New Film Stars of 2009
Zach Galifianakis, Rachel McAdams, Anthony Mackie, Sharlto Copley
Sep 23, 2009
The summer season is usually dominated by the biggest stars Hollywood has to offer, the bonus of having a Bruce Willis or a Brad Pitt splashed on a movie’s billboard posters can add millions to box office takings. Ok, so Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen dominated our cinema screens for what seemed like months, but this year has seen something of a change in trend. Many of the biggest hits of the year have showcased new talent and propelled some supporting actors to leading roles that have given the big-hitters a run for their money. Here’s a run down of some of those whose careers have taken off in 2009 and who will feature on our screens even more in 2010.
Zach Galifianakis
The Hangover was the comedy hit of the summer, surprising, mainly due to its lack of any recognisable names (Heather Graham aside). Zach Galifianakis as the hairy and hyperactive Alan Garner stole the show.His kinetic energy and scruffy appearance have a hint of Jack Black about them and his knack for comic timing ensured that the vast majority of The Hangover’s hilarity was of his making. The future looks bright for the former stand-up, with four new comedies in development, and with the success of The Hangover, there appears to be a sequel on the horizon. Hopefully, Galifianakis will diversify significantly in the coming years to ensure he avoids becoming a tired joke, rather like the current omnipresent comedy star, Seth Rogan, is in grave danger of doing.
Rachel McAdams
Although already a veteran of several films, this appears to be the year when Rachel McAdams has made the move into the big time, after some less than flattering movies she followed up a comfortable supporting role alongside Russell Crowe in State of Play with the summer hit romance, The Time Traveller’s Wife, and is to star in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. McAdams has the potential to follow in the same footsteps as Reese Witherspoon and make the leap from quirky comedy to meatier, leading-lady roles.
Anthony Mackie
Kathryn Bigelow’s explosive Iraq War movie, The Hurt Locker, was arresting in many ways, bringing the horrors experienced by a bomb disposal unit to grim reality. With three excellent performances from leading men Jeremy Renner, Brian Geraghty and Mackie, the movie made a tremendous impact at the box-office. Mackie, often accustomed to playing fringe characters, is now being courted by producers to play the lead in a film about the life of Olympic gold medallist Jesse Owens.
Sharlto Copley
Despite having painfully little acting work under his belt, Sharlto Copley was able to hold the lead role in Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi film, District 9, with consummate ease. In fact, Copley turns the film into a one man show as he battles for survival in alien-riddled Johannesburg. It’s extraordinary to think that the South African-born actor ad-libbed the vast majority of his lines in the film, it was an immense gamble by Blomkamp to take the risk of casting an unknown in such a high profile movie and with minimal acting experience, but it was a gamble that paid dividends as District 9 became one of the best films of the year. Sharlto Copley doesn’t have any intensions of hanging up his Hollywood boots yet either, he’s currently filming a big screen version of 80’s cult TV show, The A-Team. Who’s he gonna be playing? ‘Howling ‘Mad’ Murdock of course.
Jesse Eisenberg
With a haircut resembling Alan Davies and a geeky persona, Jesse Eisenberg is anything but leading man material. However, sleeper hit comedy Adventureland saw Eisenberg take the lead role of… an Alan Davies lookalike with a geeky persona. And it worked spectacularly. He’s soon to be seen alongside Woody Harrelson in comedy-horror Zombieland, which contains distinct echoes of Shaun of the Dead. His career is further on the rise with two more films in pre-production and is now rumoured to be taking a lead role in David Fincher’s film about the founders of social networking site Facebook.
John Krasinski
Although he’s been around for some time, John Krasinski is probably best known to most people as Jim Halpert in the US adaptation of Ricky Gervais’ hit British series, The Office. With that small screen role, Krasinski assembled a reputation as a versatile actor of both comedy and drama. This earned him his first high profile lead role in Sam Mendes’ movie Away We Go, where he plays one half of an expectant couple, struggling to find the best location to raise their unborn child. A long comedy career beckons as The Office continues to be successful in the US and he’s now starring alongside Hollywood royalty, Meryl Streep romantic comedy It’s Complicated, due for release in 2010.
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