Trending Now: 26 Best Actors in Their 20s: Hollywood’s Rising Stars – Fans React

Hollywood’s flipped the switch; instead of being driven by massive movie stars delivering captivating performances, the industry has relied on MCU-style world-building, hoping moviegoers will come for the action and return because they need to know what happens next in the story. This shift has made cinemas feel like Sequel City, but it also means that young actors have opportunities to turn a role in a tentpole release into their big break.

Hollywood’s goal is to align with young talent early, hoping to cultivate their careers and turn them into must-see talent across TV and the silver screen. Today’s freshest young talent is what has driven the success of everything from Sony’s Spider-Man series and Netflix’s Stranger Things to Euphoria, Dune, and even the Super Mario franchise. But if movie stars ain’t movie starring anymore, how does one know which young Hollywood stars are at the top of their class? That’s where we come in, looking at everything from their acting talent and on-screen aura to their dominance at the box office, the quality of their current (and upcoming) work, mainstream relevance, and star power.

COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what’s next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.

Here’s a look at the talent driving Hollywood. These are the 26 best actors in their 20s.

26.

Millie Bobby Brown

Age: 22

Most Recognizable Projects: Stranger Things, Enola Holmes franchise, The Electric State

Upcoming Project(s): Enola Holmes 3, Just Picture It

When Season 1 of Stranger Things premiered on Netflix in 2016, then-12-year-old Millie Bobby Brown practically became a celebrity overnight. Starring as Eleven in the series, Brown went from a quiet, sheltered, special girl to a goddamn X-Man by series end, but instead of just playing Eleven on Netflix, Brown stepped her game up, diving into the modern Monsterverse with roles in Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong. She didn’t limit her career to staying on camera, though; since 2020, Brown has produced and starred in two Enola Holmes films for Netflix, with a third set for release in 2026. Her partnership with Netflix is treating her well; not only did she release Damsel with the streaming giant in 2024, but her upcoming romcom Just Picture It is also a Netflix project. Now that Stranger Things has concluded, Brown has more time to focus on further developing her filmography, with or without Netflix.

25.

Yara Shahidi

Age: 26

Most Recognizable Projects: Grown-ish, Peter Pan & Wendy

Upcoming Project(s): The Beekeeper 2

For 10 years, Yara Shahidi held it down as Zoey Johnson, transitioning from ABC’s wildly popular sitcom black-ish to her own spin-off series on Freeform, grown-ish. Shahidi has used her platform not only to display her political activism but also to venture into directing and producing (and even picking up a couple of credits on Baby Keem’s latest album, Ca$ino). Lately, she’s been diving into bigger projects, from playing Tinker Bell in Disney’s live-action Peter Pan & Wendy, and she’s also joined the cast of The Beekeeper 2, which could help propel Yara Shahidi into the more grown-up roles fans want to see her in.

24.

Daisy Edgar-Jones

Age: 27

Most Recognizable Projects: Normal People, Twisters

Upcoming Project(s): Sense and Sensibility, Here Comes the Flood, A Place in Hell

After the critical acclaim that Normal People received, Daisy Edgar-Jones stayed booked and busy. She starred in a pair of films in 2022, including Where the Crawdads Sing, before joining the ensemble cast of 2024’s Twisters. Her 2026 seems to be right on track; she’s starring in the anticipated period drama Sense and Sensibility, while booked alongside Denzel Washington and Robert Pattinson in Netflix’s thriller Here Comes The Flood later this year. Daisy is slowly becoming a consistent face in the Hollywood landscape; it’s only a matter of time before she hits that next plateau.

23.

Ella Purnell

Age: 29

Most Recognizable Projects: Yellowjackets, Fallout

Upcoming Project(s): The Scurry

Ella Purnell’s consistency has kept her on this list; the projects she has been working on haven’t really changed (especially when she’s been working on two different television series, Fallout and Sweetpea), with The Scurry, a film which Wikipedia says is about a “gang of killer squirrels” that “run amok in a park.” It’s a British horror comedy, and could possibly be the spark that Purnell needs to add some more excellence to her growing filmography. It’s been dope to see her tackle more complex material like Sweetpea; hopefully, Hollywood continues to take notice.

