Breakthrough Performers: 2018

Occasionally, the year serves not only as a chance for some of film's best to be offered, but also a time for a fresh new crop of actors and actresses to break out. Examples from recent years include the starmaking performances of Michael B. Jordan and Brie Larson in 2013, the charismatic of a little-known, freshfaced Michael Fassbender in 2009, or the beginning of the actress of the decade with Jennifer Lawrence in 2010. 2018 serves as the greatest example of how the filmmaking industry has evolved in unimaginable ways. Internet stars, musicians, reality TV show hosts, and theater performers all broke through to audiences, while the next generation and performers of color all made their ways into the big leagues in substantial ways. Many may bemoan the future of Hollywood, but with performers like this its destiny is brighter than ever. 
==10. Alex Wolff==
Breakout Roles: Hereditary 
Initially making the honorable mentions back in 2016, Alex Wolff has proven himself once again to be one of the potential master character actors to come. His stress-inducing, terrifying presence in Ari Aster's impressive horror debut Hereditary is not only one of incredible physical testimony, with his violent convulsions and sweat-induced screams injecting much of the horror into the film, but also a thespian's dream in range. His eyes echo and speak so much emotion without a single word, while even the slightest movement is enough for audiences to take notice. Overshadowing veterans like Toni Colette and Gabriel Byrne is an insurmountable task, and yet Wolff does it with ease. 
Future Projects: The Cat and the Moon, Bad Education 
==9. Anthony Ramos==
Breakout Roles: Monsters and Men, A Star is Born
One of two former Hamilton actors on this list, Ramos has subtly made the transition from theater to film with seamless ease. An endearing and enjoyable side character to Lady Gaga's main character in A Star is Born, where Ramos really shines as a breakthrough actor was in his role alongside John David Washington in Monsters and Men. Capturing perfectly the conflict of civic obligation versus personal responsibility that many minorities often feel when tackling societal issues, Ramos' work is difficult and necessary to observe. 
Future Projects: Godzilla: King of the Monsters, In the Heights, Honest Thief 
==8. Henry Golding== 
Breakout Roles: Crazy Rich Asians, A Simple Favor 
Charming and handsome, the former travel host Henry Golding is far from just a pretty face. Indeed, Golding's effortlessly seductive joy and aloofness as an actor makes him the closest audiences have had to a true movie star typical of classic Hollywood in a very long time. In Crazy Rich Asians, Golding's portrayal of an upper class bachelor who has fallen genuinely in love is earnest, believable, and important, putting forth what the modern man can be in a world of growing empowerment. Meanwhile, in A Simple Favor, he plays the similar character with a different flavor, indicating a solid start to a long, bountiful film career. 
Future Projects: Last Christmas, Toff Guys 
==7. Awkwafina==
Breakout Roles: Ocean's 8, Crazy Rich Asians, Saturday Night Live 
Unfortunately the last person of Asian descent on this list, Awkwafina is one of the rare breakthrough stars to have had a career in filmmaking before; YouTube. Exploding onto the film scene with her erratic but infectious sense of bombastic humor, Awkwafina injected much needed charm into the overly maligned Ocean's 8. Meanwhile, she played the loud triangle to the orchestra of Constance Wu as the fully Americanized Asian immigrant in Crazy Rich Asians that reflects the total, open rejection of traditionalism and truly owns it. Finally, Awkwafina was the host of arguably the best episode of this year's season of Saturday Night Live, with an opening monologue that was both a beacon of triumph to Asian America and a rally cry to push further. 
Future Projects: Paradise Hills, The Angry Birds Movie 2 
==6. Joe Alwyn==
Breakout Roles: Boy Erased, The Favourite, Operation Finale, Mary Queen of Scots 
Most famous last year as Taylor Swift's newest boyfriend and two years ago for being the one consistently good thing about Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Halftime Walk, Joe Alwyn is a titan of upcoming actors. Arguably showing the most range of any of this year's crop of breakthrough performers, Joe Alwyn's body of work indicates a passionate, powerful career in supporting and even lead work. In The Favourite and Mary Queen of Scots, Alwyn's work as the one decent man in the manor adds much needed heart to the former and a humanizing companion to Margot Robbie in the latter. Operation Finale gives him a villainous role he chews on effectively, but his work in Boy Erased is prime candidacy for being the film's best performance. In just a handful of scenes, Alwyn haunts and lingers into a man that does something undeniably cruel but never in a completely evil way. He makes a monster a man, and with that intensity Alwyn should have every serious director knocking on his door. 
