Summary
Certain rising stars in Hollywood have immeasurable potential,making me believe that they could win Oscars for acting sometime in the next 10 years. The Academy Awards is considered the most prestigious awards ceremony for movies, and the criteria for getting nominated is a complicated game of what kinds of genres are typically considered. We are still waiting on amazing actors andmodern directors who have yet to win Oscarsto be recognized when their work already merits the highest praise.
Meanwhile, streaming services are bringing in new talent to lead everything fromupcoming fantasy book to TV show adaptationsto fun new rom-coms.A handful of these actors completely amazed me with their profound and nuanced performances,occasionally making me wonder why they haven’t been nominated for an Oscar yet. On the other hand, some of the biggest up-and-coming stars from the past few years haven’t been in anything that would win them a nomination but have some promising upcoming projects.
Oscars 2024 Nominations: 15 Biggest Snubs & Surprises
The nominations for the 96th Academy Awards have arrived and they are full of surprises and snubs for some of the best movies of the year.
10Dafne Keen
Known For Logan (2017) & His Dark Materials (2019-2022)
Dafne Keen proved her dramatic skill right away with her simmering portrayal of Laura inLogan. She immediately became a favored actress to be cast in a younger role, making it unsurprising that she was picked for the TV show reboot of Philip Pullman’sHis Dark Materials.Keen was a safe choice for this show, but by no means a weak one — she was perfect to play Lyra,also a curious and fierce character, in every way. Most recently, Keen appeared in thecontroversialStar WarsTV showThe Acolyte.
The Acolytedoes not do justice to Keen’s talentswhen everyone has seen her play the far more complex and emotional roles of Laura and Lyra. Frankly, she has the skill set to win an Oscar — it’s just a matter of getting the right role. Keen has two upcoming movies (one in pre- and one in post-production) that could either be huge successes or total flops. However, with her combination of established fame and genuine talent, she is likely to get her next amazing role soon.
9Tom Blyth
Tom Blyth gives a strong performance inThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,considering that his character is wholly unlikable and undergoing an arc that preludes him becoming a cruel dictator. His Coriolanus Snow is poised, cunning, and vulnerable, helping the audience understand how he becomes President Snow. Blyth also stars in the bio-drama seriesBilly the Kidand one episode ofThe Gilded Age. Blyth now has a lot of upcoming projects in development, covering several different genres and setting him up to work with various new directors.
While Blyth will gain valuable experience from all of them, his in-development remake ofA Farewell to Armsseems like obvious Oscar bait. He probably won’t win an Oscar for it, but he might learn more about the types of performances that are likely to get nominated and how to break the mold to become someone who wins.It might be a while for Blyth, but I think his stardom fromThe Hunger Gameswill set him on coursefor more potential Oscar-nominated movies.
8Erin Kellyman
Known For Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) & The Green Knight (2021)
I still can’t believe that Erin Kellyman wasn’t nominated for her performance inThe Green Knight,no matter how brief it was. Playing an ethereal, vaguely supernatural maiden in need of assistance from Dev Patel’s Gawain, she commands the scene with her implicit condemnation of his behavior.The Green Knightwas overlooked by the Academy in general, so Kellyman’s performance went unnoticed. However, it is completely characteristic of her ability to portray characters representative of a bigger ethical debate.
Kellyman was exactly the antagonistThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierneeded, driving some great scenes with Anthony Mackie that showcase the ideological differences between their two characters. Her role inWillowtook up a couple of years; thenWillowturned out to be one of theDisney+ TV shows canceled too soon, wasting time she could have spent elsewhere.Kellyman now has some promising upcoming projects,including the threequel28 Years Laterand Steve McQueen’s new historical dramaBlitz. Depending on what the scripts give her to work with, she might score her first nomination soon.
7Charlie Bushnell
Known For Diary Of A Future President (2020-2021) & Percy Jackson And The Olympians (2023-Present)
I think that Charlie Bushnell gave the strongest performance of the young cast in the first season of Disney’sPercy Jackson and the Olympians. Percy and Annabeth are difficult characters to play with nuance because a lot of their responses are meant to be sarcastic, while Grover is a mostly friendly character. With Luke,Bushnell believably portrays him as Percy’s first real friend at Camp Half-Blood,but people who know that he will be the betrayer (which was pretty much everyone) can feel the undercurrent tensions with his character, even then.
As much time as he spends solely focusing on Percy Jackson, he is becoming a better actor, and can maybe try for an Oscar contender later.
Bushnell then totally nails Luke’s change in character in the final episode,and I am so excited to see more of his two-faced personality inPercy Jacksonseason 2. Bushnell came toPercy Jacksonwith experience fromDiary of a Future Presidentand doesn’t have anything else lined up in the coming years. As much time as he spends solely focusing onPercy Jackson, he is becoming a better actor, and can maybe try for an Oscar contender later.
6Amir Wilson
Known For The Secret Garden (2020) & His Dark Materials (2019-2022)
Amir Wilson is the other half of the astoundingly good main duo inHis Dark Materials. A lot of the stellar performance is due to him and Keen having great chemistry, but they both give perfect individual performances.Wilson was given a lot to work with and many challenges to live up to as Will Parry,who grapples with the complexities of responsibility and grief. It’s amazing to watch him slowly become unwaveringly protective of Lyra after being initially defensive; he also has a great dynamic with Andrew Scott, who plays his father.
