DuVernay.
Sydney Park
This Philly native landed a major part in The Walking Dead, playing Oceanside leader Cyndie in the AMC hit. Next up, the 20-year-old will play an overachieving, politically-driven young woman in Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, Freeform’s upcoming PLL spin-off.
The future of television is shining bright with these young actors gracing the small screen.
Some have graduated from Oscar-winning movies to gainful TV employment, some are holding their own opposite A-list actors, and at least one has already earned six figures!
Scroll through the gallery above to meet the talented next generation of TV stars.
