6 celebrities you might actually meet
Bullock and Barrymore, Clooney and Cumberbatch. These are the boldest faces of the TIFF 2015 celebrity lineup, which means they’re unlikely to exit their hotel rooms without security detail. So forget your dream of bumping into Sandy in the Starbucks line and instead, keep your eyes peeled for the festival buzziest Blisters—tomorrow’s up-and-comers who might actually talk to you today. Who: Ben Foster
TIFF sitch: Foster plays Lance Armstrong in already buzzy biopic The Program, directed by true story master Stephen Frears. Frears directed Philomena (which scored an Oscar nom for Judi Dench), and The Queen (which led to an Oscar win for Helen Mirren). So basically, Ben better start practising his speech. Where you know him from: He was the kid that Sharon Stone smacked in Alpha Dog.
Possible conversation starter: He loves Radiohead, you love Radiohead ….
Topic to avoid: Definitely don’t bring up how you just can’t wait to binge watch the next season of House of Cards. Foster recently split (for the second time) from his fiancée, Robin Wright. Who: Mackenzie Davis
TIFF sitch: Davis is a relatively small, but significant fry on the celebrity heavy cast of The Martian starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Chiwitel Ejiofor and Kate Mara.
Where you know her from: The Vancouver-bred actress scored a breakout roll in the highly praised, but little-watched AMC series Halt and Catch Fire, about the invention of the personal computer.
Possible conversation starter: She’s into taxidermy, so if you’ve got a good animal-stuffing story, don’t be shy.
Topic to avoid: Skip the cheesy club-dude pick-up lines—she has a degree in gender studies, and probably doesn’t go for the whole “hey, doll face” routine. Who: Brie Larson
TIFF sitch: Larson plays the central character in Room, a psychological drama about a mother and son who are held captive, based on the hugely acclaimed 2010 novel. Awards season attention is a lock.
Where you know her from: Most recently, she played Amy Schumer’s younger, more responsible little sis in Trainwreck.
Possible conversation starter: Congratulate her for scoring the female lead in the upcoming King Kong remake (yes, another one).
Topic to avoid: GQ recently pub- lished an article about how Larson looks a whole lot older than her 25 years. Best not to bring this up. Who: Nicholas Hoult TIFF sitch: Hoult has two festival leads, the first opposite Kristen Stewart in Equals, a sci-fi flick about a (gorgeous) young couple on the run in a futuristic society. The second is Kill Your Friends, a comedy about the ’90s music scene in the UK. Where you know him from: He was the super nerdy, tuque-wearing kid who stole Hugh Grant’s heart in About a Boy and the super hunky mohair-wearing coed who stole Colin Firth’s heart in A Single Man.
Possible conversation starter: Time to put all of that Grade 9 English knowledge to good use—Hoult recently signed on to play J.D. Salinger in an upcoming biopic.
Topics to avoid: Sooooo…….are you and J-Law getting back together now that she and Chris Martin are over? Who: Francesca Eastwood
TIFF sitch: The D.O.C. (that’s Daughter of Clint) has a part in the reboot of the Heroes TV show, a miniseries called Heroes Reborn.
Where you know her from: If you’re a trashy TV junkie, then you know her from Mrs. Eastwood & Company, a short-lived E! channel docu-soap about Clint’s current wife, Dina (Francesca’s mom is the actress Frances Fischer), and their unconventional family unit.
Possible conversation starter: Compliment her Instagram game
Topic to avoid: How her dad would totally dig this script you’ve been working on. Who: Donald Glover
TIFF sitch: Glover has a meaty role in The Martian, and will also be performing this week in the live reading of The Princess Bride.
Where you know him from: Glover starred on the cultishly popular small screen comedy Community.
Possible conversation starter: Glover—who goes by Childish Gambino in his music career—has a new album out this year.
Topics to avoid: How he lost out on the leading role in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot (yes, another one). Go to thestar.com for our party-hopping coverage.