# What under-30 actors will still be working a decade from now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210 "2015-08-18T20:34:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/21 "2015-08-18T23:31:38Z")
Besides several of the ones mentioned, I think Emma Stone is for keeps. Which could be awkward, because I don’t have the same confidence that Andrew Garfield will be getting much work in ten years. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/22 "2015-08-19T00:10:25Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Use your own judgment, man. I am not the boss of you. Well, if that’s the case, I’ll take the easy route and say Jennifer Lawrence. Her Oscar and box office success have produced enough good will to keep her on the A-list for least another 10 years. Unless she’s involved in series of major scandals, appears in a succession of **Battlefield Earth** -sized bombs, and manages to piss off nearly everyone in Hollywood, her position is secure. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/23 "2015-08-19T02:14:31Z")
I hope not, but probably Will Smith’s kids, unless he blows all his money on hookers or bad investments or thetan levels or something. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/24 "2015-08-19T03:21:36Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Skipping some of the excellent choices above, I’m gonna go with Chloe Grace Moretz, Michael Raymond-James, Elizabeth Olsen, Ezra Miller, Juno Temple and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. I also think Tom Hiddleston will soon be someone to watch when they release his Hank Williams biopic. I don’t know who Michael Raymond-James is, but I agree with the rest of these (and Hiddleston was someone to watch several movies ago, everyone else is just catching up). I also agree with Jennifer Lawrence. I’ll add Nicholas Hoult, Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander, Rooney Mara, and though I don’t care much for them, Miles Tellar and Eddie Redmayne. I know I’m forgetting some. Swedish actress Alicia Vikander isn’t a household name yet, but she’ll get there. I first noticed her in A Royal Affair though I did see an earlier movie I liked called Pure, which I saw at a film festival. I didn’t make note of her name and the characters are so different I didn’t realize it was same actress. She’s done a few movies in Sweden I didn’t see, and a Hollywood movie I didn’t see, Seventh Son. She then appeared in the sad but excellent Testament of Youth, was the AI Ava in Ex Machina, and was terrific in the (IMO) sadly underrated/underperforming The Man From U.N.C.L.E. She has four (indie) movies coming out before the end of the year, and will be in the next Paul Greengrass/Matt Damon Bourne movie, which should introduce her to a wider audience. She’ll be around for a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/25 "2015-08-19T03:40:41Z")
**Scarlet Johansson** just nudges out of the OPs time limit (though I am surprised how young she still is after everything she’s achieved) so I guess I can’t mention her. **Elle Fanning** , and probably Dakota Fanning, will still be working. Elle is very hard to pin down, her performances have been very lightweight despite being amongst some heavy dramas, but nonetheless she is in high demand and I think she’ll continue to be. She’s not even 18 yet. **Saoirse Ronan** without a doubt will continue to work. She is just amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/26 "2015-08-19T17:36:28Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > I’m curious by exactly what you mean by “still working”? For example, a 20-something actor who’s currently acting in A-list film and TV projects but reduced to doing obscure straight-to-video dreck and cheesy reality shows ten years later will be “still working” even though his or her level of fame has sharply declined. Are you really asking us to predict what under-30 actors will _maintain or have a greater level of fame_ a decade from now? I, too, would like some sort of parameters here. “Still working” is too intentionally vague (IMO) a metric to be able to provide a meaningful answer. Like, I remember reading all manner of threads before I stopped lurking where someone would ask whatever happened to so-and-so, and someone would pull up so-and-so’s IMDb page, which lists forty-five acting credits that neither I nor the OP had ever heard of, with a boilerplate-ish tacked-on response that amounted to, “See, so-and-so is still working.” Obviously, if you’re still getting paid for professional acting roles, then you are “still working,” even if it’s a step down from what you had been doing before. If you were an A-list/B-list actor, but you’ve spent the last decade and a half doing voice work almost exclusively, you are, technically, still acting. If you had your own cable or network TV series, and now, you’re the next Flo, you are still working. So the question doesn’t have any meaning without some sort of criteria for what you mean when you say, “still working.” Barring death, or simply deciding that they don’t want to do it anymore, I feel like the only correct answer to the question, “What under-30 actors will still be working a decade from now?” is “All of them.” ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/27 "2015-08-19T17:45:44Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > I, too, would like some sort of parameters here. “Still working” is too intentionally vague (IMO) a metric to be able to provide a meaningful answer. Like, I remember reading all manner of threads before I stopped lurking where someone would ask whatever happened to so-and-so, and someone would pull up so-and-so’s IMDb page, which lists forty-five acting credits that neither I nor the OP had ever heard of, with a boilerplate-ish tacked-on response that amounted to, “See, so-and-so is still working.” > > Obviously, if you’re still getting paid for professional acting roles, then you are “still working,” even if it’s a step down from what you had been doing before. If you were an A-list/B-list actor, but you’ve spent the last decade and a half doing voice work almost exclusively, you are, technically, still acting. If you had your own cable or network TV series, and now, you’re the next Flo, you are still working. So the question doesn’t have any meaning without some sort of criteria for what you mean when you say, “still working.” > > Barring death, or simply deciding that they don’t want to do it anymore, I feel like the only correct answer to the question, “What under-30 actors will still be working a decade from now?” is “All of them.” I suggest “Starring in a movie made by SyFy” as an automatic disqualifier. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/28 "2015-08-19T17:51:41Z")
The easy answer: Virtually all of the guys, virtually none of the girls. Hollywood kinda sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/29 "2015-08-19T17:52:22Z")
