The following list highlights the actors and actresses on TV and on the big screen who really caught viewers’ attention throughout the year. There are also some outstanding people who garnered attention during the pandemic who deserve a nod as well.
They appear in no particular order:
1. Ana de Armas – The Cuban-Spanish actress starred in the 2006 romantic drama Una rosa de Francia and then starred in the Madrid teen drama El Internado for 6 seasons. She then appeared in the US films Knock Knock, War Dogs and Blade Runner 2049; but it was her turn in the mystery film Knives Out that turned heads. At some point, she will be seen in Deep Water alongside Ben Affleck (to whom she is now romantically linked) as well as the latest 007 film No Time to Die and the Netflix bio-pic Blonde, based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates.
2. Izabela Rose – The young newcomer, who loves acting and singing, landed the lead role in the Disney movie Upside-Down Magic, based on the Scholastic book series about 8 kids in a world of people with magic. She was also personally selected by Steven Spielberg for her role of Olivia in the reimagining of the classic anthology series Amazing Stories on Apple TV+.
3. Alex Newell – Alex was first runner-up in the reality show The Glee Project back in 2011; and then he joined the cast of Glee over the next few seasons. He later toured with Adam Lambert and performed at numerous festivals, making his Broadway debut in 2017 in the revival of Once on This Island. It has been his role as Mo, the genderfluid next-door neighbor on the NBC drama Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will return for its second season on January 5, 2021, that has endeared him to viewers.
4. Hunter Schafer – In her first role EVER, Hunter starred in the HBO teen drama Euphoria, playing Rue, a 17-year-old trans-girl recovering from a drug addiction who befriends Jules Vaughn (lead actress and Emmy winner Zendaya). But, Hunter has been turning heads as one of the most popular models in the fashion industry; and made headlines as the plaintiff in the ACLU lawsuit against the bathroom bill in North Carolina.
5. Joshua Caleb Johnson – This young actor appeared in a couple of episodes of Black-ish playing the boyfriend of Diane (series regular Marsai Martin), and in a few episodes of Animal Kingdom; but it’s been his role of Henry Shackleford – aka Onion – in the Showtime period piece The Good Lord Bird, starring alongside Ethan Hawke.
6. Sarah Cooper – The talented author and comedian got noticed this year thanks to her TikTok videos – that went viral everywhere – mocking Donald Trump’s stupidity-laced comments, which culminated in her October Netflix special Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine. She is currently producing a comedy show for CBS based on her book “How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings.”
7. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan – The Canadian newcomer starred this summer in the Netflix drama Never Have I Ever, from creator Mindy Kaling, playing lead character Devi Vishwakumar, an Indian American high school student dealing with the death of her father. The show has been renewed for a much-anticipated second season.
8. Michaela Coel – The talented multi-hyphenate screenwriter, producer, director, singer and actress really made it big this year in the provocative HBO/BBC drama I May Destroy You, but it was her work in Chewing Gum – based on her graduation project from theatre school – that won her a BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance. Viewers will also recognize her from the thriller Black Earth Rising.
The next group of faces are people who made the most of the pandemic, creating entertaining videos that went viral, or making a difference to help other people:
9. The Holderness Family – Penn and Kim Holderness – as well as their kids Lola and Penn Charles – live in Raleigh, North Carolina, formerly New York residents, whose parody videos became “the thing” to watch on social media. They have been doing this for quite some time prior to the pandemic, but their videos became extremely popular during the lockdown, and have continued to entertain all year.
You can visit their YouTube channel here.
Parents Penn and Kim also have a separate podcast here, and they are also authors of the book “Everybody Fights: So Why Not Be Good at It.”
10. TwinsthenewTrend – This duo is comprised of 21 year old twin brothers Tim and Fred Williams, who live in Gary, Indiana. Their YouTube channel – where they listen to songs for the first time – garnered worldwide attention in 2020 especially when they listened to “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins. That video of them listening to this song for the first time got 6 million views in three weeks. Some of the reviews of their channel has attracted the attention of the original singers.
You can see their reactions to songs at their YouTube page here.
11. Orion Jean – In September, the 9-year-old won the 2020 National Kindness Speech contest and was featured on Good Morning America. He won $500 in that contest, and he paid it forward by using that money to donate toys to Children’s Health in Dallas. That, of course, inspired others to get involved with the North Texas 5th grader starting the “Race to Kindness” campaign, which you can find at Race to Kindness.
You can see his well-spoken and smile-filled GMA interview below:
12. Anika Chebrolu – This 14-year-old Texan won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge for her discovery that could provide therapy to COVID-19. In Anika’s own words, she “developed a potential antiviral for covid-19 infection. I found the molecule from a database of millions of compounds that can bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and change its shape. And by changing the shape of the spike protein by attaching the molecule to it, it can stop the virus from infecting human cells, and basically stop the infectivity of the virus in human cells. [Source]
Who are some of the faces from this year who caught your attention either on television, in music or in film? Please share.
TOMORROW: Faces of 2021
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