The 25 best actors 25 and under

Iain Armitage started as a YouTube blogger, covering theater reviews, but he would become so popular that he parlayed his early fame into a full-fledged acting career at the young age of 10. Among his work is HBO's critically acclaimed series "Big Little Lies," and the young Armitage can now be seen in the "Big Bang Theory" spinoff, "Young Sheldon." One can only wonder what's in store for Armitage next.

Only a precocious 12, Eris Baker is making quite the name for herself as Tess on NBC's hit drama "This Is Us." While Baker got her start in Target commercials, she has since broadened her resume to include work on Disney Channel's "KC Undercover" and an appearance on Comedy Central's hilarious faux documentary series, "Drunk History." 

As the silent but deadly Eleven on Netflix's hit sci-fi drama "Stranger Things," audiences have kept a close eye on 15-year-old Millie Bobby Brown as her career skyrockets. Brown is going into the third season of the acclaimed drama, and from that success she is already showing the spoils of her popularity with more than 10 million followers on Instagram and a marquee role in the upcoming "Godzilla: King of the Monsters," giving the young actress a prime opportunity to grow beyond her signature role.

Asa Butterfield got his big break at the age of nine in the 2006 TV drama "After Thomas" in addition to cult comedy "Son of Rambow" the following year. Since then, Butterfield saw his career on the upswing with a nice-sized role as Bruno in "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," earning him a British Independent Film Award nomination, which he would follow up by being cast in Martin Scorsese's ode to classic cinema "Hugo." As Butterfield grows into his career, he also is able to land significant mainstream roles as evidenced by his turn as "Ender" Wiggin in "Ender's Game." 

Possibly the most in-demand actor on our list, Timothee Chalamet went from a small role in Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" to an acclaimed starring role in "Call Me by Your Name," across from Armie Hammer, earning great notices and a number of award nominations. The last couple of years have been good to Chalamet, who has had smaller yet significant appearances in "Lady Bird" and "Hostiles." The future, however, is going to be even brighter for the 23-year-old, as he is set to star as Paul Atrades in the upcoming remake of "Dune" in the next couple of years.

As part of Richard Linklater's groundbreaking cinematic experiment, "Boyhood," audiences literally watched Ellar Coltrane grow up on screen. Since that film's success, Coltrane has gone on to a number of projects, including "Barry," a drama about President Barack Obama's life as a college student, and "The Circle," with Tom Hanks and Emma Watson. Coltrane seems to remain open to independent fare as well, with an upcoming role in "Drowned" as a down-on-his-luck playwright who moves cross-country to try his luck in New York City. 

Disney's "Moana" brought early breakout success to Cravalho, whose vocals on "How Far I'll Go" earned an Oscar nomination, and she had the unique honor of performing the song live alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda at the 2017 Academy Awards. Cravalho is gaining steam in live-action projects as well, starring in the NBC drama "Rise" as a student in who joins her school's theater department. 

At 25, Ariana Grande couldn't be more popular. The singer/actress has come a long way since her humble beginnings on Nickelodeon's "Victorious." While Grande's focus has been on singing, 2019 shows Grande branching out into appearances off the concert stage, transforming one of the most popular songstresses into an equally popular actor who looks to have a long career ahead of her. 

An early indie darling at just 22, Lucas Hedges has amassed an impressive resume with appearances in Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," "Lady Bird" and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." In 2016, young Hedges earned his first Academy Award Nomination for his work in "Manchester by the Sea," alongside Casey Affleck. While it's rare for an actor to stay this hot, Hedges looks to give all expectations a run for their money.

When Marvel cut a deal with Sony to finally include its crown jewel in its Cinematic Universe, fans were on the edge of their seats as to the casting of the world-famous webslinger. Tom Holland won those fans over with his first appearance in "Captain America: Civil War," quickly following up with his solo adventure, "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Since then, Holland has been on a gravy train with biscuit wheels as the 22-year-old put his costume back on for "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame." In 2019, Holland has another turn as Spidey in "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and adventures away from the spandex in the Russo Bros. next feature film.

Breakout roles don't come sharper than Dafne Keen's turn as Laura Kinney/X-23 in Hugh Jackman's Wolverine swan song, "Logan." Stealing the show with an understated fierceness and loads of screen presence, Keen more than held her own with her fellow cast. Keen will take that pro attitude to Netflix, as she stars in the newest adaptation of the YA novel series "His Dark Materials." While no one knows if she'll strap the claws back on for more adventures, even if she doesn't, Keen will be a face to watch for years to come.

With his first role as a younger version of Alan Turin in Benedict Cumberbatch's "The Imitation Game," Alex Lawther has since appeared on Netflix's "Black Mirror" and Disney's "Goodbye Christopher Robin" alongside Ewan McGregor. The 23-year-old Lawther can be seen as a sociopathic teen in Netflix's wickedly funny "End of the F**king World," where he portrays James in a perfectly dark comedy series that is sure to raise his profile even higher in 2019.

Cameron Monaghan found early work as a a child model, with his first appearance on the cover of a catalog at the age of 5. Monaghan switched from modeling to acting with his first big notices in the TV movie version of "The Music Man." Now 25, Monaghan found acclaim first by appearing as a gay, bipolar son on Showtime's "Shameless" and an iconic role as Batman's greatest nemesis, the Joker, on the prequel series "Gotham."

