Adria Arjona
AGE: 32
HOMETOWN: Mexico City — though she was born in Puerto Rico and later moved to Miami
FIRST ROLE: Brief roles in “Unforgettable” and “Person of Interest” before “True Detective”
YOU MIGHT KNOW HER FROM: “Andor.” Or her turn as an unhappy but alluring wife in “Hit Man” — or a happier wife-to-be in the “Father of the Bride” reboot
2024 IN REVIEW: It's been a busy year, with four film releases: “Hit Man,” “Blink Twice,” “Los Frikis,” “The Absence of Eden”
WHAT'S NEXT: Flexing her acting and producing muscles as a lead and executive producer on Neon’s “Splitsville” and A24’s “Onslaught” — plus her return to “Andor” for the Emmy-nominated series’ second season
FUN FACT: “I always thought I was going to be too shy to actually do it, but once I did it, something, something switched. In my head, something clicked and then I became obsessed,” she says about her love of film and the filmmaking process
Nicholas Alexander Chavez
AGE: 25
HOMETOWN: Denver
FIRST ROLE: “General Hospital”
YOU MIGHT KNOW HIM FROM: His recent turns in the Ryan Murphyverse
2024 IN REVIEW: “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and “Grotesquerie”
WHAT'S NEXT: The “I Know What You Did Last Summer” reboot
WHAT HE'LL REMEMBER ABOUT 2024: “I think I’ll remember how excited I was. I think I’ll remember the feeling like life is so beautiful and wonderful and how incredible that I get to live in a world where my dream comes true.”
GloRilla
AGE: 25
HOMETOWN: Memphis, Tennessee
FIRST RELEASE: “Most Likely Up Next,” a mixtape released in 2019
YOU MIGHT KNOW HER FROM: The songs “Wanna Be” and “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”
2024 IN REVIEW: Megan Thee Stallion’s Hot Girl Summer Tour, releasing her debut album “Glorious,” visiting the White House and performing at Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign rally in Milwaukee
WHAT’S NEXT: Pursuing acting roles, headlining the college football concert series in January and the Grammys, where she's nominated
WHERE HER PERSONALITY COMES FROM: Her mother: “I come from nothing almost. My mom is well mannered. My mom taught us right, like, internally, have a great spirit. My personality and spirit come from my momma”
Fred Hechinger
AGE: 25
HOMETOWN: New York
FIRST ROLE: “Eighth Grade”
YOU MIGHT KNOW HIM FROM: His scene-stealing role as Sydney Sweeney's younger brother in “The White Lotus”
2024 IN REVIEW: Roles in “Gladiator II,” “Thelma,” “Kraven the Hunter,” “Nickel Boys”
WHAT’S NEXT: “Kraven the Hunter” and “Nickel Boys,” both opening this month
FUN FACT: Growing up, he thought the circus looked like fun — “and now I kind of feel like I work in the circus”
Maleah Joi Moon
AGE: 22
HOMETOWN: Franklin Township, New Jersey
FIRST ROLE: Dorothy in a school production of “The Wizard of Oz.” Otherwise, “Hell’s Kitchen”
YOU MIGHT KNOW HER FROM: Her Tony triumph over industry veterans for best actress in a musical
2024 IN REVIEW: “Hell's Kitchen” Tony leads to appearances at the Met Gala, on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Today,” and in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
WHAT'S NEXT: She'd love to do film, TV — and more theater, of course
WHAT SHE'S LISTENING TO: Cleo Soul, old R&B and ’90s hits and, of course, Alicia Keys
Myha'la
AGE: 28
HOMETOWN: San Jose, California
FIRST ROLES: Onstage, the second national tour for “Book of Mormon.” Onscreen, 2019's “Premature”
YOU MIGHT KNOW HER FROM: HBO’s “Industry,” “Leave the World Behind”
2024 IN REVIEW: The third season of “Industry,” a voice role in “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur”
WHAT'S NEXT: Roles in “Swiped” and “They Will Kill You”
FUN FACT: Originally billed as Myha'la Herrold, she recently went mononymous — “I always wanted to go by my first name, the paperwork just took longer than I thought!”
Aaron Pierre
AGE: 30
HOMETOWN: London
FIRST ROLE: “Prime Suspect 1973,” a 2017 British detective series that featured Pierre in two episodes
YOU MIGHT KNOW HIM FROM: Playing an introverted rapper named Mid-Sized Sedan in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old”
2024 IN REVIEW: Two face-offs with Kelvin Harrison Jr.: “Genius: MLK/X” and “Mufasa: The Lion King,” plus “Rebel Ridge”
WHAT'S NEXT: Playing an artist who hobnobs with the elite on Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show,” then investigating intergalactic crime on HBO’s superhero series “Lanterns.”
IF YOU SEE HIM IN THE STREET: Don’t be shy about approaching him about his past projects: “That’s one of the most rewarding feelings you can ever have as a creative person”
The Associated Press
