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Top 10 Rising Actors

It's difficult to narrow down this list to 10 with so much home-grown talent doing so well in the UK and further afield. But we've managed to whittle down the 10 actors who we think are making the biggest impression in the film industry at the moment, from the success of man-of-the-moment Aaron Johnson to Harry Potter's Rupert Grint. Take a look at our list:

Our Top 10

Aaron Johnson - born 1990

After doing the rounds on British TV – including cameos in Casualty and The Bill – and a role as the heartthrob in teen flick Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Johnson got his big break in the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy. Impressing the critics with his emotive performance as a teenage Lennon, Johnson is now engaged to the film’s director Sam Taylor-Wood, who is expecting their first baby. His career kicked off globally when he took the title role in Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass – a role that Superbad’s Christopher Mintz-Plasse originally auditioned for, but was ultimately cast in the supporting role of Red Mist. Johnson’s latest film, Hideo Nakata’s Chatroom premiered at the 2010 Cannes

Dev Patel - born 1990

The second Skins star in our list, Patel’s life transformed overnight after he played the leading role in Danny Boyle’s award-sweeping success, Slumdog Millionaire. He’s since said that he doesn’t just want to be known as Jamal – his character in the film – and we’re pretty sure that won’t happen. Patel will next appear in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, a potential blockbuster for this summer. Outside of work, he’s been dating Freida Pinto ever since they starred in Slumdog together.

Eddie Redmayne - born 1982

After touring the theatre circuit, Redmayne’s complex performance in Savage Grace, as the son of Julianne Moore’s Barbara Baekeland, impressed many. Other film credits include The Good Shepherd, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Other Boleyn Girl, Glorious 39 and The Yellow Handkerchief, with Kristen Stewart. He’ll next be seen with Sean Bean in Black Death, followed by the much anticipated television series The Pillars of the Earth, based on Ken Follett’s novel of the same name.

Henry Cavill - born 1983

After small roles in Tristan + Isolde and Stardust – as the pompous Humphrey – Cavill has been a consistent character in TV drama The Tudors, alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers. He’ll soon be back on the big screen in the action-fantasy Immortals, starring Mickey Rourke and Freida Pinto, from The Fall director Tarsem Singh. Cavill was a favourite to play Edward Cullen in Twilight, but when filming began he was 24 and couldn’t pass off as a 17-year-old, so the role went to Robert Pattinson. .

Jamie Bell - born 1986

Bell might have had his big break back in 2000 as ballet boy Billy Elliot – winning him the 2001 BAFTA Award for Best Actor – but things are about to go up a notch for the 24-year-old actor. With supporting roles in King Kong, Jumper and Defiance, he’ll soon be seen in Kevin Macdonald’s The Eagle of the Ninth, with Channing Tatum and Mark Strong, plus Cary Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre, with Mia Wasikowska taking on the classic Charlotte Bronte heroin. Steven Spielberg’s hotly anticipated The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn could be Bell’s time to shine, in the headline role with a supporting cast that includes Daniel Craig and Simon Pegg. We’re excited already.

Jim Sturgess - born 1981

Having acted in bit-part TV roles since the mid-90s, Sturgess got his film break in the 2007 musical Across the Universe, co-starring Evan Rachel Wood. Quickly followed with impressive roles in The Other Boleyn Girl, 21 and Dead Man Walking, he’s certainly used to working with Hollywood’s elite. Currently starring in Heartless, Sturgess will next be seen in The Way Back with Mark Strong and Colin Farrell, plus Upside Down with Kirsten Dunst, which will be followed by Michael Winterbottom’s The Promised Land, with Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen. It’s fair to say he’s keeping himself busy.

Matthew Beard - born 1989

After a long career in TV, Beard got his film break in Anand Tucker’s 2007 film And When Did You Last See Your Father?, earning him rave reviews as the teenage Blake. Last year his supporting role in An Education, as school boy Graham pining over Carey Mulligan’s Jenny, got him noticed for all the right reasons. Next up he’ll be seen with Aaron Johnson in drama-thriller Chatroom, plus opposite Sienna Miller and Cillian Murphy in Hippie Hippie Shake.

Nicholas Hoult - born 1989

Best known as that peculiar lad with those eyebrows in About a Boy, Hoult has certainly blossomed in recent years, making his way onto our TV screens in E4’s teen drama series Skins. Whilst running a mock around Bristol looked like fun, he showed his serious side – and his breadth as an actor – in Tom Ford’s A Single Man. His performance resulted in an Orange Rising Star nomination at this year’s BAFTAS. He‘s since reached blockbuster status with Clash of the Titans and will next be seen in George Miller’s Fury Road, opposite Tom Hardy.

Rupert Grint - born 1988

A fan of the books, Grint bagged the role of Harry Potter’s best friend Ron Weasly by sending a video of himself, apparently rapping about how much he wanted the part. The rest, as they say, is history, but we reckon now’s his time to shine as he steps out from Daniel Radcliffe’s shadow. Despite the busy Potter schedule, Grint has starred in Driving Lessons with his Weasly mum Julie Walters, and more recently Cherrybomb, a film equivalent of Skins, and he’ll soon be seen alongside Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt in Wild Target. Apparently, Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón said that Grint is ‘the likely future star out of the Hogwarts trio’. Time will tell

Thomas Sangster - born 1990

With films like Love, Actually and Nanny McPhee under his belt, Sangster has long been a family favourite, but thanks to some clever role choices, he’s successfully crossed over from child star to serious actor. He’s showed what he’s made of with supporting roles in Bight Star and Nowhere Boy – his portrayal of Paul McCartney was the perfect counter-balance to Aaron Johnson’s John Lennon – and took the lead role in short film The Alchemistic Suitcase. He’ll next be seen in Some Dogs Bite.

Tegan Kniveton