Aussies in Hollywood: Our next generation of homegrown actors
Move aside Russell. Watch out Nicole. A new generation of actors is closing in on the Gumnut Mafia and set to make its own mark on Hollywood.
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Australian movie fans will be backing two favourites when the Oscar nominations are announced on Wednesday.
One is Hollywood royalty, the other a bright young star following confidently in her footsteps, having also made his movie debut as a youngster.
Nicole Kidman is tipped to get a nod as Best Actress for her role as Lucille Ball in being The Ricardos while Kodi Smit-McPhee has his sights set on a Best Supporting Actor nod for The Power Of The Dog.
Even if Smit-McPhee doesn’t get across the line this time, his very presence in the Oscars conversation is significant, as the face of a new generation of Aussie actors making their mark.
For years Australians (and the rest of the world) have known Nicole, Russell, Hugh, Cate, Naomi, and Chris on a first-name basis.
Once dubbed the Gumnut Mafia, all have conquered Hollywood – some have also nabbed an Oscar or two.
But snapping hard at their heels, these newest faces are diverse, multi-talented and knocking on doors — not just in Hollywood but across the globe thanks to the multiple opportunities on offer through the streaming platforms.
Here are 21 faces to watch in 2022:
MAHESH JADU
With Mauritian ancestry, Jadu, 39, was born in Victoria and grew up in WA, where he started as a student at Perth Film School.
He played Doug Harris in Neighbours and Ahmad in Netflix series Marco Polo before being cast as the powerful mage Vilgefortz in the streamer’s mega-rating fantasy The Witcher.
With season three already in the works after the hotly anticipated season two release in December, expect to see a lot more of Jadu’s storyline.
THOMAS COCQUEREL
He’s the new hottie of period drama who is fast making his mark in Hollywood. Sydney-born Cocquerel, 32, has been chipping away at the industry for the past decade and has finally hit the big time after landing a role in Julian Fellowes’ (Downton Abbey) new series The Gilded Age.
The role of handsome young lawyer Tom Raikes in the drama that follows the millionaire titans of New York City in the 1880s, has cemented his status as one to watch.
The casting comes off the back of roles in film In Like Flynn, drama Celeste and psychological cult horror thriller, Escape Room, however The Gilded Age is set to be a game changer.
“It is something I have wanted to do my entire life. I have always made films so my dream is just to be a part of the business I loved growing up. If I can be a drop in the ocean that it is, I will be very, very happy. I am just stoked to be here,” he says.
EAMON FARREN
Gold Coast born and raised, Farren, 36 is also starring in The Witcher. He has previously worked alongside Cate Blanchett and Henry Cavill, and says his teachers at Benowa State High School were the biggest influences on his acting career.
After finishing school he came to NIDA in Sydney and following starring roles in the films X: Night Of Vengeance in 2011 and Chained in 2012, made his mark as Richard Horne in the 2017 revival of Twin Peaks.
He also won the AACTA award for Best Guest Or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama in 2015 for his role in Carlotta, but it is playing The Witcher’s villain Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Cealleach, that has brought him into the spotlight.
RYAN COOPER
If it worked for Murray Bartlett (White Lotus), Cooper, 35, will be hoping his cameo on And Just Like That … as the sexy physical therapist Travis who treats Carrie Bradshaw after her hip surgery will prove a career bump.
Born in Papua New Guinea, Cooper was raised by an Aussie missionary family and started a modelling career, being signed by Chic Model Management in 2017.
He played a stripper opposite Scarlett Johansson in Rough Night and also starred in Hallmark Channel movies Christmas on Ice and Christmas A La Mode.
COURTNEY EATON
The West Australian-born actor/model, 26, has already had a breakout 2022 thanks to her role as the future-seeing “Antler Queen” Lottie in the hit US drama Yellowjackets.
