With the prevalence of entertainment in our culture, the stars on our screens always massively influence the vibe of the year. Despite their ineffectiveness in swaying the 2024 presidential election, people care about Hollywood’s heroes and likely always will, at least to some degree.
2024 has been a year largely defined by young talent, with many under-30s such as Jenna Ortega and Millie Bobby Brown dominating the headlines and our televisions. The popularity of streaming has brought about a television-to-A-lister pipeline that never seemed possible in the older days, when roles in TV series were viewed as jobs for less acclaimed actors. There are now more avenues than ever for toiling thespians to attain overnight stardom, and that was the case with several of these 10 prolific stars of 2024.
10 Channing Tatum
Although Channing Tatum is remembered by many for his contribution to the 2006 teen dance drama Step Up, it was the brooding gentleness with which he juxtaposed his role as a hulking soldier in 2010’s Dear John that made him a household name and worldwide sex symbol. Tatum had another career high with 2012’s Magic Mike, and dropped three films in 2024 to solidify his staying power and become one of the most relevant faces of 2024.
Tatum’s best role of the year was in Blink Twice, in which he teams with Naomi Ackie for a mystery thriller about the perils women can face by entering male turf. Tatum’s performance as Slater, a villainous tech billionaire who drugs women on his private island, has been praised for its cunning craftiness, particularly in his delivery of the character’s final monologue. Tatum also fulfilled his dream of playing Gambit in Deadpool and Wolverine, and turned in an acclaimed performance in the rom-com Fly Me to the Moon to round out his prominent year.
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9 Cynthia Erivo
From merch popping up in every store, to commercials hyping up the superfans, to a viral social media rap with the two co-stars, Wicked is everywhere in 2024. Cynthia Erivo lends her soaring voice to the role of Elphaba, the misunderstood college classmate of Galinda, who goes on to become known The Wizard of Oz‘s Wicked Witch of the West.
The New York Times has called the 37-year-old British actress the film’s biggest draw, as she stunningly hits every note in the blockbuster musical fantasy. Erivo is solidly deserving of her long-awaited starring moment on the big screen, having put in the years of Broadway work to become highly qualified for the iconic part. Erivo has also played in other films such as 2022’s Pinnochio and 2021’s Needle in a Haystack, but never received such explosive attention as she currently is in 2024.
8 Jason Statham
Jason Statham made a splash this year with the January 12 release of action thriller The Beekeeper, which grossed $152.7 million against its comparatively modest budget of $40 million. In it he plays Adam Clay, former director of a secret intelligence operative called the Beekeepers who seeks revenge on the orchestrators of a phishing scam which drove his landlady to suicide.
The former diver and husband of supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whitely, who used to be a model himself, has long been a prolific action star with an exciting list of hits. In the lead-up to his 2024 Beekeeper run, he starred in a whopping four films all released in 2023, including the mystery comedy Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre which was panned by critics, but adored by fans. He was praised this year for bringing his signature entertaining brutality to his Beekeeper kill scenes.
7 Justin Baldoni
Justin Baldoni of Jane the Virgin fame had a wild year which saw him on a high, and frequently in the news, as he both directed and starred in the hugely anticipated screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel It Ends With Us. Things appeared to be going well until the project cascaded into an onslaught of drama, but Baldoni held his head high and has been praised for remaining professional and handling the conundrum with class.
The conflict saw Blake Lively, who plays It Ends With Us protagonist Lily Bloom, allegedly accuse Baldoni of being a bad costar and insulting her by inquiring about her weight before performing a lift scene. Fans then accused Lively of domineering the project by inserting unplanned lines without consulting Baldoni, and undermining the seriousness of the film’s domestic violence theme by using the movie as an opportunity to host promotional events for her canned cocktail line and serving drinks with names such as “It Ends With Buzz.” Baldoni was even seen appearing at press tour events separately from Lively, which fans surmised was due to the turmoil.
