Who will be first to an Oscar nomination from the "born in '97" crop?
Thursday, April 1, 2021 at 3:18PM by Nathaniel R
Jharrel Jerome, Jacob Elordi, Kathryn Newton, Alex Wolff, Louis Hofman, Hero Fiennes Tintin, Alisha Boe, and Lana Condor were all born in '97
We've been having fun behind the scenes compiling these speculative posts about which actors in their twenties have big careers ahead and it seems like you're enjoying them, too. Should we do another project sorta like this since today is the last one? We've done 1994, 1995, and 1996 and today with 24 days left until the Oscars, let's talk about Hollywood's soon to be 24 year-olds. No actor born in '97 has been Oscar nominated yet so who will be the first?
We picked a sampling of six possibilities for big futures and a few handfuls of alternates after the jump while being fully aware that 24 is awfully young and a lot of their competitive pool still haven't landed that first role out of college. Whose career are you most excited to see develop?
Which Actors Born in '97 Have Big Futures?
(alpha order)
ALBA BAPTISTA
This Portuguese actress has already had a hit with Netflix's series Warrior Nun (2020) and won strong reviews at home for the crime drama Leviano (2018). She was recently named one of 2021's EFP Shooting Stars at Berlinale. She speaks five languages (Portugueuse, English, Spanish, Franch, and German) which bodes well for an international career. On the other hand from some angles she looks uncannily like Alicia Vikander which might cause "who?" problems. Up next: A supporting role in a movie we're crazy excited about called Mrs Harris Goes to Paris which stars... wait for it... Oscar nominees Lesley Manville AND Isabelle Huppert.
Chloe Grace Moretz modelling for Jimmy Choo
CHLOË GRACE MORETZ
Working since she was a child (The Guardian and Dirty Sexy Money on tv and then Amityville Horror and 500 Days of Summer in the movies) she's been pretty famous since breaking out at just 13 with the ultra violent Kick-Ass. In her early teen years she was everywhere as if Hollywood was utterly expectant that she would be a mega star. It hasn't quite worked out that way. Did she work too much? Did she headline too many movies or was the reception of so many of them confusing or minor (Dark Places, The 5th Wave. Shadow in the Cloud, Greta, Neighbors 2, and critical bright spots Miseducation of Cameron Post and Clouds of Sils Maria). Or, as we saw someone remark snarkily on twitter, did Florence Pugh just swoop in to take her place in Hollywood's heart? Still there's plenty of time for a return to prominence and she's always been well-employed. Up next: Mother/Android, a sci-fi drama opposite Algee Smith, and two announced movies that haven't started shooting yet Love is a Gun which is a new Bonnie & Clyde take with Jack O'Connell and the crime drama After Exile with Robert De Niro and Miles Teller.
Jharrel Jerome photographed by Dylan Coulter for Mode Magazine
JHARREL JEROME
He's already an Emmy winner (the youngest Best Actor winner ever) for the miniseries When They See Us (2019) and of course most of us fell hard in love with him in the Oscar-winning Moonlight (2016) which he followed up quickly with three seasons on Mr Mercedes (2017-2019). Up next: You can see him in Concrete Cowboy (albeit in a small role) led by Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin playing father and son.
Kathryn Newton
KATHRYN NEWTON
She's already amassed quite an impressive list of credits, even if she wasn't always in a key role or the selling factor in them as with awards-magnets Big Little Lies, Lady Bird, Three Billboards. She's also had two comedy hits Bad Teacher and Blockers and leading roles in two very recent movies the comedy-thriller Freaky (with Vince Vaughn) and the romantic comedy The Map of Tiny Perfect Things. In other words, either she or her management (or both) have a pretty good eye for material that might catch on and are pretty strategic about varying up genre and role size. This all bodes very well for her future we think. Still, she's waiting for a true breakout that she carries. Up next: Joining the MCU as Cassie Lang all-grown-up in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Maisie Williams photographed by Reuben Selby for Wonderland magazine
MAISIE WILLIAMS
She might have trouble shaking off memories of Arya in Game of Thrones -- none of her efforts since like iBoy, The New Mutants, Two Weeks to Live, have crossed over into mainstream success exactly. On the other hand, the public response of "I can't accept you as this new characters because I always think of _____ when I see you" which killed so many careers in the 20 century, basically died with that century. Now people will even accept the same face playing multiple roles in the same "universe" in our all-franchises-all-the-time world. Up next: She's playing famous punk fan/model Pamela Rooke in a miniseries called Pistol, which is currently filming. Toby Wallace (Babyteeth), Louis Partridge (Enola Holmes), and Anson Boon (Crawl) are playing the Sex Pistols themselves.
