Rueben's Ramblings

Much like the Faces of 2018, 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 2019 appear below in no particular order:

1. Kiki Layne – Kiki’s first role was in a 2016 episode of Chicago Med, but it will be her role in thismonth’s If Beale Street Could Talk box office movie that will turn people’s heads. She will be seen in the 2019 movies Captive State with Vera Farmiga and John Goodman and Native Son with Nick Robinson, Sanaa Lathan and one of last year’s faces of 2018 Margaret Qualley.

2. Elsie Fisher -The breakout star of Bo Burnham’s indie hit Eighth Grade, Fisher has been earning raves since the movie’s Sundance debut earlier this year. She appeared in the 2015 movie McFarland, USA alongside Kevin Coster and has provided the voice for Agnes in the Despicable Me franchise. She will next be heard in the upcoming animated film The Addams Family.

3. Zazie Beetz – An Emmy nominee for Atlanta, Beetz stole scenes in Deadpool 2 and will reprise the role of Domino in the X-Force spin-off. She has a number of films in the works including Noah Hawley’s Pale Blue Dot alongside Natalie Portman, Dan Stevens and Jon Hamm; The Joker alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro; High Flying Bird with Zachary Quinto and Kyle MacLachlan and Against All Enemies with Kristen Stewart and Vince Vaughn.

4. Henry Golding – He made his film debut as the leading man of Crazy Rich Asians and starred alongside Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in A Simple Favor. He will next be seen opposite Emilia Clarke in Last Christmas and in Toff Guys alongside Kate Beckinsale, Matthew McConaughey and Hugh Grant.

5. Cameron Cuffe – Cameron had a small role in the box office film Florence Foster Jenkins followed by appearing in an episode of the short-lived series Time After Time and the British series The Halcyon. He is now the star of the Syfy drama Krypton, playing Superman’s grandfather.

6. Storm Reid – She got her first big break in the box office movie 12 Years a Slave, but it was her lead role in A Wrinkle in Time that turned heads. Storm will next appear in the Netflix mini-series Central Park Five that will include among its cast Vera Farmiga, Kylie Bunbury, Felicity Huffman, Blair Underwood and Joshua Jackson.

7. Letitia Wright – While Letitia has been acting since 2011, but it was turn as Shuri in both Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. She also had a role in this year’s Ready Player One. Next year she will appear in Guava Island, appearing alongside Donald Glover, Rihanna and Nonso Anozie and she will reprise her role in the next Avengers movie.

8. Thomasin McKenzie – This Kiwi actress turned heads at Cannes as the daughter of a damaged US military vet in the indie hit Leave No Trace and she will appear in the following 2019 films: The King with Timothee Chalamet, Joel Edgerton and Robert Pattinson; The True History of the Kelly Gang with Charlie Hunnam, Russell Crowe and Nicholas Hoult and Jojo Rabbit with Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Rebel Wilson.

9. Lana Condor – Lana had roles in the 2016 box office movies X-Men: Apocalypse and Patriots Day, but it was this year’s Netflix teen rom-com To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before that has garnered her the most attention. She isn’t stopping there, though, as she appear in next year’s new Syfy series Deadly Class alongside Benedict Wong and the box office film Alita: Battle Angel – which includes the ensemble cast of Jennifer Connelly, Michelle Rodriguez, Mahershala Ali, Christoph Waltz, Jackie Earle Haley, Eiza Gonzalez and Rosa Salazar.

10. Indya Moore – The Bronx native has modeled for GQ, Gucci and Christian Dior, has appeared in Vogue and OUT and she turned heads in the role of Angel in Ryan Murphy’s FX TV series POSE.

11. Brooklynn Prince – This young actress broke hearts and won a Best Young Performer Critic’s Choice Movie Award in the Willem Dafoe-led 2017 box film The Florida Project. She will next provide her voice in the upcoming animated movies The Angry Birds Movie 2 alongside Awkwafina, Dove Cameron, Peter Dinklage, Sterling K. Brown, Rachel Bloom, Jason Sudeikis, Bill Hader, Josh Gad and Danny McBride and The One and Only Ivan that will feature voices provided by Angelina Jolie, Sam Rockwell, Helen Mirren, Bryan Cranston and Danny DeVito.

