Maybe you haven't heard these names yet, but take note: the future stars of cinema are making their presences known. Newcomers Ivana Baquero, Abbie Cornish, Paul Dano, Shareeka Epps, and Zoe Weisenbaum all gave unforgettable performances this year.
1. Ivana Baquero
When casting the lead role of a princess, there is no room for error. Guillermo del Toro made the perfect choice with unknown Ivana Baquero. The beautiful adolescent radiates innocence and wisdom, impishness and strength of character. Her screen presence is phenomenal, carrying the weight of an entire adult fairytale on her not yet fully developed shoulders.
2. Abbie Cornish
Before the year 2006, who'd heard of Abbie Cornish? The young Australian actress has appeared in three major films from seemingly nowhere: achingly vulnerable in the award-winning independent drama Somersault, steaming up the screen with Heath Ledger in the junkie flick Candy and opposite Russell Crowe in the cornball romance A Good Year.
3. Paul Dano
Paul Dano first appeared on our radar with the 2001 indie drama L.I.E. Since then, he has only gotten better and better. It doesn't matter how small the part, twenty-three-year-old Dano commands attention. In Little Miss Sunshine, he doesn't talk for large parts of the movie, but his sulky subordination charms. He is equally wonderful as an earnest Christian in The King and burger-flipping teen in Richard Linklater's expose drama Fast Food Nation.4. Shareeka Epps
Shareeka Epps made her acting debut in Half Nelson. As young Drey, Epps portrays a latch key kid in danger of falling prey to a neighborhood drug dealer. Perhaps even more dangerous to her safety is a burgeoning friendship with her well meaning, drug-abusing history teacher (Ryan Gosling). Epps more than holds her own against Gosling's marvelous performance; she is all-knowing and charmingly naive, all at once. The actress suppresses her smile, but then lets it shine with full, heartbreaking force.
5. Zoe Weisenbaum
Studio heads have already taken note of young Chinese-American actress Zoe Weisenbaum, casting her in last year's Memoirs of a Geisha. She won me over with her painful and lovely turn as Malee in 12 and Holding. Defying expectations, Weisenbaum's nuanced, scene-stealing performance is stunningly nervy, from an extraordinary flute solo to the carefully calculated seduction of an older man.
