8 Actors Set To Breakout In 2025
Every year, studios and directors gamble on unearthing the next big star of Hollywood. 2024 saw Mikey Madison blow everyone away in Anora, Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod broke everyone’s hearts in One Day, and Richard Gadd‘s Baby Reindeer became the biggest show in the world. We’ve looked at what’s coming out in 2025, and picked out some of the actors we think will be in a very different position this time next year.
Aaron Pierre
Sometimes you see a new actor come on the scene and you just know they’re gonna be big. Aaron Pierre has exactly that and is primed for a major breakout. He has recently starred in the Netflix film Rebel Ridge, which received generous reviews from critics, and the latest Lion King remake Mufasa.
2025 sees Pierre turn his talents to the small screen – he’s got starring roles coming up in The Morning Show and a new show called Lanterns with Kyle Chandler and Kelly MacDonald.
Monica Barbaro
Barbaro is one of the strongest contenders in the Supporting Actress race at the Oscars for her work as Joan Baez in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, and it feels like she’s actually in the running based on the strength of her performance, rather than the fierce campaigning others are doing
An Oscar nom would accelerate things, but we’re fairly certain you’ll be seeing Barbaro become a star either way.
Marisa Abela
One of the breakout stars of Industry, Abela has started moving into the movie world with a small part in Barbie and the lead in the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black.
She has another flashy release in 2025, Steven Soderbergh‘s Black Bag where she’ll star opposite a daunting duo, Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender. We presume she will be involved in Industry season four, and she has also been nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award this year.
Damson Idris
It’s always fun when a relatively unknown actor is chosen to lead a big studio blockbuster. In 2025 Damson Idris is starring in F1, the Formula One-based sports thriller from the director of Top Gun: Maverick, which is one of the year’s biggest releases.
Starring alongside Idris – as his racing teammate, no less – is Brad Pitt. How a 61-year-old Pitt goes about trying to convince us he’s a genuine world-class athlete is one thing, but his star power can’t be denied, and if Idris holds his own on screen, he might just set himself up as a studio favourite.
Sophie Wilde
Australian actress Sophie Wilde is another one to look out for and has one of the most anticipated upcoming films on her list. She is set to star in Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s (Birdman, The Revenant) next film alongside the likes of Tom Cruise, Jesse Plemons, Sandra Huller and Riz Ahmed.
Earlier this year, she also had a role in Babygirl, the horror film Talk to Me, and the TV series Everything Now.
Anthony Boyle
Irish actors are all the rage at the moment – Paul Mescal, Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan – and Anthony Boyle looks like the next to break out. 2024 saw him star in a host of acclaimed series, from Apple TV’s Masters of the Air to Hulu’s BAFTA-nominated Say Nothing.
2025 sees Boyle head to Netflix for another mini-series that could be one of the streamer’s biggest hits of the year, House of Guinness. As the name suggests, it’s all about a power struggle in the Guinness family and comes from the same creator as Peaky Blinders.
Yerin Ha
Become the star of a Bridgerton season, hit international acclaim – it’s a formula that has worked for Regé-Jean Page, Jonathan Bailey and Nicola Coughlan so far, and Yerin Ha is the next to step into the spotlight.
Known for her roles in the series Halo and Dune Prophecy, Bridgerton season four marks a step change in her career, but we think she’ll rise to meet the occasion.
Tramell Tillman
Severance has a lot of well-known stars – Adam Scott, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette – but it was the relatively unknown Tramell Tillman who stole the show in season one in his role of the Lumen higher-up, bringing new dimensions to the concept of a micro-manager.
With season two finally out, and the hype catching up with the quality of the show, we expect awards recognition and a lot of studio interest in the future.
