Variety Announces Actors to Watch for 2018
By Variety Staff
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Variety is pleased to announce its annual list of 10 Actors to Watch , an honor the publication has bestowed since 1998.
Past honorees include many future Oscar winners and nominees, such as Mahershala Ali, Timothée Chalamet, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Brie Larson, Lupita Nyong’o, and Melissa Leo.
This year’s honorees will be feted in the Nov. 6 issue of Variety, as well as at a reception Nov. 11 at the Resort at Pelican Hill in conjunction with Visit Newport Beach and the Newport Beach Film Festival. In addition to the , the Newport Beach Film Festival will also bestow industry honors.
“Visit Newport Beach and the Newport Beach Film Festival have been proud to partner with Variety over the past five years to host their 10 Cinematographers and 10 Brits to Watch. Adding a third celebration further solidifies our strong partnership and shared support of and love for great films and the talent that brings those films to life,” said Gregg Schwenk, president and CEO of the Newport Beach Film Festival. “Additionally, it’s serendipitous timing that the next installment of the 10 Actors to Watch is its 20th anniversary and coincides with the kick-off of Newport Beach Film Festival’s year-long celebration of its own 20th anniversary.”
Steven Gaydos, Variety vice president, executive editor added: “If the rich array of emerging acting talents in this year’s films is any indication, the 2018 Awards Season looks to be one of the strongest line-ups in recent memory. Particularly encouraging is the number of Hollywood Studio films that are already in the mix, but the 2018 edition of Variety 10 Actors to Watch also benefits from breakout performances in edgy, smart blockbusters as well as intimate American independent features and powerful foreign language productions.”
This year’s Actors to Watch are:
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 will next been seen in Noah Hawley’s “Pale Blue Dot” and “The Joker.”
Gemma Chan -Chan will be seen opposite Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie in “Mary Queen of Scots” and in next year’s “Captain Marvel.” She is currently on screens in “Crazy Rich Asians.”
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.
Henry Golding – He made his film debut as the leading man of “Crazy Rich Asians” and Golding stars with Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in September’s “A Simple Favor.”
Russell Hornsby – Previously seen on Broadway in “Fences” and in the film adaptation, Hornsby will appear this year in “The Hate U Give” and “Creed 2″ and next year in the Fox series “Proven Innocent.”
Anthony Ramos -A member of the original “Hamilton” Broadway cast, Ramos appears this fall opposite Lady Gaga in “A Star is Born” and in the film “Monsters and Men” with fellow Actor to Watch John David Washington.
Cailee Spaeny – The actress will be seen this fall as Jane Ginsburg in “On the Basis of Sex,” opposite Jeff Bridges in “Bad Times at the El Royale” and as the young Lynn Cheney in Adam McKay’s untitled Dick Cheney biopic.
Marina de Tavira – An actress with a long theater career, de Tavira is soon to be seen in Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma.” She has recently appeared in the series “Ingobernable” for Netflix and “Falco” for Amazon.
John David Washington -Now starring in the lead role of Spike Lee’s “BlackKklasnman,” Washington will be seen later this fall in David Lowery’s “The Old Man and the Gun” and “Monsters and Men.”
Letitia Wright – The actress quickly became a fan favorite as Shuri in the Marvel films “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War” and is Emmy-nominated for her role in the “Black Mirror” episode “Black Museum.”
