Who were the 20 breakout stars of 2022?

Ortega emerged as a face of horror and campy horror in 2022. In film, she was central to the new Scream film, which is sort of a reboot. She was also in X, which we will return to momentarily. Also, on a lighter horror note, Ortega played Wednesday in Netflix’s new Addams Family series.

With all due respect to Ortega, Goth steals the show in X. Not only was Goth in X, but she was the star and the co-writer of Ti West’s X prequel, Pearl, which also came out in 2022. There is going to be another film in the X universe starring Goth, so clearly, she’s really digging that experience.

Randolph had been in some stuff before, but 2022 was a big year for her. After all, she did a voice in Birdgirl. Oh, and she had scene-stealing roles in Only Murders in the Building and The Lost City. A hit TV show and a hit film? That’s quite the year for Randolph.

Yeah, Arjona was in Morbius, but that cult experience is only part of the story. She’s also in Andor, and when you have a critical supporting role in a Star Wars show, it’s going to raise your profile. Morbius may not have worked out in the traditional sense, but Andor has.

We called this with our breakout predictions for 2022, though it was an easy name to throw out. Butler was scheduled to play Elvis Presley in Elvis, after all. The movie made the expected splash, Butler got good reviews, and he may get an Oscar nomination for his turn in the biopic.

Starring opposite Viola Davis can be challenging because she tends to earn all the focus, with her being one of our best living actors. Then, there’s Lashana Lynch stealing scenes. And yet, Mbedu still manages to stand out in  The Woman King. When you don’t get steamrolled by Davis and Lynch, you’ve had a big year, and Mbedu likely has a bright future.

Bros was another nail in the coffin of the studio romantic comedy as a theatrical experience, which is a shame. However, we bet Billy Eichner’s film has legs, which was also a big opportunity for Macfarlane. The actor moved from Hallmark movies to playing the romantic interest in a significant romantic comedy. While we aren’t knocking Hallmark movies (too much), that’s still a breakthrough opportunity.

James Gray needed an actor to play the young him in his biopic Armageddon Time. Casting a young actor to headline a film can be difficult, and casting somebody to play yourself? Repeta got the gig, and Armageddon Time got great reviews. If Repeta hadn’t been up to the task, who knows what would have become of Gray’s personal movie?

Playing Gray’s analog is one thing, but playing a young Steven Spielberg? No knock on Gray, but that’s leveling up the prestige, not to mention the difficulty. The Fabelmans is only LaBelle’s fourth film, and it came with a ton more scrutiny than, say, Max 2: White House Hero. This will be the first time most people see LaBelle, and it’s in the film with the most Oscars intrigue heading into it.

Elvis, and Butler, had the hype, but it wasn’t the only major turn by a promising actor in a musical biopic. Ackie is recognizable from playing Jannah in The Rise of Skywalker (though a lot of people have tried not to think of that film much in the interim). In 2022, she got to star in I Want to Dance With Somebody as Whitney Houston.

Babylon is a loaded cast. Amidst all the famous faces, though, there’s Calva, a guy who didn’t even have a Wikipedia page when the trailer came out. While Calva didn’t get the hype of Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, he had a key role designed to showcase a young, unknown actor. It was designed to have Calva break out. Mission accomplished.

Peacemaker had to build out a world around the title character, played by John Cena. How could they turn The Suıcide Squad antihero into the center of a TV spinoff? Well, part of making that work is creating a character that makes Peacemaker seem sane by comparison. Enter Stroma as Vigilante, a true maniac who also happens to be quite funny.

Winning Time was polarizing, not just because of Jerry West’s complaints. That being said, it’s all in all a good show, and it’s hard to quibble with Isaiah’s performance. His turn as Magic Johnson is central to the show, as he is often the lead of the ensemble series. Isaiah does a strong Magic impression but also delivers as an actor.

AMC was in need of a new critical success. Dark Winds, a crime thriller, delivered on that. At the center of the show is McClarnon, a longtime standout character actor who finally gets his chance to be a lead. Clearly, he was ready for it.

Netflix’s reboot of Iron Chef featured a couple of familiar faces like Alton Brown and Mark Dacascos. However, the reboot also gave Brown a co-host in Kish. At first, Kish and Brown had a little awkwardness in figuring out the dynamic, but by the end of the first season, their chemistry was strong, and Kish provided a real influx of new energy into the show.

Speaking of food, The Bear was the show that had people saying, “Yes, chef,” and talking about the restaurant industry. Not since the heyday of the late Anthony Bourdain had the machinations of (in this case, fictional) restaurant kitchens been so engaging. White stars in The Bear in a performance that earned him a lot of attention and acclaim.

Sure, Sturridge had a couple of Tony nominations to his name, but if you haven’t watched Broadway plays, you likely did not know his name. The show Sweetbitter was not exactly in the zeitgeist. Then, he got to star in Netflix’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s beloved Sandman comic. The fact the show now officially has a second season should keep Sturridge in people’s minds for a while longer.

As the first follow-up to Game of Thrones to actually make it to air, House of the Dragon was going to grab a lot of attention. While character actors such as Päddy Constantine and Matt Smith (who also is a former Doctor) were known names, D’Arcy was more of an unknown. Rhaenyra Targaryen is a vital part of the royal intrigue, which ensures D’Arcy would not be forgotten amongst all the established actors surrounding them.

In 2022, we got a new look at the world of Game of Thrones but also Lord of the Rings. Amazon spared no expense in bringing The Rings of Power to the screen. There were a lot of new characters in this prequel (emphasis on “prequel”), but Clark was playing Galadriel, who we saw played by Cate Blanchett in the film trilogy. Big shoes to step into, but Clark was up to it.

A true unknown who is about to become a movie star. Vellani was cast in Ms. Marvel for Disney+, introducing the character and the actor into the world of Marvel superheroes. The actress’ turn as Kamala Khan is also paving the way for her to reprise the role in The Marvels, which is hitting theaters in 2023.