Just after the first half of the year and before the holiday season begins, most films vying for awards are in a sort of ‘suspended animation' status - a waiting game of sorts. However, there are some breakthrough performances well worth our attention, and they come from a selection of films shown before the start of the holidays.

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We’re most impressed with six particular young actors, some of whom have already proven themselves and are currently considered future leading men in both mainstream and indie productions. One of the films (Hallam Foe) has yet to be released in America, but seeing as it was one of the more celebrated features at the festivals, we made an exception and included it in our line-up!

Sam Riley, a relatively unknown actor, has taken the industry by storm with his deliberate performance in Anton Corbijn’s Control. His role as Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division, was widely praised as being one of the year’s best. Joe Anderson, who is also seen in Control, may not yet be a leading man; nevertheless he is an outstanding actor and definitely someone to watch in Across the Universe.

Two young performers who have appeared in previous critically acclaimed films broke new ground this year - Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale) was awesome in The Hunting Party and carried The Education of Charlie Banks into a different level.

Not to be outdone is young Australian actor Khan Chittenden who appeared in the Australian production West. Chittenden is also in the drama-comedy Introducing the Dwights (aka Clubland) alongside the ageless Brenda Blethyn.

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West stars Khan and another hot Australian star Nathan Phillips as cousins. ‘Set in Sydney’s casually violent and seemingly soul-destroying western suburbs, Pete (Chittenden) and Jerry (Phillips), spend their time drinking, selling pot, trying to get laid, and hanging out with their pals.’

“It was a very different role. Gritty, very much about kids living on the street, drugs, violence and the lack of choices that some youth in our society face. So I was still shooting that and my head was in such a dark place, so when I got the audition for "Dwights" I jumped at the chance to contact my more geeky, sensitive side,” observes Khan.

Australian actors have already gained a name for being among the best in the business - Blanchett, Ledger, Collette and Jackman, to name but a few - and insiders in Sydney are predicting that Khan will follow in their footsteps. Hopefully, the young actor will be given the chance to prove himself with more feature films coming his way in the near future.

New Kid in Town: Sam Riley rocks! “A bravura performance’ sounds like far too alien a remark for someone as cool as Sam Riley. But many moviegoers have said that as Ian Curtis in Control, he was simply superb. Critics also seem to agree:

"British actor Sam Riley is causing a sensation in Cannes with his portrayal of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis in a film which couldn't get any British backers," reports the Manchester Evening News. "Dutch director Anton Corbijn plucked former warehouseman Riley, 27, from obscurity to play the iconic singer, who suffered from epileptic fits and couldn't handle the band's success as his personal life unraveled following an affair."

It's a great rags to riches story, which conveniently ignores the fact that Riley had a small part as Mark E Smith in 24 Hour Party People a few years ago, so has obviously been having a crack at this acting lark for a while now. But never mind that, right now Sam Riley is the new kid in town. And luckily for him, that town happens to be Cannes rather than Macclesfield.”

For more of Sam Riley and Control [ read our articles ]


Hey Joe! When will you take the lead? Joe Anderson takes on the challenge as the next best guy. “When British actor Joe Anderson debuted onscreen in the mid-2000s, he immediately evinced a predilection for seeking out supporting roles in the most conceptually interesting and dynamic material available to him. Anderson's chosen projects - which spanned a wide variety of genres - never felt less than arresting,” says Nathan Lane.

We’ve been hearing a lot of buzz for cool British actor Joe Anderson from a way back already. He was quite brilliant as the conniving and selfish nephew of Ludwig van Beethoven in the Ed Harris feature Copying Beethoven. It was only a small role, but Anderson delivered big time.

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He was such a tease in Becoming Jane, taking a skinny dip with James MacAvoy as Anne Hathaway chased them after a game of cricket. As the brother of Jane Austen, Anderson plays Henry Austen, a young soldier, lover and a good brother to the aspiring young author.

In Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe, Anderson once again played second lead, where he was required not only to act but also to sing. In a recent interview, he was asked if singing a Beatles song added pressure to his performance:

"It's so weird. You know I asked the pilot of a 747 once, 'You're flying a plane and you've got all those people in the back of the plane…' And he said, 'Yeah, but if you crash, you die,' so it's kind of you want to give it your best shot and then hopefully the fans will accept it or not accept it. But seeing as it's a movie and I'm an actor, not a singer, you come from a place of truth with the character so that's what I was focusing on more than on the fans,"replied the actor. More about Joe Anderson in this video interview:

Making his mark: Jesse Eisenberg. A young and talented New Yorker, Jesse Eisenberg already has Roger Dodger and The Squid and the Whale to his credit. This year, at Tribeca, his new feature The Education of Charlie Banks proved that the young actor is here to stay. The following article excerpt proves the relative success of the film:

A bright but awkward college student learns to confront his fears and do the right thing in "The Education of Charlie Banks," a solid American indie that falls just short of earning top marks. New York-set, serio-comic coming-of-ager marks the feature-film helming bow of Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, whose notoriety, plus strong performances by rising names Jesse Eisenberg ("The Squid and the Whale") and Eva Amurri ("Saved!"), should make this a popular fest item before graduating to niche theatrical and/or ancillary.

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Aside from Charlie Banks, he also stars in The Hunting Party with Richard Gere and Terence Howard. The film is all about journalists who are staking out a Serbian war criminal. Jesse plays Benjamin, a young and very inexperienced intern who is nevertheless well-connected his father is an executive with the network for whom Gere’s character works as a member of a TV crew.

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This is the 3rd part of our 4-part series.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

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