As Jim Cramer might say, “buy, buy, buy.” I’ll be first to admit that I’m horrible with financial stocks. I pretend to know what I’m saying when it comes to IPOs and annual reports, but I’m actually clueless. That being said, when it comes to scouting acting talent, I’d like to think I can spot a few superstars in the making. I had my chips in early on Saoirse Ronan and Jennifer Lawrence and those bets have paid off significantly. For these four actresses, superstardom is on the horizon.
It’s not Mount Rushmore season, but here are my four actresses to watch in 2020.
Florence Pugh
Breakout Star of the Year starts and ends with Florence Pugh. Lamar Jackson is a close second. From the end of 2018 to 2019, this is Pugh’s run: Outlaw King, The Little Drummer Girl, Fighting with My Family, Midsommar, and Little Women. Soon, Pugh will become an international superstar in the upcoming Marvel film, Black Widow. Pugh has such a strong and commanding presence that she seems to steal the show in every film she’s in. Look at what Pugh did in Little Women. Amy was famously the most hated March sister. Thanks to a brilliant script from Greta Gerwig, Pugh brought Amy from the outhouse to the penthouse and even picked up her first Oscar nomination for the performance. All aboard the Florence Pugh Hype Train.
Maya Erskine
Maya Erskine delivered one of the sneaky-best / most enjoyable performances of the year as Alice in Plus One. The film stars Erskine and Jack Quaid as two friends who decide to attend weddings together as each other’s date in order to avoid the fact that all of their friends are getting married. If you’re in your late 20s, this movie is not a work of fiction, but rather, a documentary. Erskine is hilarious and charming in one of the better rom-coms of the past five years. Plus, along with Anna Konkle, Erskine co-created and starred in Hulu’s PEN15, the hysterical series about the trials and tribulations of middle school in the early 2000s. Konkle and Erskine star as 13-year-old versions of themselves, which provides countless laughs and cringeworthy moments. Binge now to bask in Erskine’s comedic genius before season 2 arrives in 2020.
Jessie Buckley
Jessie Buckley is on a rocketship to superstardom. It is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY that “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” did not receive a nomination for Best Orginal Song. The world was robbed of an all-time Oscar moment because Buckley will not be able to perform this beautiful song at the Dolby Theatre. For now, go watch Wild Rose on Hulu. Wild Rose stars Buckley as Rose-Lynn Harlan, an aspiring country singer from Glasgow who dreams of moving to Nashville and becoming a star. It’s a delightful film with a knockout performance from Buckley. The talented actress also starred in Chernobyl as the pregnant wife of the fallen firefighter. Buckley is joining my must-see list, where I’ll watch anything that a certain actor or actress is in regardless of the subject matter. Buckley has a packed 2020 including a starring role in Fargo season 4 and the latest film from Charlie Kaufman, I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
Ana de Armas
Once I saw Ana de Armas in War Dogs, I was sold. As Stevie Wonder sings, “Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours.” If you didn’t see War Dogs, Knock Knock, Hands of Stone, your first introduction to de Armas could have been Blade Runner 2049. However, her true breakout role with American audiences happened in Knives Out, one of the best films of 2019. Knives Out proved to me that de Armas could star in big productions and deliver memorable performances. De Armas’s profile is about to skyrocket when she portrays a CIA agent in the new Bond movie, No Time to Die. Furthermore, de Armas will play the iconic Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. There’s no stopping the Cuban-Spanish actress.
Do you agree with this list? Do you want to add anyone? Leave your thoughts in the comments or tweet me, @danny_giro.