Alex Wolff photographed by Susan Kirschbaum for Interview magazine
ALEX WOLFF
Born into the industry (his mother is the always fantastic actress Polly Draper of Thirtysomething fame) He first found fame as a pre-teen in Nickelodeon's 3 season series The Naked Brothers Band (2007-2009) with his older brother Nat and then as a recurring character on season 3 of In Treatment (2010). Several film roles followed like Patriots Day, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, and two Jumanji movies. But it was going toe to toe with an on fire mentally unstable Toni Collette in Hereditary (2018) that was the mic drop; He was as riveting as you could possibly hope for in that difficult role. He's currently up for Best Actor for Castle in the Ground at the Canadian Screen Awards. Up next: Pig with Nicolas Cage and this summer's M Night Shyamalan thriller Old starring Gael García Bernal.
Other actors born in '97. Who knows where their careers will go...
Gideon Adlon (Blockers, The Mustang), Tyler Alvarez (Orange is the New Black, Never Have I Ever), KJ Apa (Riverdale, The Hate U Give), Madeleine Arthur (Snowpiercer, Big Eyes, To All the Boys...), Ellie Bamber - pictured left (The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Les Miserables miniseries), Alisha Boe -pictured right (13 Reasons Why and the upcoming When You Finish Saving the World), Gijs Bloom (Boys, Letter for the King), Ciara Bravo (Cherry, Second Chance, A Teacher), Madison Brown (Strangerland, Dynasty), Asa Butterfield (Sex Education, Hugo, Ender's Game), Dean Charles Chapman (1917, Game of Thrones), Lana Condor (X-Men Apocalypse, To All the Boys...), Ben Cook (Newsies, upcoming The First Lady, West Side Story), Jacob Elordi (Euphoria, The Kissing Booth), Hero Fiennes Tiffin (After, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince), Louis Hofman (Land of Mine, The White Crow, Dark) Madison Iseman (Annabelle Comes Home, Jumanji: The Next Level, Clouds), Josephine Langford (After, Moxie, Into the Dark), Sierra McCormick (The Vast of Night, All Good Things), Amber Midthunder (Legion, Hell or High Water), Camila Morrone (Valley Girl, Mickey and the Bear), Théodore Pellerin - pictured above (Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Boy Erased), Antoine Olivier Pilon (Mommy, Most Wanted), Shannon Purser (Sierra Burgess is a Loser, Stranger Things), Kevin Quinn (Bunk'd, A Week Away), Odeya Rush (Lady Bird, Goosebumps, and the upcoming Umma), Ivanna Sakhno (The Spy Who Dumped Me, Pacific Rim Uprising) Cailie Spaeny (On the Basis of Sex, Bad Time at the El Royale, and the upcoming Willow series), Holly Taylor (The Americans, The Witch Files), and Bella Thorne (Midnight Sun, The Babysitter Killer Queen)
Reader Comments (29)
A lot of these actors started out as children. I'd say their success depends on if goodwill carrys over or if they want to relax and be more choosey about their projects. Chloe seems to be following Dakota Fanning- workhorse as a child but working less as an adult and taking more breaks if needed. Jharrel and Maissie still have respect and goodwill from their projects so I'd say they have the best shot with Chloe as close third.
Pellerin has such an incredible presence, and has been in so much stuff, that I'm always surprised at remembering he's only 23. My favorite role of his, in the Kirsten Dunst show about multi-level marketing, was a character who seemed quite a bit older.
This is great - I really love it. What's hard about it is how difficult it is to predict. I thought Vanessa Kirby was fantastic on the Crown, but I didn't expect her to become an Oscar nominee. It's really fun thinking through actors currently in supporting roles or on TV, who have what it takes with the right opportunities.
Also, who's going to be the next Michelle Williams? She had a supporting role on a teen drama series and few random horror and indie films to her credit. And yet, two years after that ended, she was a nominee. It seems impossible to predict that kind of stuff (though she was good on Dawson's Creek and in Dick).
I think if Holly Taylor can transition to adult roles, particularly the right ones, she has what it takes to be a nominee.
Jharrel!!!
Hasn't Chloe's time passed,she's had many oppurtunities and never wows me anything.
Hopefully Kathyrn Newton has a good career ahead of her,Alex Wolff is the only person who hasn't inpressed me yet.
Bella Thorne.... what an awful bitch. Using OnlyFans to essentially be a tease and take away the money of sex workers who needed it a lot more than she does. She also looks like a fucking meth-head these days.
