Each year, the world of cinema sees us get introduced to new names that captivate us. These breakout stars might not be making their film debuts but they deliver the kind of performance that launches their career into the stratosphere and helps them become bigger names in Hollywood.
2025 was no different, with a handful of actors showing off just how talented they actually are. Some were indeed making their big screen debuts while others finally got the chance to shine in a well-received movie and are receiving buzz for it now that awards season is upon us.
Frank Dillane – Urchin
Frank Dillane is someone many of us should recognize as he played teenage Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Since then, he’s popped up in a slew of movies and shows, with his biggest role being in Fear the Walking Dead.
People are really starting to take notice of Frank Dillane thanks to his performance in Urchin. The film marks Harris Dickinson’s debut as a director and tells the story of a homeless man who runs into all sorts of problems as he attempts to turn his life around.
Dillane plays Mike, the movie’s protagonist, and delivers a powerful performance. His work has been receiving widespread acclaim and is even one of the focal points covered in the Rotten Tomatoes consensus on Urchin. Dillane plays this troubled soul to perfection and it should lead to major roles going forward.
Oona Chaplin – Avatar: Fire And Ash
Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash
Far too many people tend to overlook the performances from the cast of the Avatar franchise. The behind-the-scenes footage released of Zoe Saldana in Avatar: The Way of Water should’ve put those thoughts to rest as she’s remarkable in it and she might’ve even been bested in the third film.
In Avatar: Fire and Ash, Saldana’s Neytiri comes face to face with Varang, the leader of the volcano-dwelling Na’vi clan known as Mangkwan. Varang is played by Oona Chaplin, who James Cameron praised for her dominating psychology and fury, as this is a ruthless character.
Chaplin is most famous for her role as Talisa Gaegyr in Game of Thrones and her inclusion in the infamous Red Wedding scene. She’s better than ever in Avatar: Fire and Ash, bringing life to another great villain in this film series.
Sebiye Behtiyar – Preparation For The Next Life
Bing Liu landed an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature for Minding the Gap and made his feature film debut this year with Preparation for the Next Life, a film that introduced the world to Sebiye Behtiyar.
Sebiye Behtiyar makes her acting debut in Preparation for the Next Life but you’d think she was a veteran with decades of experience because she’s that good. In the film, she plays Aishe, an undocumented woman of Uyghur descent, who falls in love with a soldier while struggling with adapting to her new life.
Reviews for Preparation for the Next Life were sparkling, holding a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Behtiyar has spectacular chemistry with co-star Fred Hechinger, which makes the film click, and we’ll likely be seeing a lot of her in the future.
SZA – One Of Them Days
Alyssa and Dreux look over the balcony in One of Them Days
Musicians are known to crossover into the world of acting, often with positive results. There’s Janelle Monáe in Moonlight, Ice Cube in Boyz n the Hood, Tupac Shakur in Juice, and the Oscar-winning Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls, just to name a few.
SZA has put her name on that list with her tremendous debut in One of Them Days, one of 2025’s best comedy films. The great budy comedy follows a pair of roommates as they face a slew of challenges while trying to come up with rent before they get evicted.
Keke Palmer plays the lead, while SZA is her best friend Alyssa, and the two play so well off each other. SZA shows off impressive comedic timing and doesn’t hold back on physical comedy either. We’re excited to see her in the sequel but also want her in other roles too.
James Sweeney – Twinless
Dylan O’Brien and James Sweeney, staring ahead and smiling, in Twinless
The name James Sweeney should start to garner more attention from filmgoers. He made his acting and directing debut in 2019 with the hidden gem Straight Up but his work on his sophomore effort, Twinless, is one that really should make folks take notice.
Twinless stars Sweeney as Dennis, a gay man who sleeps with Rocky and when he gets ghosted by him, he confronts him, only for Rocky to get hit by a car, killing him. Dennis then meets Rocky’s twin, Roman, at a support group for twinless twins, and the two form a bond.