Speaking of child actors, what’s the current consensus on Quvenzhane Wallis? Everyone raved about her in _Beasts of the Southern Wilds_, but I haven’t heard much of anything about her further work. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/30 "2015-08-19T17:54:44Z")
I predict that unless they decide to retire from acting (or die) that they will all be working. This is an odd question. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/31 "2015-08-19T17:57:27Z")
Flipping burgers IS working! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/32 "2015-08-19T18:11:57Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > The easy answer: Virtually all of the guys, virtually none of the girls. > > Hollywood kinda sucks. Disagree 100%. With the kind of shape these people are staying in into their 40’s, 50’s and even 60’s (_Spectre_ will have the first-ever Bond girl in her 50’s), the ladies are going to stay perfectly marketable into their 30’s. The guys, however, once they hit success and start to spread a little (Orlando Bloom, I’m lookin’ at you) or start to lose some hair (Matthew Perry…)? Not so much. [quote=faithfoolI also think Tom Hiddleston will soon be someone to watch when they release his Hank Williams biopic.[/quote] _fweet_ Penalty flag! He’s 34 already. Rats, Tatiana Maslany turns 30 in September… ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/33 "2015-08-19T18:52:16Z")
I think Annasophia Robb will be around. At 21, she is just making the transition into adult roles, but she is truly talented and the camera loves her cool blondeness. I think she will get better and better roles in the next few years. ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/34 "2015-08-19T18:56:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I saw her in _American Hustle_ and she was great in it. But roles like that are rare for any actress. Lawrence was lucky to get that role but can she count on getting several more like it? Considering she had two other excellent and critically acclaimed performances before _American Hustle_ in _Winter’s Bone_ and _Silver Linings Playbook_, I don’t think you could say they’re rare for her. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/35 "2015-08-19T19:16:19Z")
Something tells me that Zac Efron will transition into action movies and we’ll see him for a long time. Beyond that, after seeing _Fury_, I also believe strongly that Shia LaBeouf and Logan Lerman will be around for a long time as well. On the women’s side, I bet Jennifer Lawrence, Hailee Steinfeld, Emma Stone and Emma Watson will still be around and thriving. I’d like to say Maisie Williams, but I have a strong suspicion that _Game of Thrones_ and _Dr. Who_ will typecast her into playing in Sy-Fy movies in 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/36 "2015-08-19T19:26:29Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I’d like to say Maisie Williams, but I have a strong suspicion that _Game of Thrones_ and _Dr. Who_ will typecast her into playing in Sy-Fy movies in 10 years. … and that’s not working how, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/37 "2015-08-19T19:43:58Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > I predicted DiCaprio’s ultimate recovery from Titanic, and I here predict --again–Kristin Stewart’s ascension to the upper ranks once the Twilight smudge wears off. I still can’t decide whether Kristen Stewart is a good actress or not. She seems to have talent, but she appears so uncomfortable with it. I figure she’ll either find that perfect role that earns her an Oscar nod or she’ll disappear to Alaska and never be heard from again. I think sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning will still be working. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/38 "2015-08-19T22:15:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I saw her in _American Hustle_ and she was great in it. But roles like that are rare for any actress. Lawrence was lucky to get that role but can she count on getting several more like it? Jennifer Lawrence was great opposite Amy Adams in that one, and Jennifer Lawrence will be younger ten years from now than Amy Adams was then. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/39 "2015-08-20T00:03:37Z")
> [@theR](#): > > Considering she had two other excellent and critically acclaimed performances before _American Hustle_ in _Winter’s Bone_ and _Silver Linings Playbook_, I don’t think you could say they’re rare for her. She also got mostly very good notices for her performance in [Serena](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serena_(2014_film)), even though the film as a whole didn’t fare that well, critically or commercially. So far she mostly seems to have walked a good line between good-paying blockbusters/action films and meatier dramatic roles. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210/40 "2015-08-20T00:04:57Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > I predicted DiCaprio’s ultimate recovery from Titanic… This is the worst use of the word “recovery” since the word was invented. I was coming in to say “Emma Watson” but was beaten to it. A very, very safe choice; I’ve no doubt she can act for many years more if she feels like it, and she appears to feel like it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-under-30-actors-will-still-be-working-a-decade-from-now/728210.md?page=3)