22.

Caleb McLaughlin

Age: 24

Most Recognizable Projects: Stranger Things, Concrete Cowboy, Goat

Upcoming Project(s): TBA

For almost a decade, Caleb McLaughlin was part of Netflix’s breakthrough series Stranger Things, growing up right in front of our eyes as Lucas Sinclair. His career didn’t take off like Finn Wolfhard’s, but Caleb has been building a strong foundation of non-Stranger work. He’s starred as a young, Black cowboy in 2020’s Concrete Cowboy and portrayed one of LeBron James’s friends in 2023’s Shooting Stars. Caleb was a part of Jeymes Samuel’s The Book of Clarence and was even featured in the viral sensation The Deliverance in 2024. Finding time to work on these extracurriculars can’t be easy, but clearly Caleb has been itching to branch out as an actor. Now that Stranger Things is over (right?), now’s the time for him to grow.

21.

Rachel Zegler

Age: 24

Most Recognizable Projects: West Side Story, Snow White

Upcoming Project(s): She Gets It From Me

At 24, Zegler has done more than others at her age dream of. She’s already won a Golden Globe for her performance in 2021’s West Side Story, and in 2025, she was the live-action Snow White. And while she’s already taken on a few different roles in her career (including being in a Hunger Games movie and an A24 horror film), Zegler has spent the last few years on the stage, from playing Juliet in Romeo + Juliet on Broadway to portraying Eva Perón in Evita in London to currently playing Cathy Hiatt on the 25th anniversary concert tour of The Last Five Years. Zegler’s next film, She Gets It From Me, is currently filming and doesn’t have a release date, but we have a feeling that Zegler’s only just getting started.

20.

Noah Jupe

Age: 21

Most Recognizable Projects: The Carpenter’s Son, Hamnet

Upcoming Project(s): The Death of Robin Hood

Noah Jupe’s been at it since he was a child, getting some of his earliest acting roles around the age of 10. He’s worked alongside John Krasinski in the A Quiet Place films, and worked with Shia LaBeouf on 2019’s Honey Boy. Most recently, he was seen in the awards-season darling Hamnet, as well as in The Carpenter’s Son, a darker look at the story of Jesus. Jupe has an interesting 2026 ahead of him; he’s playing opposite Sadie Sink in the West End’s production of Romeo and Juliet, and also set to star alongside Hugh Jackman in The Death of Robin Hood. At 21, he’s one of the youngest on this list with loads of experience; Jupe’s on track to make a real splash if the roles land right.

19.

Kiernan Shipka

Age: 26

Most Recognizable Projects: Mad Men, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Longlegs, Industry

Upcoming Project(s): Goodbye Girl

Kiernan Shipka is another who got an early start; she was around 8 years old when Mad Men hit the air, and she rode it out until right before her eighteenth birthday. While finding her place in Hollywood, she’s been able to tackle a wide array of roles, from leftfield horror like The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Longlegs to Netflix’s popular Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and her recent work on HBO’s Industry. 2024 was a big year for Shipka, with Longlegs and Twisters being theatrical releases to balance out the Netflix projects she was working on. The Shitheads, a Dave Franco film she’s in, recently premiered at Sundance, and she’s currently filming another romcom, Amazon MGM’s Goodbye Girl, alongside Cole Sprouse and others.

18.

