"Critics Choice" Best Young Actor/Actress. Any FYCs?

Updated to add voting options and recommendations!

Yesterday out of nowhere I suddenly felt a shiver go down my spine. I realized that if I didn't pull some advocacy action, my fellow Broadcast Film Critics might just give Chloe Grace Moretz TWO nominations for Best Young Actor/Actress for Kick-Ass 2 and Carrie and nobody needs that. Not even Chloe who doesn't strike us as the sort that needs the validation to go on. (Horror of horrors that's already occurred back in 2010 when she won a double nom) And then I pictured Quvenzhané Wallis getting nominated for her one line in 12 Years a Slave and remembered that frustrating nomination for Asa Butterfeld in Hugo (he could repeat this year for Ender's Game) and I knew I had to intervene with some advocacy or at least a helpful voting cheat sheet.

Thomas Horn & Quvenzhane Wallis, the last two winners of this category

See, sometimes the lazy voting in this category can be attributed to its low profile. If you're not actually researching / thinking about "which actors that aren't yet 21 did good work this year?" chances are when it comes time to vote you'll just be scribbling down whoever comes immediately to mind. That strategy favors the famous and the lucky (are they in a film you're thinking about for other categories?) and "Best" is not really even a part of the equation.

HELPFUL CHARTS AND READER BALLOT REQUESTS AFTER THE JUMP...

Three former Oscar nominees are eligible in this category this year. I mean I like Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine rapidly growing up) as much as the next person but does she deserve a nomination in this category simply because people will be thinking about August: Osage County when they're voting in other categories? Do Hailee Steinfeld and Saoirse Ronan deserve  nominations for Romeo & Juliet and How I Live Now because people know who they are?

So in the interest of smarter voting, I've compiled a cheat sheet of eligible performers. Despite my efforts I am reasonably certain I forgot someone but this should be enough to get the conversation going.

YOUNG ELIGIBLE ACTRESSES
(update: originally these charts were compiled merely to get people talking about the category but they seem to have been miscontrued as recommendations. So if you see an asterisk that is someone that I personally am considering for my own ballot) 

Pictured
Abigail Breslin - August Osage County
Katie Chang - Bling Ring
*Adele Exarchopoulus - Blue is the Warmest Colour
Tavi Gevinson - Enough Said

*Pauline Burlet - The Past (so believable as Berenice Bejo's daughter.
*Kaitlyn Dever - Short Term 12 (my pet film this year but it deserves the attention. Dever is also in Spectacular Now)
Annie Buckley - Saving Mr Banks
Taissa Farmiga - Bling Ring

AnnaSophia Robb- The Way Way Back
Hailee Steinfeld - Romeo and Juliet
Saoirse Ronan - How I Live Now
*Onata Aprile - What Maisie Knew (what a natural)

Megan Charpentier -Mama
Waad Mohammed -Wadjda
Sophie Nelisse -The Book Thief
*Nell Cattrysse-The Broken Circle Breakdown (heartbreaker... foreign films are a bonanza of good child performances each year)

And yes the presence of Adele here (she turns 20 this week) in an extremely adult movie reminds me that I've always felt this award should be restricted to under 18s instead of under 21s. 

YOUNG ELIGIBLE ACTORS
(update: originally these charts were compiled merely to get people talking about the category but they seem to have been miscontrued as recommendations. So if you see an asterisk that is someone that I personally am considering for my own ballot)  

Pictured:
*Tye Sheridan - Mud (the lead)
Jacob Lofland -Mud (...and his best friend "Neckbone)
*Elyes Aguis -The Past (this is his first acting role, terrific as Tahir Rahim's frustrated son)
Gattlin Griffith - Labor Day (3 actors play this role but he gets the bulk of the movie)

*Israel Broussard - Bling Ring !!! Tricky part, but a total success, don't you think?
Ty Simpkins - Iron Man 3
Alex Calloway - Short Term 12
Liam James - The Way Way Back

Jacob Latimore - Black Nativity
Abdullrahman Al Gohani - Wadjda
Nick Robinson - Kings of Summer 
Asa Butterfeld - Ender's Game 

IF YOU WERE VOTING... which young actors and actresses would you be rooting for in this category? 

