From Leo Woodall to Cailee Spaney, Sophie Wilde and Monica Barbaro, meet the cast of actors set to dominate Hollywood in 2025 after their breakout year. Credit: Getty
With studio executives betting on a new guard to dominate the box office in the years to come, meet the emerging stars making it big in Hollywood and the next-gen talent set to have their names in lights.
The Young Hollywood Actors To Know In 2025
Monica Barbaro
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 02: Monica Barbaro attends the 2024 LACMA Art + Film Gala presented by Gucci at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 02, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
Not yet a household name, but in under a decade in the industry, Monica Barbaro has fiercely carved out a well-deserved space for herself in the blockbuster sphere. From soaring to unthinkable heights as a no-nonsense pilot alongside Tom Cruise, Miles Teller and Glen Powell in Top Gun: Maverick to serenading Timothée Chalamet’s vagabond Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, Barbaro possesses the strength and poise required to completely transform herself for a role.
Her starring turn as Joan Baez in the James Mangold-directed musical biopic has already earned her Oscar buzz, but she’ll soon cement her genre-defying ability in a new crime drama starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan and Halle Berry.
Mikey Madison
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 23: Mikey Madison attends the 5th and final season celebration of FX’s “Better Things” at Hollywood Forever on February 23, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
After appearing as a member of the Manson Family in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Mikey Madison was bound to become the industry’s next big thing. Endorsements like that are few and far between, which is why when she led Sean Baker’s latest film, Anora, to win the Palme D’or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, we knew we had a leading lady on our hands. Be sure to keep your eye out for Madison in the lead up to awards season.
Maisy Stella
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 08: Maisy Stella attends Variety’s 2024 Power of Young Hollywood at Santa Monica Proper Hotel on August 08, 2024 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
You may recognise Maisy Stella’s name as the little blonde girl you saw on YouTube singing a ‘cup song’ version of Robyn’s breakup single “Call Your Girlfriend”. First uploaded to her shared account with her older sister, Lennon, the then nine-year-old soon became a country music sensation with a recurring role on the musical drama series, Nashville.
After a brief solo career, Stella returned to acting to star across from Aubrey Plaza in the coming-of-age comedy, My Old Ass. Hilarious and sentimental, the film received support from Margot Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, and also featured former child star Maddie Ziegler. Stella will soon feature in Flowervale Street, a sci-fi starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor.
Sophie Wilde
VENICE, ITALY – AUGUST 30: Sophie Wilde attends a red carpet for “Babygirl” during the 81st Venice International Film Festival at on August 30, 2024 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Stefania D’Alessandro/WireImage)
The inimitable rise and rise of Sophie Wilde will soon be one of Australia’s greatest success stories. At only 26 years old, Wilde has already achieved a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination and received an honorary Trophée Chopard at the Cannes Film Festival for her critically acclaimed performances.
Wilde became a bona fide scream queen after her role in the independent Australian possession horror Talk To Me, before appearing in the internationally-lauded Netflix adaptation of Trent Dalton’s semi-autobiographical novel, Boy Swallows Universe.
She’s since gone on to become a Loewe campaign star and rustle feathers alongside film royalty Nicole Kidman in A24’s upcoming erotic thriller, Babygirl. You can also see Wilde alongside Tom Cruise, Sandra Hüller and Jesse Plemons in the black comedy film Judy, which is currently being filmed.
Drew Starkey
Drew Starkey at the 15th Governors Awards held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood on November 17, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
Certified internet boyfriend, Drew Starkey, has reshaped himself into a veritable indie darling after a seductive spell as Luca Guadigno’s latest frontman in the Italian director’s drug-hazed gay romance, Queer.
While Starkey already garnered a fan base in the teen melodrama Outer Banks, his role as Eugene, a mysterious veteran who piques the interest of Daniel Craig’s opioid user Lee, established him as a leading man.
See Starkey in the surrealist adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ 1985 novella of the same name, which features costumes designed by Jonathan Anderson, upon its release date in early 2025.
Megan Stalter
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 26: Megan Stalter attends the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on February 26, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Stand-up comedian and online satirist Megan Stalter first made her name in the alt-comedy scene with her raucously hilarious improv before breaking through as nepo baby assistant, Kayla, on HBO’s Emmy Award-winning series Hacks.
With the show returning for a fourth season, plus additional credits in Julio Torres’ surrealist comedy Problemista and SNL troupe Please Don’t Destroy’s first feature film, expect to see more of Stalter on your screens.
Excitingly, Stalter will also helm Lena Dunham’s first major television series since Girls, too. Titled Too Much, the actor will star across from The White Lotus’ Will Sharpe as a New Yorker who starts a new life in London after a disastrous breakup.
It girls Emily Ratajkowski and Adwoa Aboah are also set to appear in the new Netflix series, though there is currently no release date scheduled.
Ella Hunt
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 19: Ella Hunt attends The Fourth Annual Academy Museum Gala at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage)
A feature at the Cannes Film Festival, invites to prestigious events like the Academy Museum Gala and co-stars like Sienna Miller and Kaia Gerber is surely enough to make Ella Hunt one to watch.
The 26-year-old screen and stage star landed her breakout role in 2024’s ensemble comedy Saturday Night. In the film, director Jason Reitman chronicles the first 90 minutes leading up to the first-ever episode of Saturday Night Live. While the cast was ripe with Young Hollywood starlets like Rachel Sennott, Cooper Hoffman and Gabriel LaBelle, Hunt truly stole every scene as legendary comedy veteran and character actor Gilda Radner.
As a London native, Hunt completely shapeshifted into Radner through her identical Michigan accent and curly mop of hair. She also appears in Kevin Costner’s four-part Western epic saga, Horizon, and releases her own music, too.