Amandla Stenberg

Age: 27

Most Recognizable Projects: The Hunger Games, The Hate U Give, Bodies Bodies Bodies

Upcoming Project(s): Wildwood, Children of Blood and Bone

Young Rue from The Hunger Games has spent the bulk of her 20s putting on. Amandla Stenberg was around 14 when that first film dropped, and since then, she’s bounced from important social commentary like The Hate U Give to dark black comedy of Bodies Bodies Bodies. She played dual roles on the Star Wars series The Acolyte, and even voiced Spider-Byte in 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, but it’s her upcoming work that has us truly intrigued. The beautiful dark twisted fantasy of 2026’s Wildwood features a massive cast (Angela Basett, Mahershala Ali, and others) that Stenberg is a part of, but it’s the magic of 2027’s Children of Blood and Bone, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, The Woman King), that could be promising. That film also stars Damson Idris, Cynthia Erivo, Regina King, Idris Elba, Viola Davis, and more.

17.

Cailee Spaeny

Age: 27

Most Recognizable Projects: Civil War, Priscilla, Alien: Romulus, Wake Up Dead Man

Upcoming Project(s): Beef Season 2

The thing about Cailee Spaeny is that she’s making a lot of dope choices early into her career. We’re talking Pacific Rim: Uprising and Vice, both released in 2018, as some of her first feature films. Her stock truly rose in 2023, where she saw critical acclaim for her lead role as Priscilla Presley in Priscilla. She took that buzz and rode it to the bank, being featured in Civil War and Alien: Romulus. As it’s bound to happen when a talented performer is making waves, she joined the Knives Out universe in Netflix’s 2025 Wake Up Dead Man, and will be starring in Season 2 of Netflix’s Beef, playing a woman who witnesses a fight between the owner of a country club and his wife. Based on how Season 1 did, Spaeny’s name could be on everyone’s lips by the end of 2026.

16.

Sophia Lillis

Age: 24

Most Recognizable Projects: It franchise, All Her Fault, The Chair Company

Upcoming Project(s): Knight’s Camp, Bobby Fox in the Lower Dimension, Ancient History

Sophia Lillis made her first appearance in a film around 14, and a year later she was starring in the 2017 remake of Stephen King’s It. She’s had an interesting career since then; she’s been able to balance appearing in more mature series like HBO’s Sharp Objects with being the new Nancy Drew, and because of her range, she feels just at home in action flicks opposite Dave Bautista as she does in HBO’s The Chair Company, playing the daughter of one of Tim Robinson’s characters. She has three(!) projects in pre-production right now, including Ancient History, an A24 project opposite Daniel Zolghadri (Funny Pages), which could be the pick of the litter, although knowing Lillis, she may have three more projects on the horizon.

15.

Austin Abrams

Age: 29

Most Recognizable Projects: Weapons, Euphoria

Upcoming Project(s): Resident Evil, Whalefall

Born in Florida, Austin Abrams began acting at five and, by nine, was appearing on stage. The 2019 horror film Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark may have been one of his buzzier works, released the same year he started playing Ethan Daley on HBO’s Euphoria. A working actor throughout his 20s, Abrams flipped the script, portraying the homeless drug addict James in Weapons, popping up at the exact worst times throughout the pitch-black horror comedy. He’s ending his 20s with a bang, particularly with Resident Evil, the latest reboot film based on the highly successful video game franchise. He’s also set to star in Whalefall, which is about a guy who tries to survive after being swallowed by a whale. Dude’s going for it!

14.

Hailee Steinfeld

Age: 29

Most Recognizable Projects: Hawkeye, Sinners

Upcoming Project(s): Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse

Over 15 years ago, Hailee Steinfeld’s breakthrough performance in 2010’s True Grit earned her Best Supporting Actress nominations at the Academy Awards. Since then, her career has blossomed, going from a trilogy of Pitch Perfect films and The Edge of Seventeen to being the voice of Gwen Stacy (aka Spider-Girl) in Sony’s Spider-Verse films and joining the MCU as Kate Bishop, aka the young Hawkeye, both in the Disney+ MCU series Hawkeye and in The Marvels, with thoughts that Kate Bishop will be an integral part of the MCU’s Young Avengers. Steinfeld was also cast as Mary in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, a role that she says helped her connect more with her own family history. Steinfeld will be reprising the role of Gwen Stacy in Beyond the Spider-Verse, set for release in 2027.