Because of the number of substantive roles in acclaimed films Saoirse Ronan has been in from an early age, it might be hard to believe that the actress is only 24. Getting her start in films like the acclaimed drama "Atonement," Ronan saw screentime as a young assassin in "Hanna" and a coveted role in director Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel." Ronan has gone on to see even greater success with her Academy Award-nominated performance in the indie darling "Lady Bird" and her most recent effort, "Mary Queen of Scots." 

A virtual unknown when he starred as one of three actors who portrayed main character Chiron in the Oscar-winning "Moonlight," Ashton Sanders' career set off with a meteoric bang. The sky seems the limit for him, as he goes from appearing alongside Denzel Washington in the blockbuster sequel to "The Equalizer" to one of 2019's most anticipated films, the dystopian sci-fi actioner "Captive State," alongside John Goodman. At 23, we can only expect to see bigger and better from Sanders in the future.

Yara Shahidi's career began at the early age of just 6, as she appeared in a series of TV and print ads, from which she would successfully audition for the role, which earned her a spot on our list, in ABC's "Black-ish." Shahidi's knack for comedy alongside her magnetic presence earned her a spinoff of her own spinoff, "Grown-ish," as her character heading is off to college for her own adventures. Just 19, Shahidi also makes headlines as an activist who is strongly regarded as a young voice to pay attention to when it comes to media representation.

Getting his start in acclaimed indie dramas like 2012's "Mud," Sheridan parlayed early success working along A-List actors like John Travolta, Michael Shannon and Matthew McConaughey into mainstream work, finding himself as the lead in 2015's "Scout's Guide to the Apocalypse" and with a prime role in Steven Spielberg's ode to '80s nostalgia "Ready Player One." 2019 sees Sheridan complete his two-film turn as Cyclops in April's "Dark Phoenix." At only 22, Sheridan's early successes can only be built upon as he matures into a seasoned performer.

First finding fame as a member of international sensation One Direction via the British version of "The X-Factor," Harry Styles became a star in his own right. But boy band success was clearly not enough for the ambitious Styles, who split from One Direction for good in 2016, parlaying his popularity into a solo career and easing his transition into acting with a plum performance in Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk," making his debut as a rattled soldier who will sacrifice anyone to stay alive. From that acclaimed performance, Styles diversified, with a comedic appearance as host of "Saturday Night Live." 

Tremblay is best known for his breakout performance alongside Academy Award winner Bree Larson in 2015's "Room." Since a turn as young Jack Newsome, the 12-year-old Canadian actor enjoyed a solid awards run, winning the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, and he was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role. Tremblay's post-"Room" success has him most recently starring as August Pullman, a child with a unique and grave medical condition, in "Wonder."

For Sophie Turner, 2019 is shaping up to be a giant year as she is set to appear as Sansa Stark in the final season of the wildly successful "Game of Thrones." Turner is doubling down with her appearance as Jean Grey in the latest "X-Men" movie, "Dark Phoenix." A veteran of genre films and television shows at the still-young age of 23, Turner has the rare opportunity to survive not just one but two major franchises, leaving her open and available for her star to increase significantly in the years to come.

15-year-old Jahi Di'Allo Winston made his debut on Broadway as young Simba in Disney's stage production of "The Lion King." Since this early success, Winston made a successful pivot to film and TV. His first major motion picture placed him alongside Taraji P. Henson in 2018's "Proud Mary," a role he was able to parlay into his current one as the lead character in Netflix's "Everything Sucks!" Winston has the sort of range that will see him in more prominent roles as he gets older.

Viewers might know Finn Wolfhard from his most recognized role as Mike Wheeler on Netflix's "Stranger Things," but his star grew after his appearance in one of the biggest movies of 2017: "It." Wolfhard returns in 2019 in a brand-new season of "Stranger Things," set to hit Netflix this fall. In the meantime, 16-year-old Wolfhard's popularity only continues to grow with each new opportunity, making him one to watch.

Nat Wolff has quite the early career, first in the musical arena as he gained notoriety as composer for Nickelodeon's "The Naked Brothers Band" alongside younger brother, Alex. Next, the 24-year-old Wolff had a breakout appearance in the sleeper hit "The Fault In Our Stars," following up with "Paper Towns," featuring fellow breakout star Cara Delevingne. Wolff's most recent efforts include Netflix's manga adaptation "Death Note" and the thriller, "Rosy." Wolff seems to excel in keeping equal footing in both mainstream and independent productions.

In her breakout role in Marvel Studio's "Black Panther," Letitia Wright's portrayal of Shuri, T'Challa's younger sister made her a rising actor to watch, as she delighted audiences with a funny and defiant performance. The 25-year-old Wright got her start in 2011 in U.K. productions such as "Top Boy" and "Chasing Shadows." Outside her success in "Panther," Wright is keeping busy with work on "Black Mirror" on top of returning as Shuri for "Avengers: Infinity War" and the upcoming "Avengers: Endgame."

From Zendaya Coleman's early beginnings on  Disney Channel's "Shake It Up" when she was only 14 to her big-screen debut as Michelle in Sony/Marvel Studio's "Spider-Man: Homecoming," this actress/musician has been a personality to watch. Now 22, Zendaya's star is only rising along with her other interests such as fashion and activism. Next up is a reprisal of her film debut in summer's "Spider-Man: Far From Home."