Eaton, who is the daughter of an Australian father and New Zealander mother, started modelling at the age of 16. Roles in Gods Of Egypt and Mad Max: Fury Road, alongside Charlize Theron, quickly followed.
ANGOURIE RICE
Superhero flick fans know the versatile Aussie, 21, as Peter Parker’s classmate Betty Brant in the Spider-Man movies, but the Sydney-born actor really showed her versatility in last year’s water cooler hit, Mare of Easttown, where she held her own alongside Hollywood heavyweights Kate Winslet and Jean Smart.
Next up, the comedy, Senior Year, alongside fellow Aussie Rebel Wilson and Alicia Silverstone.
KODI SMIT-McPHEE
The Adelaide-born actor, 26, is already well known for his roles in films such as The Road, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes and X-Men: Apocalypse.
But his star-making performance as the shy, creative Peter in Jane Campion’s brutal tale of ranching in the early 20th century American west, has propelled him to new heights.
He’s already snagged a Golden Globe for his quietly powerful performance. Oscar glory might not be far away.
FELIX MALLARD
Harry Styles picked Mallard, 23, to play a fictionalised version of himself in the short-lived US sitcom Happy Together.
That show may have tanked, but the former Neighbours actor is on a charmed run as Netflix’s newest rising star. Mallard featured in Locke & Key, All The Bright Places, the defunct (but totally underrated) Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, before landing the role of Marcus Baker in the streaming giant’s 2021 hit, Ginny & Georgia.
The show’s second season will premiere in April.
JACOB ELORDI
The 24-year-old became a global breakout star playing troubled bad boy Nate Jacobs alongside Zendaya on racy teen drama Euphoria.
A year-long romance with Kaia Gerber, daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and George Clooney’s BFF, Rande Gerber, didn’t hurt his profile, either. (They reportedly split in January)
The Queenslander also boasts a staggering 11.5m followers on Instagram. Next up, he stars with Ben Affleck in the thriller Deep Water.
REMY HII
The Aussie, 35, has already appeared in bona fide blockbusters (Crazy Rich Asians, and Spider-Man: Far From Home).
Now the Malaysian-born Queenslander has taken on leading man status in the hit Netflix franchise The Princess Switch 3: Romancing The Star, which was a massive hit for the streamer. Hii was also part of the cast of animated action-adventure series Arcane, part of the League Of Legends universe.
Off screen, he’s making changes as well; in with the Asian-Australian Alliance, Hii helped lead the #StopAsianHateAustralia campaign to encourage Australians to speak up and report incidences of racism.
JOSEPHINE LANGFORD
Born and raised in Perth, Langford, 24, stars in the cult After series, playing Tessa Young in
After, as well as subsequent titles After We Collided and After We Fell, which was released earlier this year on Amazon Prime. Langford also played Emma Cunningham in Netflix film Moxie.
MADELEINE MADDEN
The star of the new Amazon Prime fantasy series Wheel Of Time and granddaughter of Charles Perkins, Madden, 25, grew up in Sydney and made her break through with TV titles including Mystery Road, Picnic At Hanging Rock and Pine Gap.
But the Indigenous actor is now drawing a global audience with Wheel Of Time, in which she plays Egwene, a young woman thrust into a larger-than-life adventure – not dissimilar to her own experience in being cast in the role just two weeks before shooting began in Prague.
DEVON TERRELL
Terrell, 29, played a Columbia University-era Barack Obama in the 2016 biographical film Barry, launching his career on a global stage.
US-born but Australian-raised Terrell teamed up with another young Aussie star in Katherine Langford in Netflix series Cursed, and will also lead opposite Aida Osman and Kamillion in Rap Sh*t, HBO Max’s new comedy series.
ADAM DEMOS
Wollongong’s Adam Demos, 36, started his acting career late, appearing on local TV shows including Home And Away, Winners & Losers and Janet King before heading to America.
The 36-year-old landed a role on Stan’s UnReal before hitting the big time as Brad Simon in Netflix series Sex/Life.