Wilson might not be so easily set up to get an Oscar nomination as Keen,but his confirmed future projects could be the start of a career trajectory that leads to the Oscars. For starters, he is appearing inThe Return, Ralph Fiennes' drama inspired byThe Odyssey, later this year. A weighty movie like this working with such A-listers could be the next step in Wilson’s career, garnering more attention from Hollywood’s best directors.
10 TV Shows That Were Supposed To Be Huge Game Of Thrones Replacements
Many shows failed to replace Game of Thrones due to the genre being too similar or too different, a shorter story, and other industry concerns.
5Bella Ramsey
Known For Game Of Thrones (2011-2019) & The Last Of Us (2023-Present)
Bella Ramsey blew everyone away from their first scene inGame of Thrones, both in the real world and in the hall of House Mormont. Lady Lyanna Mormont, the 10-year-old who finds herself leading her house after most of her family is killed, quickly became one of the show’s best characters.Ramsey is amazing as the brutally straightforward yet humble and intelligent young leader,and their career has only gotten better since then. Ramsey’s next big thing wasThe Last of Us, the zombie apocalypse series in which they star alongside Pedro Pascal.
For their performance as Ellie, Ramsey earned a Primetime Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination,essentially the TV equivalent awards of an Oscar. Ramsey also has a crazy number of projects coming up, proving that they are becoming one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood. Ramsey is going to be competing with theHouse of the Dragoncast at the Golden Globes for the next few years, but still might win their first award at this show before naturally progressing to the Oscars.
4Anna Sawai
Known For F9: The Fast Saga (2021) & Shogun (2024-Present)
BeforeShōgun, Anna Sawai appeared in some average but enjoyable action movies, namely one outing with theFast & Furioussaga and the thrillerNinja Assassin. Her more critically merit-worthy project was the drama seriesPachinko, the second season of which is coming soon. However,the course of Sawai’s career was undeniably changed once she appeared inShōgun,giving an unrivaled performance as the quietly intelligent and powerful Lady Mariko.
This performance unsurprisingly earned Sawai a Primetime Emmy nomination;Shōgunshould be considered for the next round of the Golden Globes. Sawai doesn’t have anything else on her schedule yet, althoughShōgunseason 2 is happening.While she may be taking a break after makingShōgun, Sawai has more than earned some options for new rolesthat will take her career to its next stage.
3Emma D’Arcy
Known For Mothering Sunday (2021) & House Of The Dragon (2022-Present)
Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke are dominatingHouse of the Dragon; in D’Arcy’s case, they are leading the way as the de facto heroine Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen with a smoldering, reflective, and emotional performance.D’Arcy has already been nominated at the Golden Globes for playing Rhaenyraand is likely to be there again next year. While they flew under the radar with some romantic dramas before the acclaimed HBO series, becoming the latest Targaryen queen instantly launched them to widespread fame.
D’Arcy only hasHouse of the Dragonon their schedule for the next few yearsand may choose to focus on that given the demands of filming. However, ifHouse of the Dragonhas a stronger ending thanGame of Thrones, D’Arcy may end up with even more opportunities in a few years. If they want to go back to making movies and get the right role, their next project right afterHouse of the Dragoncould easily be their first Oscar nomination.
2Dominic Sessa
Known For The Holdovers (2023)
Dominic Sessa started his career at the top, setting him up to meet all the regularly nominated directors in Hollywood. The producers ofThe Holdoverslikely scouted young, unheard-of actors to take on the main student role, which is howSessa ended up making his on-screen debut in a Best Picture nominee.He perhaps needed just a bit more luck to have gotten a nomination for Best Supporting Actor this time around — but he definitely came close.
Sessa is now lining up other movies,includingThe Big SickandThe Idea of Youwriter Michael Showalter’sOh. What. Fun.and the bio-dramaTowalongside several major A-listers. As both of these movies are in post-production, Sessa could do something else soon. He might need more time working in Hollywood before he gets his first nomination, but he definitely has the potential, and it probably won’t take more than five years.
11 Oscars Achievements That Still Haven’t Happened After 95 Years
The Oscars is the most prestigious event in Hollywood, but in 95 years of running, it has yet to make several achievements into a reality.
1Stephanie Hsu
Known For Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) & The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-2023)
I personally think that Stephanie Hsu should have won Best Supporting Actress forEverything Everywhere All at Once. Hsu appeared in things likeShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsandThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselbut was mostly overshadowed by the also talented actors playing the main characters. She became much more famous when she ended up in the hit multiverse adventure that became a Best Picture winner. The absolutely chaotic and constantly fluctuating persona ofJobu Tupaki/Joy gave her all the opportunities she could hope for to show off her acting skills in a single movie.
I think it’s just a matter of time before another director has a crazy idea for which Hsu is a perfect match, and this round will be a winner for her.
Hsu entirely lived up to the people she was starring alongside, who won three out of the four acting categories at the Oscars that year. I think it’s just a matter of time before another director has a crazy idea for which Hsu is a perfect match, and this round will be a winner for her.For many would-be Oscar winners, it comes down to being handed the right scriptthat allows them the opportunity to shine and achieve the recognition they deserve.
