THE TOP 30: Capturing their share of fame, buzz and awards, the top 30 represent some of cinema's finest young actors. There's the trio of Lou Pucci, Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield - exciting new teen actors on the verge of break through. Also on the list is the toast of Italy - the funny and charming Elio Germano...

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Nicolas Duvauchelle: With just a few films, twenty-five-year-old Nicolas Duvauchelle has become one of the most disconcerting presences in French cinema. It was Erick Zonca (La Vie rêvée des anges - The Dreamlife of Angels) who gave him his first great role in Le Petit Voleur [The Little Thief] (1998), in which he played an apprentice baker doing battle with a gang of yobs. With his tattooed arms and angelic looks, Duvauchelle soon caught the eye of the best French film directors, including Claire Denis, who gave him a role in Beau Travail [Good Work] in 2000, then in Trouble Every Day in 2001, in which he is literally devoured by vampire Béatrice Dalle.

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A mysterious actor with an imposing presence, Duvauchelle is regularly sought out for films about sport or physical performance, such as Snowboarder in 2002 and Poids léger [Lightweight] in 2003, in which he plays respectively a snowboarder and a boxer. The advertising world is taking an equal interest in him: he was recently chosen by clothing labels Hugo Boss and Levi as an emblem of the new manliness. "

What a perfect description for France's rebellious star! It was the movie Le Grand Meaulnes that made us instant converts! Duvauchelle is not only charming, he has this sort of reckless devil-may-care attitude that lights up the screen.

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Andrew Garfield: His performance in Boy A alone was enough to put Andrew Garfield in the spotlight: in fact he is one of the European shooting stars for 2008:

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Andrew Garfield was born in America but his family moved to the UK when he was just a child. He trained at Central School of Speech and Drama in London and graduated in 2004. Andrew is currently shooting The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus with legendary director Terry Gilliam, in which he appears alongside Heath Ledger (following his untimely death, it has been reported that he will be replaced by Johnny Depp), Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits. His film debut was in 2007 playing opposite Robert Redford (co-starring with Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise) in Redford's Lions for Lambs. He went straight on to shoot Boy A, directed by John Crowley. Previously screened at the Toronto and London Film Festivals, the film is due for general release in 2008. Andrew has received stand-out praise for his performance in the lead role.

To complement an exceptional 2007, Andrew was named one of "10 Actors to Watch" by Variety magazine in the United States and one of the "UK Stars of Tomorrow" by Screen International.

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Elio Germano: Arguably the most talented young actor in Italy right this minute, Germano's appeal is not limited into dramatic roles. He is in fact quite a comedian. With an immense following in his native Italy, the 27-year-old actor has yet to make his presence felt in Hollywood.

Says european-films.net:

Recently returned from the Cannes Film Festival, where he wowed audiences as the protagonist of the political Un certain regard drama Mio fratello è figlio unico (My Brother is an Only Child), Italian actor Elio Germano is lining up several new projects for him to star or co-star in. First up is Il mattino ha l'oro in bocca (lit. The Morning Hour Has Gold in Its Mouth), an adaptation of the autobiographical book Il giocatore (The Player) from Italian radio celebrity Marco Baldini. The film will be directed by Francesco Patierno (Pater familias) and, like the book, will detail Baldini’s obsession with betting on horses, which led to losses of billions of Italian lire. Germano is set to play Baldini. Also coming up soon for the actor who shot to fame at home as the pivotal character in the period piece N – Io e Napoleone (N – Napoleon and Me) is the new film from Napoleon director Paolo Virzì. The contemporary film is set in a call centre where people work for very little money. The title of the project is Tutta la vita davanti a una cornetta.

Lastly, Germano has also been cast in the Italo-French co-production Nessuna qualità agli eroi (lit. No Quality to the Heroes), the second feature of director Paolo Franchi after 2004’s La spettatrice (The Spectator). The film will be shot on location in the northern city of Turin and also stars Swiss actress Irène Jacob (Trois couleurs: Rouge) and French actor Bruno Todeschini (Son frère).

News: 2008 looks set to be a very busy year for Elio Germano, as he begins shooting Come dio comanda by Gabriele Salvatores in February and anticipates the release of Francesco Patierno’s Il Mattino Ha L'Oro In Bocca and Tutta La Vita Davanti by Paolo Virzi. Luchetti's film My Brother is an only Child for which Elio was awarded with the "David di Donatello" will have a release in German, UK and US cinemas in Spring. Germano also won the "European Actor 2007" category at the 20th European Film Awards in Berlin for the same film.

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Johan Libéreau:

Says european-films.net:

"...the motor of the story is the attractive youngster Manu, played by Johan Libéreau, who proves here that his great debut in Douches froides (Cold Showers) was no accident.

A plucky and uncomplicated gay boy from the provinces, Manu unexpectedly turns up on the doorstep of his sister’s rented room in a Parisian house of ill repute to move in and enjoy big city life. Julie (Julie Depardieu) is actually an opera trainee but can’t find nor afford anything better to live in and would rather see her brother go. But one flash of Manu’s winning and sincere smile is all that is needed to convince her otherwise. "

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Jesse Eisenberg: The young New York-based actor is known for taking his role choices seriously and has proven that he can present us with some really remarkable screen performances. Starting with a notable role in Roger Dodger, Eisenberg went on to play one of the leading roles in The Squid and the Whale (starring alongside Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney).

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In another important role, Jesse stars in the upcoming film "The Education of Charlie Banks", the directorial debut of Fred Durst which has its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. He has also been cast in the new Greg Mottola film called Adventureland.

