The Best of Young Hollywood

[Barbados Slim]

Who are your favorite actors under 30 right now? Under 30 meaning born 1979 and after. Here's the ones I think always bring great performances:

Movies
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, The Lookout)
Olivia Thirlby (Juno, Snow Angels, The Wackness)
Dakota Fanning
Elle Fanning
Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, The Lovely Bones, City of Ember)
Abigail Breslin (Definitely Maybe, Little Miss Sunshine)
Zooey Deschanel (Elf, Tin Man, Hitchhicker's Guide...)
Jesse Eisenberg (Roger Dodger, The Squid and the Whale, Adventureland)
Ann Hathaway (Get Smart, Rachel Getting Married)
Jaden Smith (The Day The Earth..., Pursuit of Happyness)
Keira Knightley (Pirates, Domino)
Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember, Saved!)
Jena Malone (Donnie Darko, Cold Mountain)


TV
Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights)
Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica)
Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
Amanda Seyfried (Big Love, Veronica Mars, Mamma Mia!)
Alexander Gould (Weeds)
Liam James (Psych, Fred Claus)
Summer Glau (Terminator..., Firefly)


Overrated/Overexposed/Can Suck It
Kristen Stewart
Michael Cera
Jonah Hill
Mary-Kate Olsen
Robert Pattison
The Entire Cast of Gossip Girl
Jewel Staite

 

[Spot's Meow]

I like Michael Cera. Some of the movies he's been in are getting annoying, mostly because they feature those other large curly haired guys (the one from Superbad and the one from Knocked Up) who I don't like at all. But, for example, when I watch Arrested Development I can see Michael Cera's individual talent really shine.

Mandy Moore and Dakota Fanning are two other good ones that you mentioned.

Kaley Cuoco, currently on Big Bang Theory but also good on 8 Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, is another one. Oh, and it surprised me to find out that she is a full 10 years younger than her costar Johnny Galecki. He looks so young.

I think that Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) is great. And although Emma Watson (also from Harry Potter) is very very pretty and a nice person, she overacts horribly.

Heath Ledger should go on the list too.

 

[QuasarVM]

Megan Fox





Just kidding. Sort of.

Dakota Fanning
Chris Pine
Anne Hathaway
Eliza Dushku
Natalie Portman

 

[INACTIVESamusAranX]

Dakota Fanning is an excellent actress. The only time I disliked a performance by her is War of the Worlds.

EDIT: I totally forgot Anne Hathaway. Doh.

 

[Aragorn]

Jonathan Jackson is good, but it doesn't look like he'll ever get a big role.

 

[InvisibleGT]

Might I add two names to the "overrated" list?

Shia LeBouf. Ellen Page.

 

[Vasquez Rocks]

Rosario Dawson
Zooey Deschanel
Emile Hirsch
Ann Hathaway
Summer Glau
Rhys Coiro
Natalie Portman