Top 30 Acting Debuts in Movies

Top-30-Acting-Debuts-in-Movies

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the most memorable performances by first-time movie actors, who may or may not have previously acted in another medium.

#30: Amanda Seyfried
“Mean Girls” (2004)
“As the World Turns” viewers of the early 2000s watched Amanda Seyfried grow up as Lucy Montgomery. But a whole new generation got to know her as the breakout name in “Mean Girls.” Her Karen Smith character gets some of the biggest laughs as the Plastics’ resident airhead. She also ends up having the biggest heart in the high school clique. As much as you love to hate her peers, Seyfried’s charm and emotional intelligence turn Karen into an unexpected underdog. From this iconic role came a diverse career, with many complicated leading roles. While Seyfried has obviously gone much deeper than Karen, the flair she brought to her humble movie debut is unforgettable.

#29: Dev Patel
“Slumdog Millionaire” (2008)
Danny Boyle elevated “Slumdog Millionaire” with huge names in Indian cinema. But British actor Dev Patel claimed the lead role of Jamal Malik at age 17. He had already earned a teen fanbase as Anwar Kharral on the E4 drama “Skins”. As a poor orphan trying to survive the streets of Mumbai and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”, he touched the world. Patel achieved his own instant fortune after “Slumdog Millionaire” swept the Academy Awards. He himself was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Actor, and won several awards for breakout performance. He's since lived up to those accolades as a versatile lead actor. With everyman charm and emotional depth, Patel has his own incredible underdog story from his first film.

#28: Sharlto Copley
“District 9” (2009)
Copley was a small-time film and TV producer before taking a different role for his friend Neill Blomkamp’s feature film debut. Blomkamp wasn’t the only revelation in “District 9,” which explores the social marginalization of extraterrestrials settled in South Africa. Copley stars as Wikus van de Merwe, a human bureaucrat mutated by exposure to alien fluid. It’s a horrifying, action-packed process that the first-time actor carries with visceral intensity. “District 9” became a watershed classic in sci-fi, launching the particularly acclaimed Copley into a prolific acting career. It turns out his talents are better-suited in front of the camera.

#27: Brad Dourif
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975)
Dourif’s intensity can be horrifying. In his debut in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” it was absolutely heartbreaking. Director Miloš Forman was impressed with the stage actor and cast him as Billy Bibbit, a psychiatric patient struggling with neuroses. He wound up being the most tragic character in this devastating commentary on mental healthcare. And Dourif became one of the most talked-about names when “Cuckoo’s Nest” dominated the 1975 award season. The Golden Globes declared him the New Star of the Year. Since then, Dourif’s fiery presence and voice have consistently stolen the show, particularly in horror movies. Still, there's no comparison to the horror of Billy Bibbit’s brilliantly acted story.

#26: Anne Hathaway
“The Princess Diaries” (2001)
After debuting in the sole season of Fox’s “Get Real,” Hathaway became an overnight sensation in “The Princess Diaries.” So too did the lead character of Mia Thermopolis, an average American teenager who discovers that she’s heir to the throne of Genovia. The royal family affair got mixed reviews, but was a sleeper hit at the box office. It has since become a cult classic. Everyone at least agrees that Hathaway was a natural headliner, with impeccable comic timing and mature range at only 18 years old. Following 2004’s “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement,” she rose to more adult roles across all genres. More than 20 years later, Hathaway is now true Hollywood royalty.

#25: Cameron Diaz
“The Mask” (1994)
This professional model quickly became one of Hollywood's most alluring starlets after debuting in "The Mask." But she brought so much more than beauty to Tina Carlyle, a jazz singer and protagonist Stanley Ipkiss's love interest. Diaz had smokin' chemistry with Jim Carrey, with a witty charisma to ground his supernatural slapstick antics. The freshman actress's natural magnetism elevated the role and made her an instant superstar. In addition to carrying many more comedies and genre movies since "The Mask," Diaz has proven to be just as enchanting in dramas. You need only see her breakout role to recognize that she can command the screen as well as light it up.

