UPDATES: tMF launches the new Top 50 listing, based on viewers' poll! Now see why these guys belong to the top 50, with a rundown of their most awesome roles and their movies to look out for this year and the next.

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Sheer acting talent and international appeal. That's what matters the most in our top 50 young actors list. But being popular doesn't hurt either, so we have that covered too! While you might think being cast in a huge hit will ensure a high ranking, think again - we believe you need to be more than just a box office star to be considered a successful actor.

Special report by Jed Medina (Also a featured article at the IMDb HitList)

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How it all began. We started with more than 150 names, drawn from Hollywood and the best of world cinema - featuring young actors from the most acclaimed films of the past five years. If the movies you’ve watched are mainly mainstream Hollywood fare, then some of the names (perhaps a lot of them!) will sound unfamiliar to you. Unlike other top lists you might have seen, this one has a more international flavor. Hey, it’s about time you got to see what your friends from the UK, Canada, Germany, and France have been raving about!

The Age Factor. Where are Christian Bale and Tobey Maguire? How about the great Leonardo di Caprio or Oscar winner Adrien Brody? Or that amazing actor Moritz Bleibtreu? It would be easy to have them at the very top of the list, but we narrowed the list to actors not older than 30. Even the likes of Cillian Murphy (31) and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (30) were excluded, though we would surely have loved to include them!

What we have here are emerging talents, the ones you will see getting the big roles in the near future - and some of them already have, with awards and nominations to boot.

Enough of talk, let's have them already!

# 50: If you’ve watched Sweeney Todd, then you’ll remember the young guy who was talking to Johnny Depp at the beginning of the film. He looks so young and sweet and… dead! That’s Anthony, the young lover of Sweeney Todd's daughter Johanna.

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Playing the role is Jamie Campbell Bower. This 19-year-old British actor who looks more like a male model is our first entry in tMF’s top 50 hotlist. Says Papermag:

More straight-up gorgeous than handsome, the 19-year-old British actor has the tall, thin build of a model and full Angelina Jolie-like lips. Add to that: He's in a musical band that grew up listening to Bob Marley and he credits the Libertines as the main influence for his personal style.

Expect great things from this guy. With a refreshingly friendly attitude and the absence of any star complex, Campbell-Bower is destined to become a star!

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# 49: Rocket Science is one of the most fascinating and intelligent teen movies of last year. What made it so good was the outstanding performance of its lead, Reece Thompson. Says V Mag:

Playing a teen with a stutter who joins a high-school debate team to win the girl of his dreams in director Jeffrey Blitz’s film Rocket Science has seen Reece Thompson make the transition from child actor to leading man. Thompson grew up in a small town in Canada near Vancouver and it was his family’s love of movies that initially set him on the celluloid track. His mother ran a film society that brought independent movies to town, and the whole family soon began taking background roles in productions in Vancouver. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however. “I would act out characters when I was a kid, which was a nightmare for my parents,” Thompson admits. “There was one time where I was Dennis the Menace for a couple of weeks and my mom would drag me to day care. She says that I was so out of control it caused her to quit her job.” The 18-year-old retains the exuberance of someone who likes commanding attention as the local rebel.

New Project: The Hollywood Reporter said that the dark comedy film, The Sophomore, has just nabbed Reece Thompson for its title role. The film also stars Mischa Barton and Bruce Willis.

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# 48: Things are certainly heating up for New Zealand-born actor Khan Chittenden. After wowing audiences on Australian television, his transition into movies produced two of Australia's most acclaimed films of recent years.

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Khan filmed his first lead feature role in WEST for director Daniel Krige in which he plays Pete, a teenager whom the odds are stacked against. Set in Sydney’s casually violent and seemingly soul-destroying western suburbs, this gritty no-budgeter follows the bleak lives of cousins Pete (Khan Chittenden) and Jerry (Nathan Phillips), who spend their time drinking, selling pot and trying to get laid. This not-so-idyllic existence is disturbed by the arrival of the sexy, mouthy Cheryl (Gillian Alexy), who wedges herself between the boys, leading to an inevitable confrontation.

Late in 2006, Khan commenced pre-production on CLUBLAND for director Cherie. Khan plays Tim, a young man who finds himself in a tug of war between two powerful women, his mum played by Brenda Blethyn (Secrets & Lies) and his new found love.

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# 47: With such good looks, it's fairly easy for Ryan Donowho to star as the familiar boy-next-door type. But it seems he prefers something different.

Ryan Donowho steps forward as a strong screen presence who has had some nice roles before but really owns the screen as Eddy. He’s at once vulnerable, obnoxious, damaged and sweet and that’s tough to pull off," says Don R. Lewis from filmthreat Ryan’s role in The Pacific and Eddy.

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That review and Mr. Donowho's reputation as an indie made me realize this is an amazing talent and one worth watching! The Pacific and Eddy is a film that speaks to your heart. It's beautifully done and executed with much care and attention to detail. It's not predictable and it offers something new to the audience.

