Rueben's Ramblings

The following list highlights the actors and actresses on television and on the big screen who really caught viewers’ attention throughout this year. They appear in no particular order:

Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan

Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan – Relative newcomers Caitriona and Sam landed the lead roles in the highly anticipated Outlander series based on the international best-selling novel of the same name by Diana Gabaldon. Caitriona got her start as a runway model before landing small roles in the box office films Super 8 and Now You See Me as well as the online series H+. Meanwhile, Sam appeared in the Hallmark Channel movie A Princess for Christmas (with his naturally short blonde hair), the made-for-TV movie Any Human Heart and the British medical soap opera Doctors.

Adele Exarchopoulos

Adele Exarchopoulos – This French actress, who got her start at the tender age of 12, really burst onto the scene in the acclaimed foreign film Blue Is the Warmest Colour, which earned Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations as well as being heralded as the best film of 2013 by many critics. She will next be seen in the Sean Penn-directed film The Last Face that is set to star Charlize Theron, Javier Bardem and Jean Reno.

Lupita Nyong’o

Lupita Nyong’o – Lupita, of course, won an Oscar this year for her first role (ever) in the acclaimed film 12 Years a Slave; and then starred alongside Liam Neeson in the film Non-Stop. Her voice will be featured in next year’s The Jungle Book and she also landed a role in the highly-coveted Star Wars: Episode VII film.

Margot Robbie

Margot Robbie – Margot was a huge star in her native Australia by starring in the soap opera Neighbours, but she was first noticed by an American audience in the short-lived drama Pan Am and then the film The Wolf of Wall Street. She has a lot of projects coming up including Suite Francaise with Michelle Williams, Focus with Will Smith, Z for Zachariah with Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tarzan with Alexandar Skarsgard and Samuel L. Jackson, The Taliban Shuffle with Tina Fey and The Mountain Between Us with Charlie Hunnam.

Ansel Elgort

Ansel Elgort – Newcomer Ansel seemed to be all over the place in 2014, appearing in the film adaptation of the Veronica Roth novel Divergent, the film adaptation of the John Green book The Fault in Our Stars and the Jason Reitman film Men, Women & Children. He will next be seen in the Divergent sequel Insurgent.

Michiel Huisman

Michiel Huisman – Michiel seemed to be everywhere on TV between appearing in episodes of the ABC music-themed drama Nashville, taking over the role of Daario Naharis on Game of Thrones and showing up in the second season of the acclaimed BBC America drama Orphan Black. He has also been appearing in the latest Chanel No. 5 commercials. He will be seen in the films The Age of Adaline with Blake Lively and American Dream with Nick Stahl and Luke Bracey.

Kathryn Alexandre

Kathryn Alexandre – No one knows her “real” face, but everyone who has watched just one episode of Orphan Black knows Kathryn’s work. She is the 24-year-old actress who plays alongside Tatiana Maslany as her clone double. She wears the wigs and costumes and plays out the roles of the clones just as well as Tatiana; and deserves to be praised for what she does. Also, viewers who watched closely to the October 16 episode of Reign would have seen Kathryn as Lady Barnard.

Charlotte Le Bon and Manish Dayal

Charlotte Le Bon and Manish Dayal – Charlotte and Manish appeared in the acclaimed independent film The Hundred-Foot Journey that starred Helen Mirren. Charlotte appeared in the box office movie Yves Saint Laurent and will next be seen The Walk with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley and James Badge Dale as well as the upcoming film Bastille Day with Idris Elba and Richard Madden. Meanwhile, Manish appeared in episodes of 90210, Rubicon and Switched at Birth.

Brenton Thwaites

Brenton Thwaites – The Australian actor appeared in a number of films throughout the year, including The Signal with Laurence Fishburne and Olivia Cooke, Maleficient with Angelina Jolie, The Giver with Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep and Son of a Gun with Ewan McGregor and Alicia Vikander. He will next be seen in Gods of Egypt with Gerard Butler, Rufus Sewell, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Geoffrey Rush.

Jacqueline Toboni

Jacqueline Toboni – Virtually fresh out of college with a degree in theatre, Jacqueline landed a recurring role in the NBC fairytale drama Grimm, appearing as Theresa Rubel – aka Trubel – a new “Grimm” who arrives in Portland not knowing or really understanding her gift until she meets Detective Nick Burkhardt.

Nicola Peltz

Nicola Peltz – Back in 2010, Nicola starred in the much-maligned film The Last Airbender, but three years later she landed a role in the FX drama Bates Motel and then she landed a role in the latest Transformers franchise film alongside Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci and Kelsey Grammer.

Jamie Blackley

Jamie Blackley – Two years ago, Jamie starred in Snow White and the Huntsman, but it was his roles in this year’s The Fifth Estate alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Capaldi, Dan Stevens and David Thewlis as well as his lead role in the film adaptation of If I Stay with Chloe Grace Moretz, that got him noticed. He will next be seen in the as-yet untitled Woody Allen film that will star Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix and Parker Posey.

Alex Saxon

Alex Saxon – Alex is a relative newcomer, who landed a recurring role on the ABC Family drama The Fosters; a role that became a fan favorite. And then not that much later he landed a recurring role on the MTV family drama Finding Carter where his character, once again, became a fan favorite.

Arden Cho

Arden Cho – Arden joined the cast of the MTV thriller Teen Wolf during the latter half of the third season and became a series regular for the show’s fourth season that aired this summer, playing Kira Yukimura. Previously, she appeared in episodes of Castle, Pretty Little Liars, Rizzoli & Isles and CSI: NY. She will next be seen alongside Giancarlo Esposito in the film Stuck.

Who are some of the new faces from this year who caught your attention either on television or in film? Please share.

TOMORROW: New Faces of 2015