Future Projects: Harriet 
==5. Amandla Stenburg== 
Breakout Roles: The Hate U Give, The Darkest Minds 
While starting in a slump with the latest YA adaption The Darkest Minds, Amandla Stenburg truly proved herself the voice of a generation with her embodiment of youthful activism in The Hate U Give. As the key witness to a violent incident of police brutality, Amandla Stenburg shadows doubt and defiance into a breathtaking portrayal. Not only settling on the political, Stenburg's work as a character with two conflicting ideals- the African-American community she lives in versus the upper-class private school she attends- provides a deeply rooted emotional conflict for those suffering similar identity crises. And she sells it with absolute perfection. 
Future Projects: N/A 
==4. Elsie Fisher==
Breakout Roles: Eighth Grade 
Typically on a list like this, it takes both quantity and quality to prove oneself as a true breakthrough. However, with her sweeping of every breakthrough award in her devastating role of middle school trauma in Eighth Grade, Elsie Fisher makes for a worthy exception. She's not charismatic, witty, or polished, but her performance is honest, awkward, and painfully realistic. Even as audiences may have lived different experiences than what occurs what Bo Burnham (a breakthrough in his own right) delivers, Elsie Fisher bridges the gap with efficiency and skill well beyond her years. 
Future Projects: The Addams Family
==3. John David Washington==
Breakout Roles: BlacKKKlansman, The Old Man and the Gun, Monsters and Men 
Is it fair to include John David Washington, the son of two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, onto a breakthrough list? Yes, because he has truly earned it without his father's name. With a supporting role in The Old Man and the Gun and a powerful lead role in Monsters and Men, Washington could've qualified himself there and then. However, it's his heartwrenching and absorbing work with Spike Lee in BlacKKKlansman that has made John David truly worthy of his father's name. Dissolving into a man determined by duty but influenced by culture, John David's work proves he is a different kind of talent as an actor but just as effective; just ask the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild. 
Future Projects: N/A
==2. Cynthia Erivo==
Breakout Roles: Bad Times at the El Royale, Widows 
The second former Hamilton performer to appear, Cynthia Erivo is the testament to the new wave of powerful, inspiring feminist actors that have emerged. Defiant and unashamed of who she is, Cynthia Erivo's talents as an actor and singer have been undisputed despite her status as a Broadway performer. Her work in Widows is collected and measured, delivering in the second act in ways that make her an undeniable badass, while her more subdued but no less strong role in Bad Times at the El Royale makes for the emotional core of the film.
Future Projects: Harriet, Needle in a Timestack 
==Honorable Mentions==
*Sunny Suljic - God of War, Mid90s 
*Zazie Beets - Atlanta, Deadpool 2, Slice 
*Winston Duke - Black Panther
*Hannah John-Kamen - Ant-Man & the Wasp, Tomb Raider, Ready Player One 
*Isabela Moner - Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Instant Family 
==1. Brian Tyree Henry==
Breakout Roles: Atlanta, Hotel Artemis, If Beale Street Could Talk, Lobby Hero Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, White Boy Rick, Widows
Check every single qualifier for what makes a breakthrough actor, and Brian Tyree Henry passes it. A presence in strong box office performers? Hotel Artemis, Widows, and White Boy Rick in key supporting roles. Fitting naturally into an ensemble and standing out? Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Widows all show Tyree Henry hitting his mark with precision and power. Industry approval? Atlanta scored him an Emmy nomination, while his work in the theatrical production of Lobby Hero got him a Tony nomination. Length of work? See any of the seven mentioned works above. And a bright future? Check out any of the six films below. 
Future Projects: Relive, Godzilla vs. Kong, Child's Play, The Woman in the Window, Super Intelligence, Outside Story''
Category:Breakthrough Performers