Summer Movies: 5 breakout stars to watch in ‘Sing Sing,’ ‘Quiet Place, ‘Horizon’ and more
A breakout moment in Hollywood can happen at any age and stage. This summer at the movies, there are plenty of talents to discover, from the formerly incarcerated man whose story inspired the film he stars in to the “It” bully whose childhood dream of playing an ape in a movie came true.
Here are five actors audiences are sure to be buzzing about this summer.
“It almost was overwhelming when I had to go back and put the greens on again and go back into that mindset of being in prison,” Maclin, 58, said. “However the purpose of what we were doing outweighed the apprehension.”
After working on the idea for years, he loved being on set and said there were “no butterflies” when it came to acting in front of the camera. Domingo, he said, helped him appreciate the nuance that the camera can capture.
A breakout film from last fall’s Toronto Film Festival, more than a few “Sing Sing” reviews have called Maclin’s performance starmaking. He’s read them and still can’t believe it. But mostly, he’s excited to take the film on the road and get the message out.
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but luckily I got an opportunity to redirect and try to correct some of those,” said Maclin, who was incarcerated for more than 15 years for armed robbery. “I would like to be able to show this in every prison in the country and do a question and answer. Sometimes a little bit of hope is all you need.”
“Sing Sing” opens in limited release on July 12 and an expansion will follow in August.
“The manager of the hotel was like ‘who are you’?” Quinn recalled, laughing.
But mainly it’s led to life-changing opportunities for the 30-year-old British actor who is starring alongside Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o in “ A Quiet Place: Day One ” (June 28) and later this year will be sharing the screen with Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal in “Gladiator II” (Nov. 22). He’s also been tapped to help restart the Fantastic Four franchise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the Human Torch.
“When you go and you see ancient Rome and you see Denzel Washington inhabit it and watch Ridley Scott make a film, those things have a profound change in you,” Quinn said. “It expands your idea of what’s possible.”
But first up is the highly anticipated “Quiet Place” prequel, which focuses on a new pair of characters in New York on that first day of the invasion.
“The whole experience was great fun,” Quinn said. “I learned a lot from Lupita and the way to conduct oneself in an environment like that. She’s punctual, brave, fearless and knows exactly what she wants and what she doesn’t want.”
UK audiences can also see him soon in the independent film “Hoard.”
The project was “ Horizon: An American Saga,” his Civil War era epic about the Westward expansion in America that Warner Bros. is releasing in two parts this summer (June 28 and Aug. 16). Her character, Marigold, is a woman without a family or a home who is fighting for a better life.
“She uses sex work as a means to survive,” Lee, 36, said. “Like everyone in this film, she’s somewhat broken and worn down but she’s also a very hopeful person and a very resilient woman with a strong will to live.”
The Australia native worked as a model for years before she had a few big acting breakthroughs, notably in “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Modeling gave her opportunities to travel, and get a paycheck, but it always felt like a job, she said.
“My passion is the craft of acting,” she said. “You get to utilize not just your body, but your brain and your heart and your emotional capacity. And you keep changing and growing: Each role shifts your perspective on the world and your life.”
Filming “Horizon,” Lee fell in love with riding horses and was overwhelmed by not just the beauty of Utah but also the scope of the film.
“It’s such an epic piece,” she said.
“I was like ‘wait, I’m working every day’?” Wang laughed. “My mom was like, ‘Yeah, you’re working every day.”
In “Dìdi” he plays a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy on the summer before high school in the Bay Area in 2008. The film was one of the big discoveries of the Sundance Film Festival, winning the audience award and a special jury award for its ensemble. It’s getting a theatrical release from Focus Features on July 26.
Wang was born in Minnesota, moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was 3 and started acting around age 8. While he’s thought about giving it up in the past, “Dìdi” was a turning point because it was such a fun experience. He’s considering studying theater in college too.
“I love acting in general because I get to be a goofy, silly, imaginative guy,” he said. “I play with my stuffed animals still. I’m 16-years-old, I still do it.”
“I’ve wanted to play a performance capture ape since I was a little kid,” Teague said. “This was one of those auditions where I was like ‘God, I’d give anything to do this movie.’”
The 25-year-old from Tampa, Florida, got his first big break on the television series “Bloodline,” which led to playing one of the bullies in “It” and Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ son in “ You Hurt My Feelings ” among other credits. Teague said he worried early on that he was only playing “bad guys.” Villains are fun, he said, but he wanted the chance to do everything.
For this movie, he went to ape school and worked closely with a movement coach so that it would feel second-nature by the time they started filming. His character, Noa, is the sheltered son of their clan’s leader who has to go on an eye-opening journey to save his family.
“There’s a lot of pressure on him to live up to his father’s expectations.” Teague said. “There’s this part of him that wants to know what’s out there.”
And he recommends seeing it on the big screen: “It’s one of the most astounding things I’ve ever seen.”
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