The glitz and glamour of Hollywood is a world away from the life he led back home in Australia, but Demos remains another local talent that has been swept up by stardom overseas – and for good reason.
AISHA DEE
The Aussie actor and singer, 28, is best known for her main roles as Desi Biggins on kids’ TV series The Saddle Club, and as the loveable Kat Edison for five series of popular comedy-drama, The Bold Type.
Born on the Gold Coast, this is only the beginning for Dee, who will feature in Collide, a new thriller starring Ryan Phillippe and Kat Graham, and horror flick Sissy.
SAMARA WEAVING
Weaving, 29, the niece of Aussie acting royalty Hugo, has already forged an impressive career, but the South Australian looks ready to take the next step.
The versatile star has alternated between film and television during her career, appearing in the main cast of the miniseries Picnic At Hanging Rock, Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood, and Nine Perfect Strangers, alongside Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy.
Her film roles have also included Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Guns Akimbo, Last Moment Of Clarity and Bill & Ted Face the Music. Next up, Weaving stars in Chevalier alongside Lucy Boynton and Minnie Driver.
OLIVIA DeJONGE
The 23-year-old first gained notice as a 17-year-old in M. Night Shyamalan’s creep-fest The Visit and, more recently, for her role as Elle in The Society on Netflix.
Next up she’s taking on her most prominent role to date in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis where she’ll play Priscilla Presley alongside Austin Butler as the king of rock’n’roll. DeJonge will be starring in HBO’s The Staircase, based on the true crime cocu-series.
The drama also stars Colin Firth and Toni Collette.
DANI SWAN
Dani Swan is fast making a name for herself in Hollywood as an all-rounder and one of the industry’s top motion-capture actresses.
However success hasn’t come easily or quickly for Swan, who also works as an actress, voiceover artist, and creative director.
“I don’t think any road is easy,” Swan, who was born in Tamworth and grew up in Newcastle, says.
However the perseverance is paying off, with Swan recently landing a dream gig opposite Keanu Reeves on Matrix 4.
She was an actress in the film, did movement and was credited as ‘woman in red’.
“I was very grateful to have been asked personally by (director) Lana Wachowski to work on Matrix 4,” she says.
“I remember as a kid in Newcastle having Trinity on my book at school and to then be working with them all calling them friends has been a blessing. Working on this has been a big step forward.”
MADDISON BROWN
In Dynasty, Alan Dale’s daughter Kirby is played by fellow Aussie Maddison Brown, 25. The Melbourne-born Brown went to New York as a teenager to pursue a career in modelling.
Soon after moving to the States, she was cast opposite Nicole Kidman in 2015 drama Strangerland and joined Dynasty in 2018, which is based and filmed in Atlanta.
While she’s homesick for friends and family back in Australia, Brown will continue to miss them a little while longer, having been announced to star in the upcoming season.
LEXIE DUNCAN
You probably haven’t heard of Lexie Duncan, but when acting colleagues describe her as the next Margot Robbie, no doubt you soon will.
The Sydney 22-year-old recently starred in Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Foxtel TV hit Young Rock, playing Karen, The Rock’s love interest in his teenage years.
One of the most popular actors in the world, The Rock has more than 240 million followers on Instagram, and Duncan still can’t believe her luck.
“It was insane – honestly I didn’t really even comprehend it until it was all in front of me in writing because I had gotten close to roles where I really thought I was going to get it, and Young Rock was so big – I mean it’s Dwayne Johnson – I just couldn’t believe it,” she says.
The niece of renowned local stars Paula Duncan of Cop Shop fame and Harlequin’s Carmen Duncan, who died of breast cancer two years ago, acting is in Duncan’s blood, playing Jane Banks in Mary Poppins at the Capitol Theatre, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, again at the Capitol, before guest starring on Seven’s 2016 drama The Secret Daughter.
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