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Jeremie Renier: If you’re looking for a talented young actor who can be good in both leading and supporting roles, then you need look no further. Belgian-born Jeremie Renier is your man. A favorite of the award-winning duo, The Dardenne Brothers, Renier has all the right stuff.

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Famous Roles: As Bruno, the young and confused teen who decided to sell his child in the award-winning L’ Enfant, as Jean, the Nazi-prosecuted homosexual in Un amour à taire, as Thomas d'Apcher in the horror-thriller Brotherhood of the Wolf and more recently as Luc Cornet in Joe Wright’s Atonement.

Coming up: Renier was picked to play the lead role of Sobran in the much-anticipated film by Niki Carro, The Vintner’s Luck. He is also part of the ensemble cast in this year’s Sundance opener, In Bruges.

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Louis Garrel: Noted for his breakthrough roles in Bernardo Bertolluci's The Dreamers and Christophe Honoré's "Ma Mere", Louis Garrel is one of Europe's most promising young actors. Coming from a family of artists, Louis is a natural actor. "Maybe because my father and mother are both directors, and maybe because my grandfather is an actor, the cinema is my life," says the young Garrel. Speaking three languages fluently, including Italian and English, Garrel is a graduate of the Paris Conservatory.

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“When you're shooting a film, François pretty much lets you get on with it. The actors are pretty free. But when you’re shooting a film adapted from a stage play, you have to bear in mind that you have less freedom as an actor. The fact that you’re learning the lines makes you much more obedient,” says the actor, describing his work with French director Francois Ozon for A Curtain Raiser.

Seen recently in Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's Actresses and in Christophe Honoré's Les Chansons d'amour, Garrel has been awarded the 2006 Most Promising Actor for Les Amants réguliers (Regular Lovers) at the César Awards in France.

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Lou Taylor Pucci: With his breakthrough film, Thumbsucker, for which he won Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival and a special jury prize at Sundance, Lou Taylor Pucci is fast becoming a young actor to be reckoned with. Acting since he was just 10 years old, Pucci has been seen in memorable roles in The Go-Getter, Fast Food Nation, The Chumbscrubber, Empire Falls, Southland Tales and Personal Velocity.

Born and raised in New Jersey, he has an accomplished musician for a father and a fashion model for a mother. Rumor has it that he has been geared towards the entertainment scene with his parent's choice of his name. Says Lou in a recent interview:

" I always knew I was going to be in entertainment, but no one was really making me be there. Like my parents kinda named me Lou Taylor Pucci because they thought it was a good stage name."

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Sam Riley: Having originally dabbled in TV and theatre acting in his youth, Leeds-based Sam Riley’s energies have been focused on music. The band he fronted, 10,000 Things, secured a major label for the release of its first album, but the band suffered at the hands of major label politics, its release was stalled for a year and the band was soon without a contract. As a result, Riley found himself taking a job in a local warehouse to make ends meet. Disillusioned, Riley reluctantly decided to give acting another shot.

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“When I first did acting I was auditioning for TV parts, so it gave me a bit of crisis to be a musician with integrity and auditioning for TV parts. It doesn’t really go together,” says Riley, “But I rang up my old agent and Control was the first thing that came up, which was pretty incredible”.

Apparently, Riley will not be required to do odd jobs anymore - not ever. With a nomination for this year's Orange Rising Star awards, Sam Riley is one hot commodity.

Coming up: Riley will play one of the leads in Gerald McMorrow's Franklyn.

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Channing Tatum: One of Hollywood's most exciting new talents, former model Channing Tatum is being touted to be the next 'big thing'.

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"With my career in general, I feel like I’m finally getting to do the roles that I’ve always wanted to do. It’s a slow build; you can’t ever get the roles that you want in the beginning of your career because you don’t have the buzz or the heat, or whatever the hell it is you need for the agents and the studios to be happy. They want you to do a little bit at a time until you get the chance to work out and do the roles that really mean something to you."

Many were surprised by his amazing performance in Ditto Montiel's A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. But Tatum is just waiting for the right time and the right role to make people take notice.

Coming up: With five feature films in various stages of production, Tatum will be in high gear come 2008. One of them is Kimberly Peirce's new film, Stop Loss, where Channing plays one of the lead roles, together with some of Hollywood's top guns - Ryan Philippe, Timothy Olyphant and Joe Levitt.

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[ Intro ] Next: The Top 20

Comments (11)

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written by Esther, April 06, 2008

where is Steven Strait?

1)Robert Pattinson (he should be #1!!!)
2)Steven Strait

GO TANTUM!!
written by Rujaine, April 06, 2008

AWSOME. I LOVE HIM IN MOVIES AND HE'S A GREAT ACTOR!
NOT TO MENTION HOT, BUT THE TALENT IS DEFINATELY THERE.
=D

robert?
written by sar, April 07, 2008

WHERE IS ROBERT PATTINSON?!

ROBERT PATTINSON IS #1
written by BLOODSUCKING LEECH, April 07, 2008

Ya baby.

Where's Rob????
written by ES, April 07, 2008

What about Robert Pattinson?!?!?

yeah man!...
written by Courtney, April 07, 2008

Go Robert Pattinson!!

:D
written by JOJO!, April 07, 2008

Robert Pattinson for one!

#1
written by brittany noel, April 07, 2008

ROBERT PATTINSON SHOULD BE NUMBER ONE!!

...
written by Andrea, June 07, 2008

Robert Pattinson is the best.... he should be number one!!!

channing tatum should be #1!!!!
written by laly, July 06, 2008

whoahh!!! they should put my beloved channing taum in the # 1 list!!! i really love adore channing tatum!! gowhh!!

...
written by katelyn, August 16, 2008

channin tatum is my hunny bunny

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