13.

Michael Gandolfini

Age: 26

Most Recognizable Projects: Daredevil: Born Again, The Many Saints of Newark

Upcoming Project(s): Daredevil: Born Again Season 2

The son of the late James Gandolfini, Michael Gandolfini somehow walked in his father’s shoes and has been able to plot his own course in the industry. In 2021, Michael played a young Tony Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to the groundbreaking HBO series The Sopranos, of which his father James played an adult Tony. He played the role and looked like his father, but luckily didn’t have to play his father, which has benefited him in future roles, from playing publicist Harry Bloom in Bob Marley: One Love to playing the Fisk-loving Daniel Blake in Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again. Michael’s building the foundation, nd once he gets that role, it feels like he will pick up where his father left off.

12.

Sydney Sweeney

Age: 28

Most Recognizable Projects: Euphoria, The Housemaid, Madame Web

Upcoming Project(s): Euphoria Season 3, The Custom of the Country, Scandalous!, The Housemaid’s Secret

Sydney Sweeney has been trying to develop her acting career while the rest of the world can’t keep their eyes off of her. Much of that is due to her work in HBO’s Euphoria as Cassie Howard, a girl who used promiscuity to hide what’s really going on inside, and she’s spent the last five years trying to flesh out her resume. She went from superhero fare in Sony’s Madame Web to playing a boxer in a sports biopic to bringing the erotic thriller back opposite Amanda Seyfried in The Housemaid. Has she succeeded? It varies; she’s had to pushback against “MAGA Barbie” allegations and shots about low-performing pictures, but once Season 3 of Euphoria hits, and fans see Cassie struggle to maintain her marriage and her (checks notes) OnlyFans career, they may forget those conversations. Hell, maybe they will stick around for whenever they drop the theatrical release to The Housemaid’s Secret, the sequel book to The Housemaid.

11.

Jharrel Jerome

Age: 28

Most Recognizable Projects: Moonlight, When They See Us, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Upcoming Project(s): Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse

Jharrel Jerome always finds himself in good company. His theatrical film debut, Moonlight, shocked the world when it took home the Best Picture Oscar. Netflix’s When They See Us found Jharrel linking with Ava DuVernay to tell the story of the Central Park Five. He’s even the current voice of Miles Morales in the Spider-Verse franchise, returning for 2027’s Beyond. He’s also one of the most purely talented individuals on this list; the way he delivers emotion, you feel it like you’re the one in the situation. Hopefully we can see him in something new before Beyond’s release; I’m a Virgo, the Boots Riley series in which he played a 13-foot-tall 19-year-old, shows he’s willing to take it there for the laugh or the message; give him some other lives to inhabit!

10.

Finn Wolfhard

Age: 23

Most Recognizable Projects: Stranger Things, It franchise, Ghostbusters franchise

Upcoming Project(s): Crash Land

Not to shade anyone else from his Stranger Things cast, but Finn Wolfhard, on releases, smashed it harder than the rest of that cast. He was the leader of the crew on Stranger, so it made sense that other filmmakers would see him in similar roles, either as the complicated wisecrack artist in the It franchise or as the older brother who ain’t afraid of no ghosts in the Ghostbusters franchise revival. With Stranger Things no longer an obligation for Finn, he could get into more Hell of a Summer territory; smaller projects that let him flex a specific acting muscle or indulge in subject matter not suitable for the Ghostbusters universe. His next film, Crash Land, is a coming-of-age story about a group of amateur stuntmen and feels like that kind of project.

9.