#24: Jamie Bell
“Billy Elliott” (2000)
Of the thousands who auditioned for the title role in "Billy Elliot," 13-year-old Jamie Bell jumped out and stuck the landing. He underwent extensive dance training to portray a working-class kid who defies expectations by studying ballet. However, Bell seemed effortless in richly emoting Billy's tense yet graceful underdog story. This remarkably mature performance helped propel the film into an uplifting classic. With no prior acting experience, Bell became the youngest-ever winner of the BAFTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The breakout child prodigy then toured internationally in a variety of challenging roles, and is still a celebrated star today. Talk about a debut that hit all the right moves.

#23: Kevin Kline
“Sophie’s Choice” (1982)
While Meryl Streep’s Oscar-winning performance makes “Sophie’s Choice” a classic, Kevin Kline gave just as much with less film experience. The established soap opera and Shakespearean actor first hit the big screen as Nathan Landau. He brings tremendous charm to the character of Sophie’s brilliant yet unstable lover. But when Nathan turns, Kline is equal parts terrifying and heartbreaking. This complex portrayal of mental illness brings another layer of tragedy to the already emotionally turbulent “Sophie’s Choice.” While Kline was eclipsed by Streep during the award season, his accoladed breakout performance is now recognized as no less important. Never mind that it launched a long and distinguished career for the versatile movie star.

#22: Lupita Nyong’o
“12 Years a Slave” (2013)
After working on production crews and Kenyan television, Lupita Nyong’o found her big break in “12 Years a Slave.” She portrays the historical figure Patsey, who endures unimaginable horror as an enslaved woman in the American South. The whole film is a soberingly raw portrait of such real-life atrocities. Although Patsey has relatively little screen time, Nyong’o captures the tension and tragedy of a whole institution. She was physically and emotionally immersed in the role to a degree that challenged her veteran co-stars. This breakout won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, among many other accolades. Patsey would be the first of many unforgettable roles elevated by Nyong’o.

#21: James Dean
“East of Eden” (1955)
After some TV work and uncredited movie parts, James Dean became a household name with “East of Eden.” The John Steinbeck adaptation follows Caleb Trask as he struggles to find direction in his life and connection with his father. Dean leads this character study with youthful charisma and a natural intensity that was rare in contemporary Hollywood melodramas. He was a leading man from the beginning, scoring a massive fanbase and an Oscar nomination. Sadly, he wouldn't be around to see the latter. Dean died in a car accident in 1955, with “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant” posthumously promising what could have been one of the greatest acting careers of a generation. But “East of Eden” alone made a lasting impression.

#20: Alan Rickman
“Die Hard” (1988)
Hans Gruber is one of the greatest antagonists in movie history, and he was played by first-time film presence Alan Rickman. Rickman was an accomplished stage actor at the time, a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, having trained at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1985, Rickman starred in productions of “As You Like It” and “Troilus and Cressida,” and he was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” one year prior to “Die Hard.” But it was Hans Gruber that made Rickman a star, his suave performance impressing critics and general moviegoers alike. Gruber was different from many ‘80s action villains – stylish, calm, and wickedly intelligent. And Rickman played it all perfectly.

#19: Jason Schwartzman
“Rushmore” (1998)
Directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson, “Rushmore” concerns a love triangle between an elementary school teacher, a rich businessman, and a 15-year-old private school student. The latter is portrayed by Jason Schwartzman, a member of the iconic Coppola family. The 17-year-old Schwartzman met the movie’s casting director at a party, and he earned the role of Max Fischer over 1,800 other teenagers. The collaboration between Schwartzman and director Wes Anderson proved an enormous success, and Schwartzman received critical acclaim for his debut performance. He has since become a frequent collaborator of Anderson’s, both starring in his movies and co-writing the likes of “The Darjeeling Limited” and “Isle of Dogs.”