Regardless, Baldoni now has a directorial hit on his hands, as It Ends With Us raked in $350 million against its $25 million budget. A sequel is a no-brainer, but it is yet to be seen whether Baldoni and Lively can work together again.
6 Jenna Ortega
Jenna Ortega, who had her breakthrough role in Netflix’s 2022 teen horror drama Wednesday and went mega-viral with a popular TikTok dance, continues to show Hollywood staying power in 2024. Her knack for spooky roles helped her win the part of Astrid Deetz, the daughter of Winona Ryder’s Lydia, in September’s highly buzzed-about Beetlejuice sequel, a shining follow-up with plenty of nostalgic Easter eggs.
In addition to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Ortega kept current by teaming with Sabrina Carpenter, the blonde pop bombshell of “Espresso” fame who’s everywhere right now, for the songstress’s “Taste” music video.
5 Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds dominated 2024 by starring in the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, and only being beaten out for the biggest film of the year by a children’s picture, Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2. The superhero extravaganza in which Hugh Jackman co-starred scores an impressive 94% on Rotten Tomatoes’s fan-voted “Popcornmeter.”
Outside his smash film, Reynolds was seen on red carpets with wife Blake Lively for It Ends With Us appearances. Although the controversy that mired the dark drama’s press tour meant the attention the famous couple received wasn’t always positive, it undoubtedly increased their face time with the cameras.
4 Glen Powell
Glen Powell has seen worldwide stardom with 2024 movies Twisters and The Blue Angels, and also starred opposite Sydney Sweeney in 2023’s fan-loved rom-com Anyone But You. Many fans may not realize he has been working his way up the Hollywood ladder for years, starting his film career back in 2003 with a Spy Kids 3-D role.
Powell has taken over 2024 as well as his fans’ hearts with his heartwarming never-too-late, story of coming into his own as a Hollywood heartthrob at the age of 36. As if that wasn’t inspiring enough, Powell is also prioritizing his education by working to become a later-in-life college graduate.
3 Zendaya
Disney darling turned Euphoria phenom Zendaya Coleman punctuated her year with two successful releases. Luca Guadagnino’s sports romance Challengers features the statuesque starlet as an injured former tennis champion becomes entangled in a tumultuous love triangle. Guadagnino’s always-artful direction and Zendaya’s skillful performance made the movie a box-office hit and critical success.
Taking an opposite direction with an action story for her other 2024 film, Zendaya stars in Dune 2 across from fellow megastar Timothee Chalamet. Although the frenetic pacing proved a bit too much for some fans, the sequel was overall very well received. Zendaya’s fans were granted one more gift this year with the confirmation of a 2026 release date for a third season of her beloved dark teen drama seriesEuphoria.
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2 Millie Bobby Brown
Millie Bobby Brown continues to be one of Hollywood’s most relevant and influential stars. It is hard to believe she is just 20 years old in 2024, having been an industry mainstay for the past eight years since her instant rise to fame with the release of Netfix’s ’80s supernatural teen mystery seriesStranger Things.
Brown starred this year in the dark fantasy film Damsel which got plenty of attention and views, but she received at least as much if not more chatter for getting married to 22-year-old Jake Bongiovi in one of the year’s highest profile weddings. With November’s announcement that Stranger Things will return for a fifth and final season, Brown is guaranteed another strong year in the spotlight.
1 Sydney Sweeney
Sydney Sweeney‘s dreamily morose acting and Scarlett Johansson-esque looks made her an instant hit with audiences of the edgy teen drama Euphoria. Since the HBO series’ runaway success, Sweeney’s career has remarkably skyrocketed.
Sweeney started the year riding the wave of her successful rom-com Anyone But You, which premiered at the end of 2023. 2024 has seen her appear in three new releases: Madame Web, Eden, and the horror film Immaculate which she produced after it had been shelved since her initial audition for the project 10 years prior. In addition to her acting roles, Sweeney was in the spotlight for Instagramming a self-proclaimed “thirst trap” which received almost 5 million likes and 36,000 comments.
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