Are there any actors or actresses who you think are the faces to watch in 2018? Please share.

TOMORROW: Closing Out 2018

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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:

1. Noah Centineo – Noah got his start in several episodes of Austin & Ally and later took over the role of Jesus Adams Foster on the recently cancelled Freeform drama The Fosters. It was this summer that put him even more on the radar by his role of Peter Kavinsky in the widely popular Netflix film To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. He also appeared in the other Netflix summer film Sierra Burgess Is a Loser. Next up is his role in the box office remake of Charlie’s Angels.

2. Kelly Marie Tran – While Kelly has been a working actress since 2011, it was her turn as Rose Tico in 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi that garnered her a lot of attention. She also appeared alongside Elizabeth Olson in the Facebook drama Sorry For Your Loss. Kelly will also reprise her role in the next Star Wars movie that is current in production. She also had a moving op-ed piece in The New York Times, speaking out about online bullying.

3. Tiffany Haddish – It’s been a big year for Tiffany after her head-turning role in the box office comedy Girls Trip in 2017. Throughout this year, she has appeared in Tracy Morgan led comedy The Last O.G. and the box office films Uncle Drew, Night School and Nobody’s Fool. She also has a very busy year to come with voice roles in the box office films The Secret Life of Pets 2 and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and comedy The Kitchen that will also star Melissa McCartney, Elizabeth Moss, Common and Domhnall Gleason.

4. Timothee Chalamet – Timothee appeared in a several episodes of Royal Pains and had a recurring role in the second season of Homeland in 2012, but it was his role in the independent hit Call Me By Your Name that garnered him a lot of attention and awards. He has also appeared in the box office films Lady Bird with Saoirse Ronan, Hostiles with Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike and Beautiful Boy with Steve Carell. Among his upcoming film work includes Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York, a new adaptation of Little Women, The King, a new adaptation of Dune and a sequel to Call Me By Your Name.

5-6 and 7. Hannah Zeile, Niles Fitch and Logan Shroyer – This talented trio portray Randall, Kate and Kevin in the hit NBC series This Is Us. For Hannah, this is her first big role; Niles has appeared in episode of Army Wives and Mistresses as well as the box office films St. Vincent with Melissa McCartney and Bill Murray and Roman J. Israel, Esq. with Denzel Washington; and Logan who has appeared in a couple episodes of the Nickelodeon series The Thundermans and an episode of the comedy Speechless.

8. Awkwafina – The actress born Nora Lum, appeared in the 2016 Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising and a few episodes of the streaming series Future Man, but it’s been her roles in the box office hits Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians that really catapulted her to the top. She will appear in next year’s box film Paradise Hills alongside Emma Roberts, Eiza Gonzalez and Milla Jovovich and she is one of the many voice actors to be featured in the next animated movie The Angry Birds Movie 2.

9. Gemma Chan – Gemma got her start in episodes of Doctor Who, Sherlock, Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Bedlam before landing a leading role in the British series Humans that aired on AMC in the States. She has appeared in the box office films Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Transformers: The Last Knight and a little movie called Crazy Rich Asians. She can currently be seen in the box office film Mary Queen of Scots alongside Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as well as the much anticipated 2019 film Captain Marvel.

10. William Catlett – William has an impressive resume of roles in video shorts, short films and TV shows, but it has been his roles in the popular new series Black Lightning – where he plays Lala – and the OWN drama Love Is __ that have garnered him a lot of attention. He is also currently working on a feature film adaptation of the documentary 12 O’Clock Boys.

11. Lucas Hedges – Lucas got a lot of attention from his role in the Oscar-winning film Manchester By the Sea back in 2016, following that up with roles in the 2017 films Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. This year he has had three big roles in the box office films Boy Erased with Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe, Ben Is Back with Julia Roberts and the Jonah Hill written and directed film Mid90s. He also has two projects underway: Honey Boy with Shia LaBeouf and Laura San Giacomo and Waves with Sterling K. Brown.

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 2019

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