Comments

[murtada]

Elyes Aguis in The Past was fantastic. One of the best performances of the year bar none. Farhadi is a genius with kids - among many other things he's a genius at.

[moviefilm]

What is your problem with Chloe Moretz? It's obvious you really really dislike her (it's not a question of fame - and even if it was, she became famous, because of her talents). I don't give a damn about it, (and my attitude to her is neutral) it's your problem, but as a blogger, you should keep some candour. I understand you dislike her and therefore you can't write nicely about her, but you should confess this fact and write it as your opinion. But you keep writting it as a simple fact. That makes me very upset.
The other thing is that you wrote: "my fellow Broadcast Film Critics might just give Chloe Grace Moretz TWO nominations for Best Young Actor/Actress for Kick-Ass 2 and Carrie and nobody needs that."
The Awards should be given to the people, who need it? I thought their purpose is to reward and appreciate the best achievements in that particular category in that particular year.
Here's an example: Even if Meryl Streep doesn't need another Oscar, she should win it as long, as her performance was really the best of the year (in her category). Even if it was supposed to be every year...

[Kai Lor]

First I would just like to put it out there that just because a person doesn't care for an individual's performance by no means that he or she hates them. Acting like art is subjective and everyone should be able to be entitled to their opinion. With that being said I have given up on BFCA's ability to do this category justice after Dakota Fanning's phoning it in performance in War of The Worlds won.

[Pat]

I'd vote:

For actor, I'd vote Gattlin Griffith, but also consider Ernst Umhauer in 'In the House'. (creepy)

I'd vote Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs for Young Actress, but I assume 'Rhymes for Young Ghouls' isn't eligible since it only did the festival thing... If not, add it to the pile next year! And did 'Molly Maxwell' play in New York at all? Lola Tash rocks the granny sweater pretty darn well.

I'll admit that I was disappointed with Sophie N. in 'The Book Thief'. (Film is soooo lame, but she's bound to be nominated.)

[kev]

Will Poulter for We're The Millers. He was easily the best thing about the movie

[Mark The First]

I love that you did this post because I think it's been a banner year for young performances and I, too, would hate to see a bunch of name-checked famous kids getting spots here like She Who Is Young Who Shall Not Be Named.

My list would probably consist of any combo of the following:

Katie Chang - The Bling Ring
Adele Exarchopoulus - Blue is the Warmest Colour
Tavi Gevinson - Enough Said
Pauline Burlet - The Past
Onata Aprile - What Maisie Knew
Waad Mohammed -Wadjda
Tye Sheridan - Mud
Israel Broussard - The Bling Ring

And actually, I think Broussard, Chang and Adele might make my lineup in the regular acting categories by the end of the year.

[NATHANIEL R]

moviefilm -- it should be understood that everything i write is my opinion. Why should I state "in my opinion" when it's my blog and it's an opinion piece? For example there is literally nothing in this opening graph

Yesterday out of nowhere I suddenly felt a shiver go down my spine. I realized that if I didn't pull some advocacy action, my fellow Broadcast Film Critics might just give Chloe Grace Moretz TWO nominations for Best Young Actor/Actress for Kick-Ass 2 and Carrie and nobody needs that. Not even Chloe who doesn't strike us as the sort that needs the validation to go on. (Horror of horrors that's already occurred back in 2010 when she won a double nom)

that is anything other than opinion. Except one fact: Chloe did receive two nominations in this category for the 2010 film year.

[George P.]

I loved Liana Liberto's performance in "Trust" a few years back. This year she had a pretty solid supporting performance as Aaron Eckhart's daughter in "Erased." She also had "Stuck in Love" but I haven't seen that yet.

[alice]

Ty Sheridan for Mud and Sophie Nelisse for The Book Thief. Please remove Hailee Steinfeld from the list. The girl could not act! Read the reviews or go see the film, it was the most awful film of the year and ALL because of her. She is way overrated, more of a celebrity than an actor.

[Zacary]

Young Actress: Adele all the way, with a close second going to Katie Chang

Young Actor: I fell in love (in a non creepy way) with Liam James in The Way Way Back. I just felt his performance was so honest. And though I wasn't crazy about Ender's Game, I am still very interested in seeing where Asa Butterfeld's career will lead to.