#18: Kate Winslet
“Heavenly Creatures” (1994)
Kate Winslet is one of the most acclaimed actresses of our time, the recipient of seven Academy Award nominations. And she began her film career playing a murderer. Winslet debuted in Peter Jackson’s “Heavenly Creatures,” which dramatizes the Parker-Hulme murder case of 1954. One of the criminals was Juliet Hulme, a teenage girl who conspired with her best friend Pauline Parker to murder Parker’s mother. Hulme served five years for the murder, and forty years later, she was played by future Hollywood legend Kate Winslet. Winslet was widely acclaimed for her disturbing performance and walked away with various accolades, including an Empire Award and a London Film Critics' Circle Award.

#17: Barbra Streisand
“Funny Girl” (1968)
Serving as one of the most popular and acclaimed musicals of all time, “Funny Girl” tells the semi-autobiographical story of Broadway star Fanny Brice and her relationship with con artist Nicky Arnstein. Debuting on Broadway in 1964, “Funny Girl” was nominated for eight Tony Awards, including Best Performance by a Leading Actress for Barbra Streisand. The performance proved so instantly iconic that Streisand reprised the role of Fanny Brice for the 1968 film adaptation, making her film debut in the process. And what a debut it was. Streisand put in just as much effort in front of the camera as she did on stage, and she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in the process.

#16: Hailee Steinfeld
“True Grit” (2010)
Hailee Steinfeld was introduced to acting through her Emmy-award-winning cousin True O’Brien, who has garnered fame playing Paige Larson on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives.” When Steinfeld was 13 years old, she landed the lead role of Mattie Ross in the Coen brothers’ adaptation of “True Grit.” It’s an incredibly difficult role, with Steinfeld needing to deliver complex, outdated dialogue, and starring opposite the legendary Jeff Bridges. It would be a challenge for experienced actors, let alone a 13-year-old girl. But Steinfeld was up for the challenge, and she was consistently praised by critics for her debut performance. For her efforts, Steinfeld received her first and so far only Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

#15: Anya Taylor-Joy
“The Witch” (2015)
When she was just 14 years old, Anya Taylor-Joy dropped out of school to pursue acting. She found modeling work instead, having been discovered outside London’s Harrods department store. She subsequently found acting work through her modeling and made her film debut in Robert Eggers’ period horror movie “The Witch.” She plays Thomasin, a banished Puritan who is accused of witchcraft by her family. Taylor-Joy is excellent in the role, balancing passivity with outrage, fear, and eventual confidence. “The Witch” proved one of the most acclaimed horror films of 2015, with the screenplay, direction, atmosphere, and performances earning particular attention. It made Taylor-Joy a star, and she subsequently became one of the most popular actresses of the latter 2010s.

#14: Sidney Poitier
“No Way Out” (1950)
One of the greatest, most influential, and most groundbreaking actors in movie history, Sidney Poitier was the star of many iconic films dealing with race relations in mid-century America. In 2002, Poitier earned an Honorary Academy Award for his historic accomplishments in film. Poitier made his debut in the controversial 1950 movie “No Way Out” playing Dr. Luther Brooks, an African American doctor confronted with racism in a hospital prison ward. The film proved Poitier’s talents as an actor and signaled his prolific career in films dealing with racial tensions. Almost thirteen years after the release of “No Way Out,” Poitier became the first Black man to win the Best Actor Oscar, which he received for “Lilies of the Field.”

#13: Quvenzhané Wallis
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” (2012)
Wallis auditioned for “Beasts of the Southern Wild” when she was just five years old, having lied about her age to break the minimum age requirement of six. The director, Benh Zeitlin, was reportedly impressed by her ability to burp on command, winning her the part of Hushpuppy. The movie sees Hushpuppy and her temperamental father Wink living in a secluded Louisiana bayou. Wallis gave an impassioned, complex, and mature performance of someone far beyond her years and won a slew of accolades throughout the 2013 awards season. She also became the youngest actress ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, beating “Whale Rider’s” Keisha Castle-Hughes by four years.