Miles Caton

Age: 21

Most Recognizable Projects: Sinners

Upcoming Project(s): TBA

Yes, Miles Caton was that damn good in Sinners. Caton grew up in a musical family, and started out as a performer, singing on television for years before hitting the road with H.E.R. in 2023. For Sinners, Coogler needed a specific type of performer to play Sammie, whose music literally transcends space and time. Caton was able to do that and add onto the vision, contributing original material to the Sinners soundtrack. Caton’s so good that he learned to play the guitar for the role, which is insane when you truly think about how often Sammie had that guitar in his hand or strapped to his person. We’ll be waiting patiently for the announcement of Caton’s Sinners followup.

8.

Hunter Schafer

Age: 27

Most Recognizable Projects: Euphoria, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Cuckoo

Upcoming Project(s): Euphoria Season 3, Mother Mary, Cry to Heaven, Blade Runner 2099 (minieries)

Schafer, like a few of her peers on this list, became a familiar face after appearing on HBO’s Euphoria. Her story is different; while most are playing characters that pull from their real life, Schafer was doing so at a time when on-screen representation for trans teens has been minimal. What’s been dope is that she hasn’t stopped there. From 2023’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes through 2024’s Cuckoo and Kinds of Kindness, Schafer is making calculated decisions on the roles she is taking on, most likely leading not just to her continued presence on Euphoria in Season 3 but to the Anne Hathaway-led Mother Mary or the Blade Runner 2099 miniseries. She doesn’t play the same role twice, and in due time, she’ll look back on a collection of interesting lives lived (on screen).

7.

Elle Fanning

Age: 27

Most Recognizable Projects: Predator: Badlands, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Mary Shelley

Upcoming Project(s): The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping

Dakota Fanning’s younger sister, Elle has been holding her own since the age of three. Her career has taken her from the animated Astro Boy film to the sci-fi epic Super 8 to playing Mary Shelley, all before 2020. And while 2024 saw Elle playing Sylvie Russo opposite Timothee Chalamet’s Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, 2025 could have been her biggest year, career-wise, so far, from the well-received work she did in Predator” Badlands to Sentimental Value, a film that earned Fanning a Best Supporting Actress nomination. She’s already set to return to the cinema in November with The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, a film that could have her at the top of more projects if it does what it is supposed to do at the box office. And even if it doesn’t, it’s not like Elle is going to stop shining.

6.

Anya Taylor-Joy

Age: 29

Most Recognizable Projects: The VVitch, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, The Gorge

Upcoming Project(s): The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Dune: Part Three, Lucky

It was 2015’s The VVitch that brought Anya Taylor-Joy to people’s attention, and somehow the Florida-born, UK-bred actor has been on the warpath ever since. From Peaky Blinders to The New Mutants to The Menu to The Super Mario Bros. Movie to Dune: Part Two to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Anya is the definition of moving from strength to strength. With each new project, she’s either gaining more mainstream appeal or able to flex more of her acting muscles. While 2026 shouldn’t be considered lightwork, it’s also dope that she has crime thriller miniseries like Apple TV+’s Lucky to see her showing more range than being dope parts of blockbuster hopefuls.

5.

Chase Infiniti

Age: 25

Most Recognizable Projects: One Battle After Another, Presumed Innocent

Upcoming Project(s): The Testaments, The Julia Set

If you’re not already familiar with Chase Infiniti, now is the time. Real ones remember Chase as Jaden, the daughter of Rusty Sabich, the man accused of murder in Apple TV+’s Emmy-nominated Presumed Innocent. She made her breakthrough in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, playing the on-the-run daughter of a pair of revolutionaries. Next, she’s inheriting the Handmaid’s Tale universe as the start of Hulu’s The Testaments while also set to star alongside Gillian Anderson in The Julia Set. Again, now is the time to get familiar; Chase Infinit’s about to blow up for real.

4.

