Barring the last two years, Box Office grew significantly in the last decade. And with the rise of Netflix and other streaming services, the industry just grew massively. More talented actors began to get work across the world. And, many huge young actors who have already achieved ultimate stardom and found projects one after the other.
There are some who were on the verge of unlocking greatness, but their careers found a bit of a snag. For instance, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner were both ready to go big after Game of Thrones. But they became part of a few bad X-Men movies and now we’re not hearing their names out loud anymore. Kodi Smit-McPhee is someone who has been doing pretty well for himself. He was in 2 X-Men movies and recently appeared in The Power of The Dog. But he hasn’t found ultimate stardom yet. The same goes for Asa Butterfield, who has been doing well in Sex Education and almost became Spider-Man in the MCU. But there are no other big feats to his name yet. The actors I will talk about now are all 26 years of age or below. And they’ve lit the industry on fire! They are:
Florence Pugh
She turned 26 on January 3rd. Things started off nicely for her back in 2015. But from 2018 onwards, she has been on a roll, starring in projects like The Commuter, Outlaw King, Little Women, Midsommar, playing WWE’s Paige in Fighting With My Family, and Yelena Belova in Black Widow and Hawkeye. This MCU role is going to be redundant in her career, and it will take her to new heights!
You’d be surprised to know that she has already shot 3 of her next movies which are Don’t Worry Darling, Netflix’s The Wonder, and A Good Person. And to top it all off, she is also starring in Christopher Nolan’s next big movie, Oppenheimer. She could really begin to charge ScarJo levels of money by the time she reaches her early 30s! Well, I’d say that this talented cutie pie totally deserves all the success that’s headed her way.
Timothée Chalamet
Here’s another 26-year-old who started as a child actor and has been doing insanely well for himself over the last decade. You would have seen him in Homeland 10 years ago. But since then, he has grown big by starring in projects like Netflix’s The King, Little Women, Don’t Look Up, and most importantly, Dune. He led Dune as Paul Atreides and will do the same in Dune Part II next year. He was a close contender for becoming Spider-Man in the MCU, but what’s great about him is that he hasn’t needed a Marvel role to become big. He has already shot a movie called Bones and All and is currently playing young Willy Wonka in a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel.
Tom Holland
Being cast as Spider-Man as a teenager was the greatest thing that could have happened to anyone. But it happened to Dutchie boy over here, and he has never looked back ever since! At 26, he has played Spider-Man in 6 insanely huge movies, and 5 of those entered the Billion Dollar Club. He did a couple of amazing voice jobs in Onward and Spies in Disguise back in 2019. He got high praises for Netflix’s The Devil All The Time, and Apple TV’s Cherry. And now he is set to star in yet another Spider-Man trilogy. Variety has already reported that Holland will start pulling in an 8-figure salary from Spider-Man 4 onwards. That’s at least 10 million per movie which proves that he is also one of the young actors who have ultimate stardom. Having that price tag at 26 is just insane! Kudos to you Mr. Holland, you were brilliant in No Way Home and you deserve it.
Zendaya
Besides playing MJ, she has been doing well in movies like The Greatest Showman, Malcolm & Marie, and Dune. She voiced Lola Bunny in last year’s Space Jam. And she is also returned to HBO’s series, Euphoria this year. We’ll see her return in the next Spider-Man trilogy of MCU. But before that, she’d play a significant role in Dune Part II next year.
Hailee Steinfeld
She was already a popular figure being a singer. But I’d say that being the lead in Bumblebee really put her acting career on track. Since then, she voiced Spider-Gwen in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, has been paying Emily Dickinson in Apple TV’s series, Dickinson, and recently lent her voice in Netflix’s animated series Arcane. To top all of that, she ended 2021 as Kate Bishop in Hawkeye. Now, she is ready to lead the Young Avengers in the MCU. But in 2022 and 2023, we’ll also hear her voice as Spider-Gwen in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part 1 and 2.
Finn Wolfhard
There’s no denying the fact that Stranger Things is what made Finn Wolfhard’s career what it is right now. But I’d argue that his role in both chapters of “It” were equally responsible. He has been part of several projects so far, lending his voice to The Addams Family franchise and many other shows. In 2021, he played Ezra in a movie called How It Ends. But the big one for him was starring in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Now, he could return in yet another Ghostbusters movie. But before that, we’re all waiting for Stranger Things season 4 part 2, which won’t be the last season of course. He has also shot a movie called When You Finish Saving the World, and he is voicing characters in three other movies.
Millie Bobby Brown
Again, playing Eleven in the hit Netflix series is what made her a household name. But you have to keep in mind that she also appeared in two Godzilla movies, and began her own franchise as Enola Holmes on Netflix. Now, she is ready to return in the next two seasons of Stranger Things and has already shot Enola Holmes 2. Besides that, this 17-year-old is starring in 2 other films called Damsel, and The Girls I’ve Been.
McKenna Grace
I would go as far as saying that this 15-year-old’s acting talents are at par with Florence Pugh! She is that good! There are a lot of places you could have seen her in. She played Paige Swanson in Young Sheldon. She has been in The Handmaid’s Tale. She was the child actor who played Young Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel. But the movie that made me a really big fan of hers was 2017’s Gifted. Her performance alongside Chris Evans was so powerful and made her one of the young actors who have ultimate stardom.
And 2021 was also big for her as she appeared in James Wan’s Horror movie, Malignant, and actually outshined Paul Rudd while leading Ghostbusters: Afterlife. She has already shot a movie called Crater and is set to appear in another movie called Perfect. For a 15-year-old, she’s matching the work of a 25-year-old, being part of many highlighted projects. So, I’d say that she could be as big as Tom Holland in her 20s, if not bigger.
Noah Centineo
So far, the projects that have brought him to the limelight are Netflix’s To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, and To All the Boys: Always and Forever. He has done a lot of work besides that. But the reason I’ve added this 25-year-old to the list is for what he is bringing in the future. You’d probably know that he is playing the DC superhero, Atom Smasher in Black Adam. He is supposed to star in a live-action He-Man project. And right now, he is filming an untitled Spy project for Netflix.
Anya Taylor-Joy
I’d say that she was already huge before Netflix brought us The Queen’s Gambit in 2020. She was noticed as Magik in The New Mutants. Fans of Peaky Blinders know her as Gina Gray. And she also starred in movies like Emma., Here are the Young Men, and 2021’s Edgar Wright Horror flick, Last Night in Soho. All these amazing characters have bagged her the role of Young Furiosa where she’d appear against Chris Hemsworth in the Mad Max prequel. But before that, she appeared in a movie called The Northman and is set to star in The Menu.
Okay, that’s all from our list of extreme young actors who have ultimate stardom. Which of them is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
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