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Actors to Watch in 2017

News
04 January 2017
Keep your eyes on these top Hollywood talents in 2017.
actors to watch 2017

Remember that episode of The Big Bang Theory when Raj was elected one of People magazine’s “30 Under 30 To Watch”? Forbes has a similar list, which has just been released, and in the self-same spirit we’ve compiled a list of actors to keep an eye on in 2017. Here is our list of 9 actors under 50 to watch (not as catchy, we know).

Alden Ehrenreich

The release of The Force Awakens and Rogue One means Star Wars is back to break box office records and have everyone talking about this massive movie franchise once again (although true fans never stop talking about it). Having already thrust English actors John Boyega and Daisy Ridley into the limelight with the franchise’s seventh feature film, Star Wars looks set to do the same for Ehrenreich who has been cast as young Han Solo in next year’s as-yet-untitled anthology film. However, his turns in Chan-wook Park’s Stoker and the Coen brothers’ Hail, Caesar! have already made critics sit up and notice this young talent.

Riz Ahmed

Talking of all things Star Wars, Ahmed is another face to look out for; but not only for his part in Rogue One. He already impressed with his performance in last year’s intense mini-series The Night Of, landing nominations for this year’s Golden Globe and Screen Actors’ Guild Awards.

Binge on The Night Of every Saturday from 23:00 on M-Net Edge.

Katherine Waterston

Another actor to join a massive franchise last year was Waterston, when she became part of the Harry Potter universe as Tina Goldstein in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. With four sequels planned - and Tina probably appearing in some, if not all the films - we’re sure to see Waterston again in future. For now, the actress has joined another monstrous franchise. This year we’ll see her in Alien: Covenant, the highly anticipated sixth chapter (or second prequel, depending on how you look at it) of the Alien movie series, with Ridley Scott back at the helm for the third time.

Watch the LallaLand interview with Katherine Waterston here.

Tom Holland

From the world of magic and the depths of space (where no one can hear you scream) to the realm of superheroes, everyone is very keen to see the new Spider-Man, subtitled Homecoming, with Tom Holland (the youngest actor on our list) taking on the title role. We already caught a glimpse of the new Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, but it’s up to Holland in his stand-alone effort to prove he really has spidey sense.

Margot Robbie

The Aussie actress shot to fame in 2013 holding her own against Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, and 2016 was a big year for Robbie as many dubbed her the best thing (and some, the only good thing) about both Suicide Squad and The Legend of Tarzan. Her star shows no sign of fading anytime soon, which is why we’re still keeping our eyes on her as she plays A.A. Milne’s (the guy who wrote Winnie-the-Pooh) wife in an upcoming film and prepares for a stand-alone Harley Quinn film.

Watch Margot Robbie in Focus on Tuesday 10 January at 21:45 on M-Net Movies Showcase.

Christian Slater and Winona Ryder

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, these two actors achieved a nigh impossible task in Hollywood: they became movie stars without the help of the popular action blockbusters or popcorn rom-coms of the day. Instead they made their mark with darker, grittier material such as the Tarantino-penned True Romance (Slater), the Tim Burton-directed Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice (Ryder), and black comedy Heathers (together). In recent years, they’ve made a comeback to star status, thanks to television (Slater in Mr. Robot and Ryder in Stranger Things). They’ll continue with their comebacks this year as we prepare to watch Slater reprise the title role for Season 3 of Mr. Robot, while Ryder works on a sequel to Beetlejuice with Burton.

Rami Malek

Slater’s Mr. Robot co-star is also a big deal at the moment, having scooped up an Emmy last year for his role in the show. This month, Malek will be on his way to the Golden Globe and Screen Actors’ Guild Awards to possibly walk away with two more statuettes for Mr. Robot. But what we’re really looking forward to is watching him play Freddie Mercury in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. However, we’ll have to wait a while for that one, so we’ll indulge in Mr. Robot until then.

Watch the 74th Golden Globe Awards live on Monday 9 January at 03:00 on M-Net Movies Premiere, or in prime time at 20:30 on M-Net 101.

Dwayne Johnson

In 2016, Johnson was named People magazine’s sexiest man alive and he became the world’s highest paid actor. At least we know The Rock works hard for all that moola – just this year we’ll get to watch him in the remake of Jumanji, the eighth instalment of The Fast and the Furious, and the Baywatch movie. Now that’s entertainment!

Watch Dwayne Johnson in San Andreas on Thursday 12 January at 18:05 on m-Net Movies Action+