Cinema constantly has new talent
each and every year, making great films and opening audiences’ eyes to new
characters, stories and worlds. 2012’s summer offers new films from these four
talented new actors.
What He’s Been In:
Dane DeHaan, 25, got his start
on Broadway as the understudy to Haley
Joel Osment in American Buffalo. He made his TV debut in an episode of Law & Order: SVU and his
feature debut in John Sayles’s
Philippine-American War film Amigo.
On TV, he is best known for his work on the HBO series In Treatment, playing Jesse in
season three, and he also appeared in season four of True Blood.
Breakthrough:
Earlier this year, DeHaan had a
breakout performance in the mini-action film Chronicle.
Directed by Josh Trank,
written by Max Landis (both
of whom have become sought-after talents as well) and co-starring Michael B. Jordan and Alex Russell, the film is about
three high school students who gain telekinetic powers after discovering a
mysterious energy source. DeHaan plays one of the teens, whose troubled life
leads him down a dark path once he has honed his newfound abilities. The film
is a great debut for Trank and Landis, and should be one of the small gems of
2012 – a year that will likely be remembered for its fantastic blockbusters.
Summer Film(s):
In August, DeHaan has a
supporting role in Lawless,
a new film directed by John
Hillcoat and written by Nick
Cave (the team behind The
Proposition). It has a brilliant cast with Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pierce, Gary
Oldman, Shia LaBeouf, Mia Wasikowska, Noah Taylor, and Jason Clarke. It is about a
bootlegging gang in Depression-era Virginia that is threatened by the
authorities who want a piece of their profits. DeHaan plays Cricket Pate, a
friend to the bootleggers. It looks like a potentially phenomenal gangster
film. Trailer: Here.
DeHaan also has a supporting role in the strange romance Jack and Diane, which is about
two teenage girls who meet in NYC and become destructively infatuated with each
other. It stars Juno Temple
and Riley Keough, and is
written and directed by Bradley
Rust Gray. It could see release over the summer or later in 2012 (no
trailer yet).
Upcoming:
DeHaan has supporting roles in
two upcoming films, one scheduled for September 2012, the other 2013. First, he
is featured in The Place Beyond
the Pines, directed by Derek
Cianfrance. It is about a motorcycle stunt rider who must turn to crime to
support his family, making him an enemy of a cop-turned-politician. It stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Rose Byrne. His other film is Kill Your Darlings, about a
murder that brings together the great poets of the beat generation. It has a
good cast with Daniel Radcliffe,
Ben Foster, Elizabeth Olson, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Jack Huston. It is directed by John Krokidas.
Career Highlights:
*Editor’s picks
What He’s Been In:
Mark Duplass, 35, got his start
making short films with his brother Jay. Their feature debut came in
2005 with The Puffy Chair (one
of the first film in the genre that many call mumblecore), which Duplass co-wrote,
co-directed, produced, and starred in. Katie Aselton co-stars. He then
starred in another mumblecore film Hannah Takes the Stairs with Greta Gerwig (both another
member of the mumblecore genre group and a writer on the film). For their
second feature, the Duplass Brothers made a thriller comedy with Baghead; Duplass again working
with Gerwig (though, this time as a writer-director-producer). Continuing to
star in and make films in the mumblecore genre (really, I am just trying to see
how many times I can use the word mumblecore in this paragraph), he next
starred in Humpday, by
another of the genre’s prominent directors Lynn Shelton. In 2010, he got
his first more mainstream break taking a small role in Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg, which stars Ben Stiller (and also features
Gerwig in her breakthrough performance). Later that year, he and his brother
had their third feature Cyrus
receive wider distribution, having attracted stars John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill to the project.
Breakthrough:
In 2009, Duplass got his TV
breakthrough when he was cast in the FX fantasy football comedy The League, which also stars Nick Kroll, Jonathan Lajoie, Stephen Rannazzisi, Paul Scheer, and Katie Aselton
(Duplass’s real life wife, and co-star from his first film). The show is
fantastic and hilarious (and in my opinion, one of the best comedies on TV
right now). While he has yet to have a breakthrough performance in a feature
(though June 2012 should surely provide one), earlier this year he co-wrote and
directed Jeff,
Who Lives at Home with his brother. Starring Ed Helms, Jason
Segel, Susan Sarandon,
and Judy Greer, it is about a
slacker who discovers his destiny while helping his brother spy on his brother’s
wife (who they suspect of infidelity). The film is the best so far from the
Duplass Brothers, and has continued to bring mumblecore more into the
mainstream.
Summer Film(s):
With two potentially great films
out this summer and one that looks good (just not as good), Duplass will likely
see his acting career take off. All three due in June, the first is Safety Not Guaranteed. It is
about a guy who places an ad seeking a partner for time travel, and three
magazine employees who set out to try and interview him. Duplass stars as Kenneth,
the potentially crazy guy who places the ad. It looks like funny and
interesting film, co-starring Aubrey
Plaza and Jake Johnson.
Trailer: Here.
His second film is Your Sister’sSister written and directed by Lynn Shelton. It stars Duplass opposite Emily
Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt.
The film is about Jack. Having just lost his brother, he is invited by his best
friend Iris to stay at her family’s island getaway. Going up alone early, Jack
encounters Iris’s sister Hannah, forming a connection that becomes complicated
when Iris arrives. The film looks like a potentially excellent dramedy, and
possibly the best entry of the mumblecore genre. Trailer: Here.