Chloe Grace Moretz is cursed with such a very specific look and vibe she always seems miscast in everything. The only role I could buy her in was in 500 Days of Summer.
Alex Wolff was fantastic in Hereditary and also very good in My Friend Dahmer. He's for sure one to watch.
Alex Wolff was incredible in Hereditary and I would have nominated him for supporting actor. He's the only one from this group I would say has blown me away with a performance, but there are others who have also shown a lot of talent. Choice in projects will be important for actors like Jharrel Jerome and Kathryn Newton.
Chloe Grace Moretz was really funny in a small recurring role on 30 Rock, but has not impressed me since. Something was so off about her performance in Clouds of Sils Maria</I>. Agree with Ian she seems miscast in everything.
Hoping for success for Jerome and Wolff!!
I think Alba Baptista looks like Elliot Page more than Alicia Vikander. Love Chloe and Alex Wolff, but I was really impressed by Bella Thorne in The Babysitter, showing a lot of comic talent in a pretty dumb movie (very unexpected). Hope to see more from her.
Loved Louis Hofman in Dark, but I wonder how good his English is, if we're talking Oscar trajectory. He reminds me of a younger Daniel Bruhl, and I hope his career goes as swimmingly.
Holly Taylor should've been nominated and won an Emmy during her tenure on THE AMERICANS. So she has the skills. I hope she gets opportunities.
James--Doesn't Louis Hoffman speak English in "The White Crow?"
Kathryn Newton was the least memorable of the trio of friends in Blockers. Geraldine Viswanathan was MVP for me. (She's a '95 baby.)
Just saw Shadow in the Cloud, and Chloe Grace proves in it she still has just as much talent as she did at 13. That being said, her choice of roles doesn't seem to bode well for future nominations.
Alex Wolff, on the other hand, has a pretty good shot based on Hereditary alone.
Jharrel Jerome's reaction at the Oscars was what broke me out of everything that night. I'd love to see him on that stage again.
Ditto Maisie Williams.
CGM used to bug me terribly as a child actor -- and she was so woefully miscast in Carrie it was infuriating -- but she's since won me over as a person (she's been loudly proudly Democrat and politically astute for awhile now) and I actually thought she was pretty charming in, of all things, the Tom & Jerry movie. I wish her well, anyway. I hope she can find a niche and do well.
I am sort of obsessed with Theodore Pellerin, but I had no idea he was so young. He really did seem older on On Becoming a God in Central Florida. I get so angry remembering that show isn't coming back.
Jacob Elordi and Taylor Zakhar Perez should play the leads in a movie adaptation of Glamorama
Alex Wolff for sure and Asa Butterfield maybe. All depends on the breaks but talent like Wolff's can't be denied. It's just a matter of time.
@Ian - Chloë Grace Moretz was brilliantly bitchy in Clouds of Sils Maria; absolutely perfectly cast in that role
Yeah, Wolff seems the best bet in this set, although I like Pellerin a lot. I don't think he's at the level of the other two, but am hoping for the best for Chapman too (I'm one of the people who preferred him to MacKay in 1917).
Alex Wolff was extraordinary in Hereditary. I hope he can get even better roles now.
The one who has impressed me the most on this list is Asa Butterfield. From Boy In The Striped Pajamas through Hugo and then Sex Education, he's always brought intelligence and sensitivity plus those big blue eyes that the camera loves. He may not have gotten those A+ looks like former kiddie actor Nicholas Hoult, but in a way he's even more interesting. I hope he continues to pick good projects and a little luck goes his way.
Asa Butterfield has some real comic chops and he can do drama, too. He would need the right roles, and he can't get too associated with TV, but he could do really well with careful casting.
I enjoyed Chloe in SHADOW IN THE CLOUD, a gnarly wwii horror goblin pic from New Zealand. But I agree, she is very contemporary so she can often come off as wrong for many parts.
Another list that confirms the 96 babies sucked up all the talent. These four posts have been fun and it’s amused me to imagine these four years at high school together, with everyone realizing the sophomores were far superior
Shawshank -- haha. that's a fun way to look at it.
Alex Wolff deserved supporting actor traction, and although Oscar was far-fetched (they refused even Toni *sigh*), I really thought he'd get more than he did. Virtually no critics awards, and not even a spirit nomination! Then again, I was shocked that Hereditary didn't get more than it did at the Spirits. I thought for sure it would at least get nom'd for Feature, Director or Screenplay, Actress, and Supporting Actor ... instead, it got what it should've gotten at the Oscars. lol. Actress. (And first feature). Oh well...
Anyway, I digress--definitely have high hopes for Alex Wolff. He was incredible in Hereditary.