Aside from this movie, I came to admire the actor when he took on some recent supporting roles. Looking at some of Emile Hirsch's recent movies, I got the chance to watch the 2004 film Imaginary Heroes. Mr. Donowho distinguished himself with a heartfelt performance as Kyle Dwyer, Emile's friend and roommate in Imaginary Heroes.

Oh, and he's a terrific drummer!

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# 46: While he seems to be just your typical boy-next-door, Nicholas Hoult demonstrates maturity beyond his age - he’s decent, respectful and shows a deep understanding of his work in the entertainment industry. He also knows how to play the game - he’s not shy but is reserved to the extent that you’ll never find him behaving arrogantly or being too sure of himself. But he does know he looks good and that he has loads of fans!

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How’s that for starters? So where is he going now? Aside from Skins, he said that both film and television appeal to him. It’s a matter of the script, the storyline and having the chance to be directed by someone respected in the industry.

While he may have sacrificed education to take on more challenging roles, he still thinks of school as being an important part of his life plans. With killer looks and the ability to act and drive girls crazy, why would anyone want Mr. Hoult to go away?

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# 45: With a leading role in the fantasy film Stardust, Charlie Cox is one of the British film industry's most anticipated new talents. After some noticeable roles in such films as Dot the I, Tirant le Blanc and Casanova, it's time for Charlie to take the lead. While Casanova is Heath Ledger's film, Cox's portrayal of Giovanni Bruni is a notable role in itself. Says a critic: 'Cox can certainly match Ledger in the looks department, as much as in acting!' Casanova is a 2005 comedy film directed by Lasse Hallström based on the life of Giacomo Casanova.

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In Stardust, he will once again pit talents with Sienna Miller (who starred with Cox and Heath Ledger in Casanova) and with Claire Danes, who plays his leading lady. In the film, Cox is Tristran Thorn, a young man who promises his beloved that he will retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the Faerie realm, where he encounters witches, pirates, evil trees, unicorns and treacherous princes. Says Charlie about the movie:

My favorite scenes were the early ones with Claire (Danes) where we’re bickering and fighting. We had a lot of fun doing it and we’re just laughing a lot and being stupid on set.

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# 44: Blond, blue-eyed and handsome, Matthias Schweighöfer is considered by many observers to be one of Germany’s most talented young actors. The 24-year-old literally has acting in his blood – both of his parents are theatre actors.

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Just after school, he went to Berlin and got his first role in a feature film Raus aus der Haut (1997) (TV), directed by Andreas Dresen. In the following years, he appeared in critically acclaimed projects such as Soloalbum (2003), Kammerflimmern (2004) or Wilde Leben, Das (2007), which brought him several important awards.

Matthias has impressed audiences with roles on both stage and screen, and he’s won television acting awards in Germany. Whether playing Brecht’s Baal, legendary German poet Schiller, or an emergency medical technician in the romantic drama "Off Beat", Matthias Schweighöfer delves deeply into his roles and prepares almost obsessively.

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#43: After appearing in a variety of shows on German television, Kostja Ullmann was offered the role of Achim, one of the leads in Marco Kreuzpaintner’s Summer Storm. Acting opposite another top young actor, Robert Stadlober, Ullmann’s role required him to do love scenes with Stadlober in this gay-themed coming-of-age film. The film went on to win awards in Germany, including nominations for both leads.

"I was taking acting lessons when I got the offer to play a leading role in Summer Storm. With its success, the attention we got from fans and the press was a wonderful feeling. I felt lucky in that I was getting paid for doing something that I liked a lot."

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But the young actor is now trying to get into more mature roles. Coming-of-age films seem to offer him no new challenges at this stage of his career.

"I think filmmakers and the studios are aware of my desire for more mature, challenging roles, though I still get those teen character roles! In "Schliemann and Sophie", I even had a beard (laughs) to make me look older!"

Definitely one of Germany’s most important talents, watch out for Kostja in Punish Me!

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# 42: Being labeled "The Next Big Thing" in Hollywood when you're still a teenager is hard to live up to. Just ask Patrick Fugit. He received rave reviews for his performance in "Almost Famous" as an aspiring young music journalist. But it was his co-star Kate Hudson who went on to movie stardom. And other co-stars, like Jason Lee and Philip Seymour Hoffman, also went on to bigger things. But after "Almost Famous," it took Fugit five years to find another major role that he felt was as good.

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"I remember thinking at the time, 'Wow. What am I going to do now?' and 'I hope this isn't as good as it's going to get,' “Fugit said at the Sundance Film Festival.” Unfortunately, it was, for awhile."

The 22-year-old actor has been seen in a handful of supporting roles since then, most notably "White Oleander," in which he appeared opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Alison Lohman. But he's rejected several projects that would have given him a lead role. That is until "Wristcutters: A Love Story" came along.

"I wanted to find something that was different, not just the dumb comedies and other things that were being offered to me," Fugit said during an interview in the Volkswagen Lounge on Park City's Main Street.