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We named our hotshot actresses to be on the look out for in 2024, so now it’s time to turn the spotlight to the gentlemen. It’s only fair. In the crossover period from 2023 to 2024, Hollywood birthed some incredible talent, taking chances on one-hit wonders and turning them into mainstays in the entertainment industry. Many actors have stolen the hearts of audiences all across the globe, but only a few of them could claim a coveted spot on our list.
Whether they specialize in movies, TV, animation, or another medium, these actors have been up-and-coming for quite some time now. And if we’ve taken notice of them, we’re quite certain that a lot of other people probably have too.
Aaron Pierre
British actor Aaron Pierre started out with minor roles in British television dramas, then eventually transitioned over to feature films with his Hollywood debut in M. Night Shyamalan’s unconventional horror movie Old, where Pierre played Mid-Sized Sedan / Brendan. He portrays a rapper stranded on the same deserted island as the main cast, of whom they gradually grow suspicious. After Old, Pierre found fairly consistent work with roles in Brother, Foe, and the miniseries The Underground Road.
He has been cast in Barry Jenkins’ upcoming The Lion King spin-off, Mufasa, as the voice of the titular character. Additionally, Pierre garnered attention for his role as human rights activist Malcolm X in the miniseries Genius: MLK/X. He starred alongside Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Martin Luther King Jr. Beside Mufasa, Pierre will star in the upcoming thriller film Rebel Ridge, joined by AnnaSophia Robb and James Badge Dale.
Joe Locke
Everyone knows him as Charlie Spring in Netflix’s Heartstopper, the live-action rendition of Alice Oseman’s webcomic and graphic novels of the same name. In fact, the Manx actor first burst onto the acting scene as the lead with Kit Connor playing the joint-lead, Nick Nelson. Locke was chosen for the part over more than 10,000 actors who submitted auditions. In 2022, it was announced that Locke had been cast in the Marvel Studios’ WandaVision spin-off, Agatha. He appears to be playing a grown-up version of Wanda Maximoff’s son, Billy Kaplan aka Wiccan.
Aside from his upcoming role in Agatha, Locke recently took to Broadway to play Tobias Ragg in a modern-day imagining of the 1979 musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The character is an apprentice to the abusive barber Pirelli, but after Pirelli is murdered by Todd, Toby proceeds to stay with Todd and Mrs. Lovett.
Iñaki Godoy
Mexican actor Iñaki Godoy landed his first major role in the American Spanish-language Telemundo series La querida del Centauro at the age of 13. He would continue to take on minor roles in several Spanish dramas, such as Blue Demon, Por la Máscara: La Serie Web, No Fear of Truth, and Los elegidos throughout his teen years. In 2022, Godoy migrated from Spanish television over to the Canadian sci-fi superhero series The Imperfects. From there, he snagged the lead role of Monkey D. Luffy in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga.
As Monkey D. Luffy, Godoy has earned international fame as well as a reputation within the States that has led to a sudden change in lifestyles, particularly as his work on One Piece has caught the attention of many casting directors and producers. He was featured in Teen Vogue’s New Hollywood 2024, which honors rising talent. He was joined by fellow actors Maddie Ziegler, Ariana Greenblatt, Keith Powers, Christopher Briney, Aida Osman, and Megan Suri. Godoy has yet to secure any future projects, but it’s only a matter of time before he does.
Ncuti Gatwa
He may be the oldest actor on the list, but don’t let Ncuti Gatwa fool you. He has accomplished just as much as the young guns, if not more. The Rwandan-Scottish actor is best known as the fifteenth incarnation of Doctor Who, as featured in the long-running British sci-fi series of the same name. Gatwa is the successor of Jodie Whittaker, the show’s fourteenth and only female doctor thus far. His other most well-known role is Eric Effiong in the Netflix comedy series Sex Education. He recently played a rendition of Ken—known as Artist Ken—in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, which was last summer’s blockbuster alongside Oppenheimer.
Aside from Barbie, Gatwa has only appeared in two other movies, those being Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans and The Last Letter from Your Lover. He mainly sticks to television and stage performances, the latter of which being the springboard for his eventual mainstream acting career. For his role in Sex Education, Gatwa secured a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor in Television and a National Comedy Award for Outstanding Supporting Role.
Jacob Tremblay
If you don’t recognize him as August Pullman in 2017’s Wonder, you might know him as Bradley Trevor in Doctor Sleep or Max Newman in Good Boys. If none of those roles are ringing any bells and you happen to be a diehard Disney fan, Tremblay provided the voice for Luca in Walt Disney’s 2021 animated movie of the same name. At just 17 years old, Tremblay has an awe-inspiring amount of roles lined up for the next few years with so many acting roles already under his belt.
He made a splash as the voice of Flounder in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid then immediately landed roles in the superhero comedy film The Toxic Avenger and the animated fantasy-comedy film Orion and the Dark. In the future, expect to see Tremblay in Travis Knight’s upcoming animated film Wildwood and Mike Flanagan’s upcoming sci-fi drama The Life of Chuck. He is currently filming the crime-drama film Sovereign alongside The Last of Us star Nick Offerman.