#12: Robert Duvall
“To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962)
Prior to his role in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Robert Duvall was an accomplished stage actor working in New York. In 1957, he starred in a play called “The Midnight Caller,” which was written by Horton Foote. Duvall’s performance impressed Foote, and when he adapted Harper Lee’s iconic novel for the screen, he recommended Duvall to the movie’s producers. Duvall was cast as the famous recluse Boo Radley, and the rest is movie history. Like the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was a resounding success, earning eight nominations at the 35th Academy Awards. Unfortunately, Duvall was not one of them. No matter. He would later earn seven, the first of which came one decade later with “The Godfather.”

#11: Oprah Winfrey
“The Color Purple” (1985)
This period drama proved an enormous departure for director Steven Spielberg, who prior to this had been known for his summer blockbusters. “The Color Purple,” on the other hand, is a dramatic and introspective look into the African-American experience of the early 20th century. It’s based on a Pulitzer-winning novel and stars Whoopi Goldberg as a rural Georgian named Celie. Oprah Winfrey stars opposite Goldberg as Sofia, a strong-willed woman who refuses to be oppressed. At the time, Winfrey was working as a morning talk show host in Chicago. With “The Color Purple,” she proved her incredible capabilities as an actress and earned both a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination.

#10: Edward Norton
“Primal Fear” (1996)
For his film debut, Edward Norton was forced to play two people. Kind of. He plays a sociopathic murderer named Roy who pretends to suffer from dissociative identity disorder in order to get out of a murder charge. The other “personality” is the innocent, passive, and stuttering altar boy, Aaron Stampler. At the time, Norton was a struggling New York actor working in theater. He was then discovered by a casting director named Shirley Rich, who introduced Norton to the executive producers of “Primal Fear.” He obviously got the job and was often singled out in reviews as the best aspect of the movie. Norton earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor – the movie’s only Oscar nomination and Norton’s first of three.

#9: Gabourey Sidibe
“Precious” (2009)
A Harlem native, Gabourey Sidibe was working as a receptionist when she decided to audition in a nationwide casting call for “Precious.” The movie is based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire and concerns the illiterate and pregnant Claireece Jones living in poverty in 1980s Harlem. Jones lives in Section 8 housing with her unemployed and mean-spirited mother, Mary. Sidibe proved an exceptional and natural actress, thrilling critics with her tender debut performance. She was also one of the leading names of the 2010 awards season, receiving Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Academy Awards. Sidibe rode this success to a prominent career in television, starring in Fox’s “Empire” and numerous seasons of “American Horror Story.”

#8: Jennifer Hudson
“Dreamgirls” (2006)
Like “Funny Girl,” “Dreamgirls” is often hailed as one of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time. Debuting in 1981, “Dreamgirls” won six Tony Awards during its initial Broadway run, including Best Performance by a Leading Actress for Jennifer Holliday, playing Effie White. Twenty-five years later, “American Idol” contestant Jennifer Hudson took the reins, proving herself both a commendable actress and a tantalizing performer in the process. The movie was praised for its musical numbers and performances, particularly those of Hudson and Eddie Murphy. Both received Academy Award nominations, with Hudson winning for Best Supporting Actress. Effie White is one of the all-time great Broadway characters, and Hudson beautifully inhabited the role in a thrilling movie debut.

#7: Eddie Murphy
“48 Hrs.” (1982)
And speaking of Eddie Murphy, he enjoyed a commendable movie debut himself in the buddy cop comedy “48 Hrs.” Murphy plays an imprisoned criminal named Reggie Hammond who reluctantly teams up with a cop to help catch his criminal boss. Murphy had made a name for himself on “Saturday Night Live,” serving as both a cast member and writer. “48 Hrs.” proved his acting capabilities, and the movie received praise for the chemistry and comedic interplay between Murphy and co-star Nick Nolte. Murphy received a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year, and it would prove his first of six.

