Every given year, thousands of fresh-faced hopefuls arrive in Hollywood dreaming of a break. For the 23rd annual Next Gen issue, THR swiped right on 20 actors who not only got that break but are breaking out. Among the actors who gathered in Los Angeles and New York for the bi-costal photoshoots: Olivia Cooke, 22, and Tye Sheridan, 19, who will share screentime in Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One; Alex Wolff, 19, who will star in Patriots Day with Mark Wahlberg; and Thomas Mann, soon to be seen in Kong: Skull Island with Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson.
The talent roster was handpicked by a group of THR staffers, who spent months sifting through a sea of budding young actors to identify the most promising names, consulting with industry insiders along the way about who’s hot on producers’ casting lists. The result is a mix of indie standouts turned blockbuster stars (Me and Early and the Dying Girl’s RJ Cyler has Power Rangers up next), television breakthroughs (Atlanta’s Lakeith Stanfield, The Get Down’s Justice Smith) and multi-hyphenate artists (rapper and comedian Awkwafina will appear in the female Oceans Eleven spinoff).
With 10 actors at each photoshoot, the gatherings quickly turned into reunions for some (Independence Day: Resurgence co-stars Jessie Usher and Maika Monroe embraced when they first arrived at Highland Park Bowl in L.A.) and a dance party for others (the N.Y. actors got down to the ’90s hip-hop music that blasted through the speakers at The Jane Hotel). When photographer Eric Ryan Anderson brought disposable cameras to the East Coast shoot, the actors snapped away — but at first awkwardly, as some of them hadn’t ever used a camera that wasn’t digital before. Thankfully, former model Suki Waterhouse, 24, with four films on the way, was able to show them the ropes.
California-born Monroe had a moment as a creepy indie specialist in 2014, when she starred in back-to-back unexpected hits: Adam Wingard’s The Guest and David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows. After this summer’s Independence Day: Resurgence, she has a slew of films coming up, including YA adaptation The Tribes of Palos Verdes, the Watergate bio Felt and the sci-fi thriller Tau.
I’d love to have starred in: “The Shining — but I hope they never remake it!”
Movie that made you want to act: “The first film that I remember influencing me was One Flew Over the Nest. It was when I realized that film can really move people.”
Favorite splurge: “It’s usually traveling, and then shoes.”
Worst audition story: “When I was much younger, I had to do a Swedish accent for something and I just couldn’t do it. I made a complete fool of myself.”
Hollywood pet peeve: “There’s a lot of bullshit and you have to find true people. I feel lucky now because I have a really good group of friends, but you have to weed out the bad.”
We have updated the gallery with x21 new photoshoot photos…
We have added x06 portrait photos of Maika from CinemaCon 2016 by Denise Truscello to te gallery …
We have added a new photoshoot by Simone Faoro to the gallery…
We have added x03 photos by Justin Campbell taken at the Just Jared press junket last week …
We have added two new photoshoots, one by Jenna Peffley and the other by Dani Brubaker to the photo gallery…
