Much like the Faces of 2013, there are always entertainers of note to be on the look-out for in the new year. With the help of some online research, here are my predictions for the faces of 2014 (in no particular order):
Alicia Vikander
1. Alicia Vikander – The Swedish actress appeared in the Oscar-nominated Danish film A Royal Affair, then she appeared in the Kiera Knightley led film Anna Karenina and, most recently, she had a role in The Fifth Estate. In the new year, she will appear in the fantasy film loosely based on the Joseph Delaney’s novel series The Wardstone Chronicles as well as the Ewan McGregor-lead Son Of A Gun and the big screen remake of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Dylan O’Brien
2. Dylan O’Brien – He may already be a fan favorite with viewers of the MTV thriller Teen Wolf, where he plays Stiles Stilinski, the sarcastic best friend of lead character Scott McCall, but it will be his lead role of Thomas in the upcoming big screen adaptation of the 2009 novel The Maze Runner by author James Dashner that will put him on the map with more than just the fringe TV audience.
Jack Reynor
3. Jack Reynor – The American-born but Irish-raised actor had a small role in the made-for-TV Hallmark movie Chasing Leprechauns that starred Adrian Pasdar and the lead role in an Irish film called What Richard Did. He can currently be seen in the Vince Vaughn-led film Delivery Man, but it will be next year’s box-office blockbuster Transformers 4 that will put him firmly in the public eye. He will play Shane opposite Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci.
Luke Arnold
4. Luke Arnold – Luke will appear in the much-anticipated Starz pirate adventure Black Sails where he will play legendary (Long) John Silver and he has the lead role of Michael Hutchence, the late lead singer of the band INXS, in the two-part Australian mini-series Never Tear Us Apart: The INXS Story. Prior to these projects, Luke had a small role in the World War II mini-series The Pacific, appeared in the Australian drama Winners & Losers and the independent film Broken Hill with Tim Hutton and Alexa Vega.
Brady Corbet
5. Brady Corbet – Brady got his first big break in the scintillating film Thirteen and later appeared in several episodes of season 5 of 24. In more recent years, he has appeared in the independent films Melancholia and Martha Marcy May Marlene, but it will be his appearance alongside The Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson in the box office film Paradise Lost as well as his role in the box office film While We’re Young with Amanda Seyfried.
Lily James
6. Lily James – Earlier this year, Lily appeared in season four of the international hit mini-series Downton Abbey as Crawley family cousin Rose, and prior to that she appeared in several episodes of Secret Diary of a Call Girl and had a role in the box office film Wrath of the Titans. But, it will be her lead role in the fairytale big screen film Cinderella that will be directed by Kenneth Branagh and will star Cate Blanchett as her nasty stepmother.
Marie Avgeropoulos
7. Marie Avgeropoulos – Marie has appeared in episodes of Supernatural, Harper’s Island, Fringe, Human Target and Eureka before landing the lead role in the Lifetime made-for-TV movie Fugitive at 17 and then starring in the short-lived CW series Cult. But, it will be her turn in the upcoming futuristic CW drama The 100 as well as her starring role alongside Twilight franchise star Taylor Lautner in the 2014 parkour film Tracers that will have people working very hard to pronounce her last name correctly.
Ed Oxenbould
7. Ed Oxenbould – Disney has cast young Australian newcomer Ed Oxenbould in the title role of Alexander in the big screen adaptation of the Judith Viorst book Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day that will follow Alexander through the mishaps of a terrible day for his family after he wishes they all would experience the same troubles he does. This youngster will star alongside Jennifer Garner, Steve Carrell, Megan Mullally and Jennifer Coolidge.
Brenton Thwaites
8. Brenton Thwaites – The Australian actor got his big break in the long-running Aussie soap opera Home And Away before landed the lead role in the Lifetime made-for-TV remake (of sorts) Blue Lagoon: The Awakening. But it will be his numerous 2014 film roles that will get him the most attention, including The Signal with Laurence Fishburne; Son of a Gun with Ewan McGregor, Maleficent with Angelina Jolie, Ride with Helen Hunt and The Giver with Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep.
Sam Heughan
9. Sam Heughan – Prior to landing the much-coveted role of Jamie Fraser in the Starz adaptation of the internationally popular Outlander series of books by Diana Gabaldon, Sam caught the eye of many Hallmark Channel viewers in the holiday film A Princess at Christmas alongside Merlin alum Katie McGrath. He also appeared in the PBS mini-series Any Human Heart, the British medical drama Doctors and the British min-series Island at War.
Ty Simpkins
10. Ty Simpkins – Movie goers who saw Iron Man 3 will recognize young Ty Simpkins as Harley Keener, the young kid who helped Tony Stark out of a bind, but he also appeared in the 2010 horror flick Insidious as well as its 2013 follow-up. But, he will be seen in the long-in-the-works Jurassic Park sequel that will be released in the summer of 2015. Among this now 12 year old’s resume are the box office films War Of The Worlds, Revolutionary Road and Little Children.
Sophie Nelisse
11. Sophie Nelisse – This 13-year-old Canadian newcomer landed the lead role in the 2013 fall film release The Book Thief, playing Liesel Meminger, an adopted, illiterate girl who is fostered by the Hubermanns (played by Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson) when her father abandons her family, forcing her mother to give Liesel up for adoption. She learns to read thanks to the Hubermanns. Sophie was chosen over 1,000 other girls for this part and has only appeared in one other film: the 2011 Oscar-nominated Best Foreign Language film Monsieur Lazhar.
There will also be two groups of people (from film and TV) that will, assuredly, catch the attention of viewers in the new year, and they include:
Daniel Lissing and Erin Krakow
1. Erin Krakow and Daniel Lissing – These two will play the lead roles of Elizabeth Thatcher and Jack Thornton in the new Hallmark Channel weekly series When Calls the Heart that is based on the Janette Oke book series. Daniel was, in fact, part of my faces of 2012 list because of his role in the short-lived ABC drama Last Resort while some TV viewers will recognize Erin from her recurring role on Army Wives.
Divergent Cast Justine Wachsberger, Ansel Elgort and Amy Newbold
Divergent Cast: Ben Lamb, Christian Madsen and Ben Lloyd-Hughes
2. The Cast of Divergent – The recognizable faces among the cast of this adaptation of the Veronica Roth YA novel includes Shailene Woodley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager), Theo James (Golden Boy), Kate Winslet (Titanic), Tony Goldwyn (Scandal), Ashley Judd (Missing), Maggie Q (Nikita), Miles Teller (Footloose), Zoe Kravitz (singer Lenny Kravitz’s daughter and X-men: First Class) and Mekhi Phifer (ER and Torchwood); but it will be the newer actors/actresses who will be starring alongside these bigger name stars who will be getting a lot of attention once the movie opens. They include Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Ben Lamb, Ansel Elgort, Christian Madsen, Amy Newbold and Justine Wachsberger.
Are there any actors or actresses who you think are the faces to watch in 2014? Please share.
TOMORROW: Closing Out 2013
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