#6: Jamie Lee Curtis
“Halloween” (1978)
By October of 1978, Jamie Lee Curtis – the daughter of Hollywood legends Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh – was a little-known television actress, having starred in an episode of “Columbo” and the first season of an ABC sitcom called “Operation Petticoat.” She was subsequently cast as Laurie Strode in “Halloween,” with producer and co-writer Debra Hill admitting that Curtis was mainly cast for the publicity, her mother being such a prominent horror actress. Luckily, Curtis proved an excellent actress in her own right and helped popularize the morally pure Final Girl trope through her performance. She exuded intelligence and proved a great screamer, becoming the seminal example of the Scream Queen. She carried this reputation into numerous future slashers, including “Prom Night” and “Terror Train.”

#5: Julie Andrews
“Mary Poppins” (1964)
An AFI Life Achievement Award recipient, Julie Andrews is one of the all-time greatest performers with a career spanning nine decades. Andrews was a prominent stage actress throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s, starring in Broadway productions of “My Fair Lady” and “Camelot.” She earned a Tony Award nomination for both. After being passed over by producer Jack L. Warner for his “My Fair Lady” movie adaptation, Disney approached Andrews about starring in their upcoming movie “Mary Poppins.” She agreed to star as the title character, and it launched one of the greatest careers in movie history. Andrews won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and Mary Poppins herself quickly became a cinematic icon.

#4: Natalie Portman
“Léon: The Professional” (1994)
Natalie Portman got off to quite a weird and disturbing start. In 1992, she became an understudy in the off-Broadway play “Ruthless!”, which is about an ambitious young actress who commits multiple murders – including matricide. She then made her film debut in Luc Besson’s “Léon: The Professional,” which is about a hitman training a 12-year-old girl to commit murder so she can avenge her dead brother. The young Portman was continuously praised for her mature performance, with many finding her a great companion to seasoned French actor Jean Reno. It was a movie and a performance beyond Portman’s years, and the breakout role helped ensure Portman’s reputation as one of Hollywood’s greatest child actors.

#3: Anna Paquin
“The Piano” (1993)
This period drama concerns Ada and Flora McGrath, a mother-daughter duo who travel to New Zealand after Ada is sold into marriage by her father. To cast Flora, the producers hosted an open casting call that resulted in over 5,000 auditions. The role went to a young New Zealand-Canadian girl named Anna Paquin. Both Paquin and lead actress Holly Hunter were unanimously praised by movie critics, and they both won Academy Awards for their performances – Hunter for Actress, Paquin for Supporting Actress. Paquin was just 11 years old when she won the coveted Oscar, which makes her the second-youngest performer to win a competitive Academy Award. The first being...

#2: Tatum O’Neal
“Paper Moon” (1973)
Young Tatum O’Neal was born to actors Joanna Moore and the Oscar-nominated Ryan O’Neal. In 1973, Tatum and Ryan starred together in the road comedy “Paper Moon,” which sees a con artist taking a young girl under his wing during the Great Depression. The movie received strong reviews, with most of the praise going to first-time actor Tatum O’Neal. O’Neal won the Most Promising Newcomer award at that year’s Golden Globes, and just a few months later, she took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Being just ten years old, O’Neal became – and remains – the youngest performer to win a competitive Academy Award. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime achievement for a once-in-a-lifetime child performance.

#1: Orson Welles
“Citizen Kane” (1941)
Orson Welles was just five days shy of his 26th birthday when “Citizen Kane” premiered at New York’s Palace Theatre. It’s an extraordinary accomplishment, considering the young Welles wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the now-iconic film. Welles was prominent in radio at the time, and in 1939 he signed a controversial contract with RKO Radio Pictures to create two films. The first was “Citizen Kane,” which is now regarded as the most influential movie ever made. Welles stars as the titular Charles Foster Kane, proving himself just as capable in front of a camera as he was behind a microphone. The movie was well-received and earned nine nominations at the 14th Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Actor for Welles.

What are your favorite first-time film performances? Make an impression in the comments.