Finally, Duplass has a small supporting role in People Like Us, written and
directed by Alex Kurtzman (taking
a break from action and sci-fi) and starring Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Olivia Wilde. It is about a man
badly in debt who inherits $150,000 from his father, only to find out about a
sister he never knew about who his father had intended the money for. Now he
has to make a choice. Trailer: Here. Also
due in June (though probably only in LA and NYC, if that), is the Duplass
Brothers’ fifth feature The
Do-Deca-Pentathlon. It stars unknown actors and is about two brother who
compete against each other in their own 25-event Olympics (no trailer yet).
Upcoming:
In 2013, Duplass is set to
co-star in the dark comedy The
Skeleton Twins (though it is still seeking funding) with Anna Faris and Bill Hader. Directed and
co-written by Craig Johnson
(yet another mumblecore director), it is about two estranged twins who reunite
after both cheating death on the same day.
Career Highlights:
*Editor’s pick
What He’s Been In:
Taylor Kitsch, 31, got his start
in 2002, moving from Canada to New York City to pursue modeling with IMG. He
also studied acting and was for a time homeless, sleeping on subway cars. In
2004, he relocated his modeling to LA. In 2006, his career started to take off.
Aside from getting his breakthrough role (see below), he booked small parts in John Tucker Must Die, Snakes on a Plane and The Covenant. His first big
film role came as Gambit in X-Men
Origins: Wolverine in 2009. He also took a starring role in the drama The Bang Bang Club.
Breakthrough:
After having a sports drama hit
with his feature Friday Night
Lights, director Peter Berg
decided to make it into a TV
series, completely recasting it. Kitsch won the role of Tim Riggins, maybe
the show’s most iconic character – a bad boy with a good heart. The series
about high school football in Texas played for five seasons. Sometimes plagued
by low ratings (as seemingly all the great network shows are), it is regarded
among the greatest shows of the last decade. Kitsch very well may be the most
successful young actor to emerge from the series. Film wise, Kitsch had his
first big starring role in John
Carter, Disney’s blockbuster from earlier this year. It should have been a
huge breakthrough for him, as he plays the title character, but Disney
mismanaged the marketing (or people just did not want to see the film) and it
was a colossal failure – though a good film nonetheless.
Summer Film(s):
Kitsch has two films this summer.
The first is another huge blockbuster with Battleship (yes, based on the
game…no really, it is based on the game…I cannot make this stuff up) due in May.
He stars as a naval officer who is thrust into leadership when an alien race
threatens the world (and stuff explodes). It sees Kitsch reunite with director
Peter Berg, and FNL co-star Jesse
Plemons. Alexander Skarsgard,
Liam Neeson, Brooklyn Decker, and Rihanna make up the rest of the
bigger name cast members. The film looks to be all spectacle, low substance –
which is fine for those looking for mindless summer entertainment. Trailer: Here. His second
comes in July. Savages,
directed by Oliver Stone
(looking to finally return to form), is about two independent American pot
growers who square off against a Mexican cartel after their girlfriend is
kidnapped (by said cartel – after they refused to let the cartel in on their
business). In addition to Kitsch, it stars Aaron Johnson, Blake Lively, Selma Hayek, Benicio Del Toro, and John Travolta. Trailer: Here. For me, Savages is
the more interesting and likely better of the two.
Upcoming:
In 2013, Kitsch is again working
with Peter Berg starring in his new action drama Lone Survivor. Also starring Mark Wahlberg and Ben Foster, the film is about
Operation Red Wing – a four member SEAL Team is tasked with the mission of
capturing or killing Taliban leader, Admad Shad (I guess movies about finding
and/or killing America’s Middle Eastern enemies is all the rage now – there is
this film, Zero Dark Thirty
and Mission: Black List all coming out soon).
Career Highlights:
*Editor’s picks
What He’s Been In:
Benjamin Walker, 29, got his
start learning his craft at the Juilliard School in New York City, graduating
in 2004. From there, he got small roles in a few films including: Kinsey, The Notorious Bettie Page, Flags of Our Fathers, and his
first starring role in the indie The
War Boys. However, Walker is better known for his stage acting career. He has
appeared in the Broadway revival of Inherit the Wind, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
and many other productions.
Breakthrough:
Walker’s stage breakthrough came
in 2007, taking the lead in the irreverent rock musical Bloody Bloody Andrew
Jackson. Film wise, he is not well known at all. He was the first choice to
play Beast in X-Men:
First Class, but dropped out to star in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. His
summer movie should serve as his breakthrough in Hollywood.
Summer Film(s):
In June, Walker stars in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
(which certainly warrants a rental on title alone, no?). Directed by action
specialist Timur Bekmambetov
(who made Wanted), it
co-stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead,
Dominic Cooper, Rufus Sewell, and Anthony Mackie. While the title
is self-explanatory, the film is about our nation’s 16th President,
and his mission to stop vampires from taking over the United States. Trailer: Here.
Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), this is one of the summer’s most anticipated
films, and should it be successful Walker will see his film work greatly
increase.
Upcoming:
Walker also has another film
slated for release in 2012 – Muhammad
Ali’s Greatest Fight. Directed by Steven Frears, it is about the
U.S. Government going after Muhammad Ali after he refused to fight in the
Vietnam War. It co-stars Christopher
Plummer, Danny Glover,
and Frank Langella in
addition to Walker. If done well, this could have Academy Award implications as
it has the right pedigree.
Career Highlights:
His career to date has been
mostly on the stage.
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