Actors To Watch Out For In 2016

by Helen Earnshaw | 2 January 2016

2016 is going to be a fantastic movie year with a whole host of terrific movies on the horizon over the next twelve months. As well as movies to look forward to, there are some actors that you need to keep an eye out for as it is going to be a massive year for them.

Tom Holland

There are some actors who have had a great 2015, this year is going to see their star rocket even further, and for others, 2016 is going to be their major breakthrough year. We take a look at some of the actors that really should be on your radar in 2016.

- Gal Gadot

Those who are familiar with the Fast & Furious franchise will already know Gal Gadot, but she is not yet a huge film star… all that is about to change in 2016 as she is set to take over the role of Wonder Woman for the first time. Yes, Wonder Woman will be back on the big screen as she makes her first appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Dawn of Justice is already one of the most talked about and anticipated comic book movies of 2016 as Batman and Superman are set to come face to face and go head to head. Warner Bros is attempting to build a DC Universe that will rival that of Marvel and Wonder Woman is set to play a huge part in that universe over the next few years.

Gadot will star alongside Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck as she teams up with filmmaker Zack Snyder for the first time. While Gadot is no stranger to the blockbuster movie, Dawn of Justice is set to be the biggest film of her career to date. She has already started filming the Wonder Woman solo film, but that is not set to be released until 2017.

As well as the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice this year, Gadot is also set to star in Triple 9, and Criminal. Gadot is a name and a face that we are going to see plastered everywhere in 2016 and, while I am not a huge Wonder Woman fan, it is great to see another strong female superhero get to hit the big screen… it is about time one got their own solo film.

I can't wait to see Gadot, Affleck, Cavill, and co in action in Dawn of Justice and it looks set to be one of the biggest and most successful films of the upcoming year. Can it break $1 billion at the box office and slow the dominance of Marvel? I guess we are going to have to wait and see.

- Bel Powley

2015 has been a terrific year for Bel Powley, as she took on the role of Princess Margaret in A Royal Night Out before receiving critical acclaim for her performance in indie film The Diary of a Teenage Girl. It looks like 2016 is going to be another great year for the young British actress.

And Powley is going to further establish herself as an acting talent to watch out for this year, as she is set to star in Detour and Wildling. She has also been linked to roles in Ashes in the Snow and A Storm in the Stars.

Detour will mark the return of writer and director Christopher Smith in what will be his first feature film since the release of Get Santa in 2014. The director has also brought us movies such as Black Death, Severance, and Creep during his filmmaking career. The movie is set to follow a young law student who is grieving for his dying mother. However, he has to decide whether or not to kill his cheating stepfather.

Powley is set to be part of a fantastic cast as Emory Cohen, Tye Sheridan, Stephen Moyer, Gbenga Akinnagbe, and John Lynch are all also on board. No UK release date has yet been announced for the thriller.

Powley has worked with first-time feature filmmaker Fritz Bohm for Wilding, which sees her take on the central role of Anna. The movie follows Anna, who has lived in one room her whole life and made to fear the outside world by a mysterious man she only knows as Daddy. Brad Dourif will take on the role of Daddy, while Liv Tyler, Keenan Jolliff, and James Le Gros are also on the cast list.

Powley is one of the most exciting young British actresses around and I cannot wait to see what she delivers with the projects that she has one the horizon this year.

- Tom Holland

Tom Holland grabbed everyone's attention when he made his big screen debut in The Impossible back in 2013. Since then, he has slowly made a name for himself in How I Live Not, TV series Wolf Hall, and - most recently - In The Heart of the Sea; a movie that saw him team up with filmmaker Ron Howard for the first time.

2015 is going to be a big year for Holland as he is set to step into the Marvel Universe for the first time. Last year it was announced that Marvel was going to make their own Spider-Man movie for the first time and Holland is set to take over the role of Peter Parker. That solo film will not be released until summer 2017, but Holland will be introduced as Spider-Man for the first time in Captain America: Civil War. Just how big a role that Holland will play in Civil War - which is set to be one of the biggest blockbusters this year - is unknown but it will send his star rocketing.

Holland will also start filming on the solo Spider-Man film, which will be directed by Jon Watts. Late last year, it was rumoured that Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans could make an appearance in the film as Iron Man and Captain America - I guess we are going to have to wait and see how that one pans out.

Away from the Marvel Universe, Holland has also completed work on The Lost City of Z, which is based on the book by David Grann. The movie sees James Gray back in the director's chair and follows explorer Percy Fawcett, who ventured into the Amazon jungle in search of an ancient civilisation - he never returned.

Charlie Hunnam and Holland are on board as Percival and Jack Fawcett and are joined by Sienna Miller, Robert Pattinson, and Angus Macfadyen. We are also going to see Holland star in Pilgrimage and Backcountry.

- Brie Larson

Brie Larson is another actress who is no stranger to the big screen with roles in The Gambler and Trainwreck in 2015 alone. However, this year is going to be a big one for her - and that is largely thanks to her performance in the upcoming Room. Room is based on the book of the same name by Emma Donoghue and the author herself has adapted her novel into the film's screenplay. The movie sees Lenny Abrahamson return to the director's chair.

The movie follows five-year-old Jack and his mother, who escape from the one room that they have been kept in… this results in Jack seeing the outside world for the very first time. Larson is on board as Jack's mother and Jacob, Tremblay, Joan Allen, William H. Macy, and Sean Bridgers complete an impressive line-up.

Room has been playing to critical acclaim in the U.S. and is set to hit the big screen in the UK this January. Larson has picked up her first Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globe nominations for Bes Actress and could well be in the Best Actress Oscar race when the nominations are announced later this month.

Larson has also completed work on Free Fire and Basmati Blues and is currently filming Kong: Skull Island. The movie will focus on the origins of King Kong and sees Jordan Vogt-Roberts in the director's chair. Larson takes on the central female role and is joined on the cast list by Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Toby Kebbell, John C. Reilly, and Tom Wilkinson. However, we won't see Kong: Skull Island hit the big screen until 2017.

2016 is set to be a hugely successful year for Larson as she is set to show off her versatility as an actress like never before. Her profile will rise even higher if she finds herself in the Oscar mix in the next couple of weeks.

- John Boyega

John Boyega finished 2015 with a major bang as he took on the role of Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens - the biggest film and movie of his career to date. John Boyega is no stranger to acting with TV series such as Becoming Human, 24L Live Another Day and movies Attack the Block and Half of a Yellow Sun all under his belt.

Boyega is now one of the most exciting young actors around and The Force Awakens has made him a global superstar. The movie sees the actor team up with director J.J. Abrams for the first time, while Daisy Ridley, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, and Adam Driver are some of the other new names on the cast list of the popular sci-fi franchise.

Boyega is going to be an actor who is in demand and has already completed work on The Circle. The movie is a big screen adaptation of the novel by Dave Eggers and sees James Ponsoldt on writing and directing duties.

Boyega takes on the role of Kalden in the film and is joined on the cast list by Karen Gillan, Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, Bill Paxton, Patton Oswalt, and Ellar Coltrane. There is also the little thing of the Star Wars franchise as we are going to see Boyega back as Finn in Episode VIII, which will be directed by Rian Johnson.