Rueben's Ramblings

Much like the Faces of 2021, there are always entertainers of note to be on the look-out for in the new year or those who made great waves throughout the current year who will, undoubtedly, be big stars in the new year.

The new faces of 2022 appear below in no particular order:

Amber Ruffin – The comedian is the host of The Amber Ruffin Show – the only Black woman with a late-night show currently on the air. The late-night show airs on Peacock (the NBC streaming service) breaks away from the typical structure, focusing on topical sketches instead of guests. Additionally, she and her sister Lacey Lamar co-authored the book ‘You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism,’ which landed on the New York Times best-seller list.

Louis Partridge – Louis made waves playing Tewkesbury in the Netflix movie Enola Holmes alongside Stranger Things alum Millie Bobby Brown; and he will reprise that role in the sequel that is in post-production right now. He will play Peter Pan in the upcoming box office movie The Lost Girls; Sid Vicious in the upcoming mini-series called Pistol; and he will play Tristan in the upcoming fantasy romance film called Ferryman, adapted from the best-selling young adult trilogy by Claire McFall.

Leslie Grace – Leslie made her film debut in the Lin-Manuel Miranda box office adaptation of his Broadway play In the Heights that came out in theatres this summer; and she landed the title role, following a competitive search, of Barbara Gordon in the upcoming box office film Batgirl. She is also a three-time Latin Grammy nominee, having started her singer-songwriting career when she was 16.

Emilia Jones – The 19-year-old London born actress was part of the cast of the Nickelodeon mystery series House of Anubis back in 2011 and even appeared in an episode of Doctor Who in 2013, but it was her star-making role as the only hearing person in her deaf family in the Apple TV+ movie CODA – which also stars Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur and Daniel Durant – that turned heads. In fact, she spent 9 months learning American Sign Language, took singing lessons and learned how to operate a professional fishing trawler for the part. She is also the middle child in the Netflix series Locke & Key and will star in Cat Person, the psychological thriller box office movie.

Alex Tarrant – Alex has appeared in the New Zealand original series Filthy Rich (FOX made an American version that lasted for less than one full season in 2020); the Cook Islands-based mystery series Tatau; and the New Zealand-based medical primetime soap opera Shortland Street. He also appeared in the New Zealand-based family drama 800 Words (that aired here in the states on UPtv). He is now the new guy on the latest franchise series NCIS: Hawai’i and he is part of the ensemble cast of the upcoming Amazon series The Lord of the Rings that will be set thousand of years before the events in the J.R.R. Tolkien novels.

Xolo Maridueña – He has played Miguel Diaz for three seasons in Cobra Kai, the small screen adaptation of the original Karate Kid movies that started out on YouTube before moving over to Netflix, becoming a hit series in its own right. The 4th season of the show will debut on December 31. He completed high school and two years of credits at a city college while working on the show too. Also, a chance meeting at Sundance with director Angel Manuel Soto, led Xolo to landing the lead in Blue Beetle, DC’s first Latino superhero movie.

Danielle Deadwyler – Danielle has appeared in episodes of Greenleaf, Watchmen and P-Valley, but it was her role in the ensemble cast of the Netflix film The Harder They Fall – that featured Regina King, Idris Elba, LaKeith Steinfield, Damon Wayans, Jr., Zazie Beetz, Jonathan Majors and Edi Gathegi – that turned heads. She will next be seen in the close-to-home HBO Max series Station Eleven (about survivors of a devastating flu) and she will play Emmet Till’s mother in the upcoming film Till.

Jaden Michael – Jaden is only 18, but he has appeared in multiple roles in critically acclaimed series and films alongside a lengthy list of A-List actors like Michelle Williams, Viola Davis and Ellen Burnstryn (just to name a few). But it was when director/producer Ava DuVernay selected him to play a young Colin Kaepernick in the Netflix series Colin in Black & White that launched him into the stratosphere. He will also appear in the lead role in the Amazon pilot of Shelter based on the Harlan Coben book.

Moses Ingram – This newcomer actress earned an Emmy nomination for her role in the much-buzzed about Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit; starred as Lady Macduff in The Tragedy of Macbeth alongside Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand and will next be seen in the box office movie Ambulance that stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Eiza Gonzalez. In addition to all of that, she is part of the cast of the upcoming Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Saniyya Sidney – The 15-year-old has an impressive resume appearing in the box office movies Hidden Figures, starring as one of the daughters of Taraji P. Henson’s Katherine Johnson; and Fences with Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. She was part of the cast of the short-lived FOX drama The Passage before starring as the young Venus Williams in the box office movie King Richard and she will next be seen as Sasha Obama in the Showtime series The First Lady.

Alexis Lauder – Alexis has appeared in a handful of episodes of The Originals and HBO’s Watchmen; and she had a small role in Black Panther and was part of the cast of the box office film Harriet. This year she appeared in the Amazon sci-fi flick The Tomorrow War that starred Christ Pratt, and she starred opposite Frank Grillo and Gerard Butler in the box office movie Copshop. Next she will be seen in the Amazon series The Terminal List, once again starring alongside Chris Pratt.

Simone Ashley – Simone is a British up-and-comer who has guest starred in episodes of Broadchurch, C.B. Strike and Casualty as well as a bit part in the box office film Detective Pikachu before appearing in a recurring role in the Netflix series Sex Education. Her next role will put her on the map, as she will play a very pivotal role in the second season of the Netflix period piece drama Bridgerton.

Fabien Frankel – He made his film debut in the holiday movie Last Christmas that starred Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding. He was going to appear as Theo Sipowicz in the NYPD Blue reboot that didn’t actually happen, but then he went on to star in four episodes of the 8-episode mini-series The Serpent. He will next be seen in the highly-anticipated Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon that is set to debut on HBO Max.

