watch THIS SPACE
Six actresses-to-watch making major moves on screen
MAYA HAWKE
In a breakout fitting of the spawn of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, Maya landed the role of the outspoken Jo in the miniseries remake of Little Women (on Stan), a role in the past taken on by Katharine Hepburn and Winona Ryder, before scoring what could be one of the most coveted gigs in television – a spot in the Stranger Things season three cast. Like most 20-year-olds, she Instagrams lo-fi hangout shots – though hers often include her famous parents, her actress friends Rowan Blanchard and fellow one-to-watch Kathryn Newton (of Big Little Lies and Lady Bird), and her Met Gala look (she wore Diane von Furstenberg). Along with the much-anticipated ST return, she’ll also appear in Ladyworld, a thriller about teen girls trapped in a time warp.
MORGAN SAYLOR
Sharp eyes will recognise Saylor as Homeland’s petulant Dana Brody, but she’s since grown into roles with decidedly more cred. Novitiate, the nun drama she appeared in alongside Dianna Agron and fellow fresh face Margaret Qualley was a 2017 Sundance favourite, and her new flick, the low-budget We The Coyotes, about a young couple trying to make it in their adopted home of LA, debuted to praise at Cannes Film Festival in May. To boot, she’s woke about trans rights and racism on social media, and hangs out with fellow actresses we love, Australian Sophie Lowe and The Big Sick’s Zoe Kazan.
BEBE CAVE
With the endearing nickname of “ghoulish tangerine giant pug man” for a certain president, and an enthusiastic admiration for Hillary Clinton, Tilda Swinton and Louis Theroux, it’s hard not to want to be friends with Bebe Cave. Not to mention her sister is Jessie Cave, the actress and comedian who played Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter series – the two starred together in 2012’s Great Expectations. Currently appearing in the BBC production of Victoria (season two landed in June), Cave will this month star alongside Saoirse Ronan in On Chesil Beach, based on the novella by Atonement author Ian Mcewan.
LUCY BOYNTON
As well as having a minor role in last year’s Murder On The Orient Express, Boynton went on to play a drugaddicted client of Naomi Watts’ therapist character in Gypsy on Netflix. But the 24-year-old New York-born Londoner is as worth watching for her modern-english-rose style – with Erdem, Valentino, Chloe and Prada on high rotation – as she is her acting projects. Next up, she’ll combine a panache for both in the coveted role of Mary Austin – the muse, lover and lifelong friend of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury – in November’s Bohemian Rhapsody, based on the band’s trajectory.
TAYLOR RUSSELL
She only landed her breakout role earlier this year, in Netflix’s Lost In Space reboot, but with a nod from Miu Miu and an upcoming role opposite Uma Thurman (in fantasy flick Down A Dark Hall), this 24-year-old is showing next-big-thing potential. Endearingly, it doesn’t seem to be going to her head – she’s talked of crying when finding out of her role in Lost In Space (while cooking sweet potatoes with her mum, no less), and has said of her time on set: “I made a book club, but nobody joined it. I’m the only member.” She’s also set to appear alongside this month’s ELLE Man Charlie Plummer in Words On Bathroom Walls, about a teenager diagnosed with schizophrenia.
ALYCIA DEBNAM-CAREY
This Australian-born actress and classically trained percussionist may have got her start like many a local, with a stint in outback drama Mcleod’s Daughters (only in Australia…), but she’s now making a fast ascension in Hollywood. It’s largely thanks to her roles in post-apocalyptic sci-fi faves The 100 (as the strong-willed Grounder Commander Lexa) and The Walking Dead’s prequel series Fear The Walking Dead (as the zombie-fighting Alicia Clark). Keep an eye out as she stars in A Violent Separation alongside Animal Kingdom’s Ben Robson, and fellow Australian actress Claire Holt.