Jacob Elordi

Age: 28

Most Recognizable Projects: Euphoria, Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights

Upcoming Project(s): Euphoria Season 3, The Dog Stars

When we last left off, Jacob Elordi’s biggest claims were being one of the bigger problems on HBO’s Euphoria and as a star of the buzzworthy Saltburn. It’s been clear that he didn’t want to just be perceived as Nate Jacobs, and with projects like Netflix’s Frankenstein, where Elordi was almost unrecognizable as The Creature, he’s making those intentions felt. Dude’s got the look, and he has the ability; bouncing from bold period pieces like Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights or Season 3 of Euphoria, where he’s seemingly trapped in the life he (and his father) were dreading, are just the latest examples of that fact. This summer, his mettle as an action lead will be tested with the post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick The Dog Stars alongside Josh Brolin and Margaret Qualley.

3.

Tom Holland

Age: 29

Most Recognizable Projects: Spider-Man franchise, The Crowded Room, Uncharted, Cherry

Upcoming Project(s): The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day

With multiple iterations of Peter Parker / Spider-Man on-screen, picking a favorite can be difficult, but if you’re looking for that younger Peter comic book accuracy, Holland’s portrayal throughout Sony’s latest Spider-Man flicks, which branched out into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, nails it. His quips are timed perfectly, and he has the white meat baby face thing down pat, embodying the spirit of the Peter Parker many like to see. 2026 will mark Holland’s eighth time portraying the Amazing Spider-Man on-screen, but he is also set to appear in one of 2026’s most anticipated films, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, alongside his wife, Zendaya.

2.

Jenna Ortega

Age: 23

Most Recognizable Projects: Wednesday, X, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Scream franchise

Upcoming Project(s): Wednesday Season 3, The Great Beyond, Klara and the Sun

Jenna Ortega blowing up that big that fast shouldn’t be a surprise; her talent oozes off the screen. She’s been acting since the age of nine, and by 2019 was already appearing throughout the second season of Netflix’s thriller You. The darker side of entertainment appeared to be where she was best suited, with a pair of horror flicks in 2022—A24’s hit X and the fifth film in the Scream franchise—that had fans going wild for her at the cinema before Netflix dropped Wednesday, which starred Ortega as the titular Wednesday Addams, that turned Ortega into a household name. The series has already been renewed for a third season, and was how Ortega linked with Timothy Burton, which landed her a role in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. As we wait for that third season to arrive on Netflix, we will have more Jenna Ortega; she’s in J. J. Abrams’s The Great Beyond, which drops later this year via Warner Bros., and stars alongside Amy Adams in another dystopian science fiction film, Klara and the Sun, also due in 2026.

1.

Zendaya

Age: 29

Most Recognizable Projects: Euphoria, Dune franchise, Spider-Man franchise, Challengers

Upcoming Project(s): The Drama, Euphoria Season 3, The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Dune: Part Three, Shrek 5

As if there was any doubt. Just take a look at the Upcoming Project(s) for everyone on this list, then look at what Zendaya has in store. She is the heart of Euphoria; her journey as Rue, battling addiction as an American teenager, was exactly what her career needed to help Zendaya transition into the star she is today. She can hop into franchises like Dune and Sony’s Spider-Man flicks, as well as be the catalyst for tennis-driven love in the much hyped Challengers, but really, look at what she has on deck. She’s in four of 2026’s bigger films, from The Drama alongside Robert Pattinson to the latest installments of Dune, Spider-Man, and the third season of Euphoria, where we are apparently going to get the continuation of Rue skipping out on paying Laurie back for that suitcase full of drugs. Not only is Zendaya in Nolan’s next epic, The Odyssey, but if you’re making your 2027 plans and don’t necessarily need to see Zendaya, she’s already booked in the fifth Shrek film. Z has been on top for some time, but when you really sit and think about it? No one has been dominating Hollywood in their 20s as Zendaya has.

Related Stories

,

,

Related News

Gypsy Rose Sparks Backlash After Appearing to Make Light of Mother’s Murder

Pastor Jamal Bryant Ends ‘Target Fast’ After $2B Pledge Nears Completion

COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what’s next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.

Making Culture Pop. Find the latest entertainment news and the best in music, pop culture, sneakers, style and original shows.