Max Harwood – Among his theatre work is Rent, Point Of View, The Christmas and Spring Awakening, but it was his debut film role in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, which is a film adaptation of the musical about a teenager from Sheffield, England who wants to be a drag queen that turned heads. He will next be seen in the modern fairytale box office film The Loneliest Boy in the World and the movie Magpie that will star Downton Abbey (the movie and its sequel) Tuppence Middleton.

Are there any actors or actresses who you think are the faces to watch in 2021? Please share.

TOMORROW: Closing Out 2021

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The following list highlights the actors and actresses on TV and on the big screen who really caught viewers’ attention throughout the year.

They appear in no particular order:

Top Row: Reign and Jenna; Middle Row: Sarah, Shannon and Sophia
Bottom Row: Helena, Erana and Mia

1.  The Wilds – The Wilds debuted on Amazon Prime on December 11, 2020, with all 10 episodes of the debut season airing that day. The series left off with quite a killer cliffhanger, though. There will be a second season of this compelling and complicated drama about teenage girls from radically different backgrounds, who find themselves stranded on a remote island, unaware they’ve just become the subjects of an elaborate social experiment [not to be confused with the recently introduced Showtime drama Yellowjackets, which debuted on November 14 of this year].

The 8 actresses in The Wilds include:

San Diego native Sophia Ali (Grey’s Anatomy) as Fatin Jadmani; Australian born Shannon Berry (Syfy’s Hunters) as Dot Campbell; relative newcomer and New York native Jenna Clause as Martha Blackburn; the Bold and the Beautiful alum Reign Edwards as Rachel Reid; Sydney-born newcomer Mia Healey as Shelby Goodkind; relative newcomer Helena Howard (Quibi’s Don’t Look Deeper); New Zealand native Erana James (NZ’s comedy Golden Boy) as Toni Shalifoe and American newcomer Sarah Pidgeon as Leah Rilke.

Besides season two of The Wilds coming up at some point in 2022, Sophia will appear in the Tom Holland-Mark Wahlberg box office movie Uncharted; Shannon appeared in the Australian movie Slant alongside Aussie legend Sigrid Thornton and Reign has had an ongoing recurring role in the FX drama Snowfall.

Photo Credit: Gari Askew II

2.  Thuso Mbedu – The South African actress has appeared in a handful or so dramas and soap operas in her home country, being nominated for an International Emmy. But in her international debut in the role of Cora Randall in the Amazon Prime historial limited series The Underground Railroad, which debuted in May of this year, that put her on the map. In fact, she earned a Hollywood Critics Association Award for TV Breakout Star. She will next be seen in the box office movie The Woman King alongside Viola Davis, John Boyega and Lashana Lynch, who has appeared in No Time to Die and Captain Marvel.

3.  Ariana DeBose – Ariana is having a very BIG year! She appeared in the 2020 taped version of Hamilton that aired on Disney+ and was in Netflix’s musical The Prom (alongside the likes of Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and James Corden). She then appeared in the Apple TV+ musical comedy Schmigadoon! opposite Keegan-Michael Key, Cecily Strong and Kristin Chenoweth; and is playing Anita (the role that won Rita Moreno an Oscar) in the latest adaptation of West Side Story. She got her start in So You Think You Can Dance, and appeared on the stage in Bring It On: The Musical; Motown: The Musical; Pippin; A Bronx Tale and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.

4.  Rege-Jean Page – The London native appeared in the BBC series Waterloo Road, the 2016 adaptation of Roots and the short-lived legal drama For the People before turning heads and becoming an international sensation in the Netflix period drama Brigderton where he played the Duke of Hastings. Granted the fact that he will not appear in the second season of the worldwid phenomenon, he has been cast in Paramount’s movie adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons and he will also appear in The Gray Man, Netflix’s biggest-budgeted film to date.

Abigial (Left) and Emily (Right)

5.  Abigail Barrow and Emily Bear – Speaking of Bridgerton, Abigail and Emily became social media sensations because of this streaming series. Abigail, a well-known social media singer-songwriter and performer, and Emily, a talented former child prodigy with an impressive arts-heavy resume, joined forces to create The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical. This duo has been interviewed everywhere, has garnered fans from all over the world (including a LOT of Broadway performers and cast members from the show) and they recently signed with the talent agency CAA (Creative Artists Agency).

6.  Simone Recasner – The Los Angeles native (whose father is also an actor) had the breakout role of 2021, playing single mom Gabby Lewis on the FOX reality show within a drama The Big Leap. The show has received a lot of buzz this TV season, albeit low ratings. While the FOX series is her first BIG professional gig, she has been acting since she was a kid, making her stage debut in the New York play Ain’t No Mo’ at the Public, the dream theatre where she wanted to work since walking past the building while attending school nearby.

7.  Simu Liu – The chiseled Chinese actor, who grew up in Ontario and was briefly an accountant at, of all places Deloitte & Touche, appeared in the popular CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) sitcom Kim’s Convenience as well as blink-and-you-would-miss him spots in Nikita, Warehouse 13, Beauty and the Beast, Dark Matter and Orphan Black as well as guest starring roles in Fresh Off the Boat, the TV version of Taken and The Expanse. But it was his title role in the highly-touted box office Marvel flick Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings that put him on the map. He will next appear alongside Hamilton’s Phillipa Soo in One True Loves and in Arthur the King alongside Mark Wahlberg.

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

TOMORROW: New Faces of 2022

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