Rueben's Ramblings

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 mini-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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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:

Travis Fimmel

1. Travis Fimmel – Travis isn’t a newcomer to television, as he starred in the short-lived shows Tarzan and The Beast (with the late Patrick Swayze) and before that he was a Calvin Klein model, but it was his lead role of Ragnar Lothbrok in the History Channel mini-series Vikings that caught viewers by surprise. He will appear in next year’s box office film Overdrive with Twilight franchise alum Jamie Campbell Bower and is rumored to have a role in the film adaptation of the video game series Warcraft.

Ambyr Childers

2. Ambyr Childers – The All My Children alum who played Colby Chandler for two years made waves in the much-buzzed-about box office film The Master, starring alongside Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Joaquin Phoenix. She also had a leading role in the 2010 Mexican horror film remake We Are What We Are and she had small roles in the 2013 films 2 Guns, Broken City and Gangster Squad. She also appeared in two episodes of this year’s new Showtime drama Ray Donovan.

Anthony Starr

3. Anthony Starr – This New Zealand actor landed the lead role of Lucas Hood in the Cinemax drama Banshee. Prior to that he appeared in the New Zealand shows Mercy Peak and Outrageous Fortune as well as the Australian shows Rush, Tricky Business and Lowdown. He also appeared in the 2012 independent film Wish You Were Here alongside Joel Edgerton and Teresa Palmer.

Ahna O’Reilly

4. Ahna O’Reilly – Ahna appeared in an episode of CSI: NY and The Vampire Diaries and the made-for-TV movie Call Me Crazy: A Five Film as well as small roles in the box office films Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Help and Fruitvale Station. But, it was her role of Chris Ann Brennan in the Ashton Kutcher-led film jOBS that got her attention. She will also be seen in the upcoming box office films CBGB, Lucky Them and As I Lay Dying.

Avan Jogia

5. Avan Jogia – The Canadian actor got his first big break in the 2006 made-for-TV movie A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story and then he appeared in three episodes of the short-lived Caprica. In 2010, he was a series regular on the Nickelodeon teen comedy-drama Victorious before landing the lead role on the ABC Family mystery thriller Twisted.

Matthias Schoenaerts

6. Matthias Schoenaerts – Matthias has a long resume of roles throughout Europe, but it was his appearance in 2012 independent film Rust and Bone alongside Marion Cotillard that turned heads. He will next be seen in the box office films Animal Rescue with Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace, Suite Francaise with Michelle Williams and Kristin Scott Thomas, The Loft with Karl Urban, Rhona Mitra, James Marsden and Wentworth Miller, A Little Chaos with Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman and Stanley Tucci and Far From The Maddening Crowd with Carey Mulligan, Michael Sheen and Juno Temple.

Emily Bett Rickards

7. Emily Bett Rickards – This Canadian newcomer quickly became a fan-favorite on The CW series Arrow in her role of IT expert Felicity Smoak, a role that was made her a series regular in the show’s ongoing second season. Before landing a role on Arrow, though, Emily appeared in the Lifetime made-for-TV movie Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story and the direct to DVD movie Flicka: Country Pride. She will also be seen in the independent film Dakota’s Summer, co-starring with Keith Carradine.

Sharni Vinson

8. Sharni Vinson – The Australian beauty turned heads in the horror comedy You’re Next, but she got her start on the long-running Australian soap opera Home and Away and has appeared in episodes of CSI: NY, Cold Case and NCIS. She also appeared in the 2010 film Step Up 3D and the 2011 direct to DVD sequel Blue Crush 2. She is also expected to be part of the buzzed-about all-female Expendables project from producer Adi Shankar that already includes among its cast Katee Sackhoff and Gina Carano.

Aneurin Barnard

9. Aneurin Barnard – While Aneurin originated the role of Melchior Gabor in the London West End production of the hit musical Spring Awakening and he appeared alongside Doctor Who alum Karen Gillan in the BBC film We’ll Take Manhattan, it was his role of Richard, Duke of Gloucester in the Starz mini-series The White Queen that got him noticed. He will soon be seen alongside Michael Sheen, Sam Neill, Ioan Gruffudd and Lena Headey in the box office film The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box.

Liam James

10. Liam James – TV viewers will recognize Liam as Young Shawn on the long-running US Network dramedy Psych in which he appeared from 2006 to 2010, and as Noah Curtis in the box office film 2012. But it was his role of Duncan in this summer’s critically acclaimed film The Way, Way Back that got him noticed. He also appeared in the 2010 made-for-TV movie Christmas Comes to Canaan and the AMC drama The Killing.

Cristin Milioti

11. Cristin Milioti – Typically, I avoid TV comedies, but the casting of [FINALLY] “The Mother” on How I Met Your Mother was big news. Cristin landed the much-wondered-about role after years of speculation as to who was The Mother. Among her previous credits are appearances on TV shows like The Sopranos, The Good Wife, Nurse Jackie and 30 Rock as well as originating the role of Girl in the Broadway musical Once for which she earned a Tony nomination. Up next is a role in the box office film The Wolf of Wall Street alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.

Tom Mison

12. Tom Mison – As most TV viewers know by now, Tom plays the unexpected time-traveling fictional character Ichabod Crane in the FOX thriller Sleepy Hollow that became the, excuse the pun, sleeper hit of the fall. Prior to his role in this series, he appeared in the pilot episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl and the BBC shows The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard, Inspector Lewis and Poirot. He also had a role in the mini-series Parade’s End and the box office films Lost in Austen, One Day and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

Lupita Nyong’o

13. Lupita Nyong’o – Her first role (ever – outside of stage production) was as Patsey in the acclaimed 2013 film 12 Years a Slave, a role she landed three weeks before graduating from the Yale School of Drama. Lupita was born in Mexico but raised in Kenya and educated here in the US. She will next be seen in the Liam Neeson-led box office film Non-Stop. Her stage work includes The Winter’s Tale, Uncle Vanya, The Taming of the Shrew and Elijah.

Also, there were two groups of people (from film and TV) that got quite a lot of attention during the past year and they include:

The Cast of The Sapphires

1. The Cast of the indie film The Sapphires – Irish actor-comedian Chris O’Dowd (Girls, Bridesmaids and Family Tree), played Dave Lovelace, a talent scout who discovers four talented Aboriginal girls – Gail (Deborah Mailman), Julie (Jessica Mauboy), Kay (Shari Sebbens) and Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) – making them into The Sapphires and setting off to Vietnam in 1968 to perform for the troops.

The Unholy Trinity of The Following

2. The “Unholy Trinity” from The Following – Actor Adan Canto and Nico Tortorella and actress Valorie Curry starred in the first season of the disturbing FOX thriller The Following as what became to be known as the “Unholy Trinity” (Paul, Emma and Jacob) of serial killer Dr. Joe Carroll (James Purefoy).

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 2014

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