Dylan O’Brien’s turn as Roman/Rocky is great but he’s already pretty well known, so it’s Sweeney who gets the breakout. He plays the sociopathic nature of the character well while also making him somewhat sympathetic, which is a tough line to toe. Sweeney does is masterfully and it’s captivating.
Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
Not many people manage to land a breakout role on both the big and small screens in the same year but Odessa A’zion pulled that feat off. While we’ve seen her in films like 2022’s Hellraiser reboot and Until Dawn, 2025 took her to the next level.
Along with a role in HBO’s I Love LA, A’zion gets to show off her acting chops in the critically acclaimed Marty Supreme. Timothée Chalamet is outstanding as the titular Marty, while A’zion plays Rachel, his childhood married friend who is having an affair with him.
The two share electric chemistry and A’zion challenges him in some breathtaking scenes, looking right at home alongside one of Hollywood’s top actors. With more performances like this, Odessa A’zion is a rising star to watch.
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
The film Sentimental Value is filled with fantastic acting up and down its stellar cast. Renate Reinsve is another breakout candidate with her efforts, Elle Fanning continues her string of excellent performances, and veteran Stellan Skarsgãrd shines once again.
However, Sentimental Value might be stolen by Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas. The film follows a dysfunctional family as patriarch Gustav, a once-renowned director, offers his daughter Nora a role in his latest film but when she turns it down, he gives the part to an eager rising star in Hollywood.
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas plays Agnes, Nora’s sister, and she gets the film’s best scenes. Opposite the likes of Skarsgãrd, she wows in some emotional moments that are the movie’s highlights. It’s a gripping performance that’s one of the best of the year.
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby
sorry, baby stills
If Sorry, Baby is any indication of what’s to come, we should all remember the name Eva Victor. Their career mostly consists of smaller projects and a minor role on Billions before they made their directorial debut with Sorry, Baby.
Along with directing, Victor stars as the lead character, Agnes. Sorry, Baby centers on Agnes, a literature professor living a mostly reclusive life after being sexually assaulted and going into a deep depression. As both star and director, Victor knows exactly what’s needed from this performance.
They deliver in spades, managing to handle the levity of this serious subject matter while also finding ways to inject humor and something lighter when needed. Victor won accolades for the direction but also landed a Golden Globe nomination for their breakthrough performance.
Miles Caton – Sinners
Miles Caton as Sammie singing in Sinners
It’s kind of mind-boggling to think that Sinners is the big screen debut of Miles Caton. Not only is his performance in the movie great but he manages to be on the same level, and even surpass, the high quality acting around him from the likes of Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, and Hailee Steinfeld.
Sinners centers on criminal twin brothers who return home to Mississippi to open a juke joint, only to have their night and lives ruined by a confrontation with a supernatural evil. Caton portrays Sammie Moore, the cousin of the twins, known for his gift of music.
Caton sings beautifully whenever given the chance and is at the center of the movie’s most memorable scene. That said, he’s also the emotional core of the film and the character we follow the most. Caton doesn’t buckle under the weight of that pressure and is incredible from start to finish.
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Chase Infiniti looking anxiously to one side in One Battle After Another
Chase Infiniti had one of the toughest tasks of any actor in 2025. She made her feature film debut in One Battle After Another, a movie by acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson, and held her own alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, and Regina Hall.
Infiniti more than lived up to that daunting task, putting on a performance for the ages. One Battle After Center focuses on DiCaprio’s Pat/Bob and his daughter, Infiniti’s Willa/Charlene, who have to go on the run when a corrupt officer hunts them down for Pat/Bob’s past a revolutionary.
Whether it’s the comedic scenes of Infiniti with DiCaprio, the intense scenes with Hall, or the downright terrifying scenes with Penn, she’s fantastic. Infiniti received major acclaim for her performance and was nominated for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes.