Jack O’Connell
British actors have always found huge success in Hollywood and have gone on to appear in some of the biggest movies and enjoy great career.
In 2014, that is no different as there are a whole host of actors such as James McAvoy, Tom Hardy & Michael Fassbinder (I know he is Irish) who are enjoying success on both side of the channel.
Over the next twelve months, there are four British actors that we are particularly excited about, as they have some great movie projects on the horizon.
- Jack O’Connell
Jack O’Connell an actor who has really started making a name for himself this year with 300: Rise of an Empire and Starred Up: the latter being a film and role that really made everyone sit up and take notice of him.
And the only way is up for O’Connell as he is set to finish 2014 with a bang, as he stars in Unbroken: the latest film from actress turned director Angelina Jolie. Unbroken is a movie that is already surrounded in excitement and has been tipped as one of the possible early Oscar contenders.
O’Connell is set to take on the central role in the biopic, as he plays Olympian turned prisoner of war Louis Zamperini. The Olympic runner was captured by the Japanese during the Second World War, and he faces a battle to survive.
This is the second feature film for Jolie, while Joel and Ethan Coen have penned the screenplay. The first trailer for the film promises an epic drama - could we be seeing O’Connell in the Oscar mix as well as the beginning of next year?
O’Connell has also completed work on ‘71 and is currently filming Tulip Fever, which also stars Dane DeHaan and Christoph Waltz.
Every year a British actor makes his breakthrough, and it really does look like 2014 is going to belong to O’Connell, and I can’t to see his performance in Unbroken.
Jack O'Connell In Unbroken- Benedict Cumberbatch
2014 has already been a terrific year for Benedict Cumberbatch, with roles in the likes of 12 Years A Slave, August: Osage County and a new series of Sherlock under his belt. However, things look set to get even better for the actor.
Cumberbatch has cemented himself as a major television star with the role of Sherlock Holmes, and now he is becoming a major force on the big screen as well. If you are a Cumberbatch fan, The Imitation Game is the movie to watch out for later this year.
The Imitation Game is another movie that is also surrounded in early Oscar talk, and we really could see Cumberbatch in the hunt for a Best Actor Oscar next year.
We all know how much the Academy love a biopic, and the movie sees Cumberbatch take on the role of Alan Turing: the mathematician who helped break the Enigma code during the Second World War.
The movie sees Morten Tyldum in the director’s chair, while Keira Knightley, Mark Strong, Matthew Goode, and Charles Dance are also on the cast list.
We are also going to see Cumberbatch back as Smaug in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and he has lent his voice to Penguins of Madagascar and Magik. He is currently filming Black Mass with Johnny Depp and Joel Edgerton, as he takes on the role of Bill Bulger.
As you can see, 2014 is set to be another successful and busy year for Cumberbatch, and he is set to become one of the most in demand actors both here in the UK as well as in the U.S.
Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game- Will Poulter
I have been a fan of Will Poulter ever since I saw him in Son o Rambow, and since then he has gone on to star in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Wild Bill, and We’re The Millers.
Poulter was one of the actors who was the toast of the Baftas earlier this year, after he scooped the Orange Rising Star Award: the only gong that is voted for by the public.
Since then, he has returned to the big screen in Plastic, and has the likes of Grassland, Kids In Love, and The Maze Runner all on the horizon.
Grassland will see him team up with director Gerard Barrett, while Toni Collette and Jack Reynor - another actor on the rise - are also on the cast list. Kids in Love is another drama that will see Poulter reunite with Plastic co-star Sebastian De Souza: De Souza has also penned the screenplay with Preston Thompson.
However, Poulter’s big film project of 2014 comes in the autumn as he teams up with Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Kaya Scodelario for The Maze Runner.
The Maze Runner is the latest teen novel to be adapted for the big screen, as this is based on the book of the same name by James Dashner. The film will mark the feature film directorial debut for Wes Ball.
Poulter is one of the most versatile young actors around with blockbusters, comedy and drama projects all under his belt, and I cannot wait to see how the next couple of years pan out for him.
Will Poulter In Plastic- Tom Hiddleston
Tom Hiddleston has had a terrific few years after landing the role of Loki in Thor: he has gone on to reprise the role on two further occasions with Avengers Assemble and Thor: The Dark World.
We saw him in Muppets Most Wanted and Only Lovers Left Alive earlier this year, but it is the next twelve months that I am really excited about.
He has already completed work on Crimson Peak, a horror film that saw him work with director Guillermo del Toro for the first time. Crimson Peak is already being tipped as one of the horror films not to miss in 2015, as Charlie Hunnam, Jessica Chastain, and Mia Wasikowska are also on board.
Hiddleston has teamed up with another exciting filmmaker for his new film, as Ben Wheatley has started work on High-Rise.
Filming is underway on the big screen adaptation of the novel by J.G. Ballard, and sees Luke Evans, Jeremy Irons, James Purefoy, and Sienna Miller join Hiddleston on a very exciting cast list.
However, the project that I am really looking forward to is I Saw The Light, which will see him take on the role of Hank Williams. The biopic will be directed by Marc Abraham, and will see Hiddleston show off his singing skills.
We already know what a great actor Hiddleston is, but I Saw The Light could well be a movie and a role that send his star rocketing even further.
Other British/Irish actors to watch out for over the next year include Eddie Redmayne, Domhnall Gleeson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and John Boyega all have exciting projects on the horizon.