The Names You Need To Know In 2026

This month sees Michelle Mao join the fourth season of Bridgerton as Rosamund Li, a major new character and one of the central players vying for Benedict’s (Luke Thompson) affection. The Netflix global hit has become something of a star-maker, putting a bevy of names on the map, and we expect it to do just the same for Mao. Having recently starred alongside Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell in acclaimed director Kogonada’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, their creative partnership has continued – Mao leads Kogonada’s upcoming film Zi, which will premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

Erin Kellyman’s breakout comes courtesy of Scarlett Johansson, who cast her in the lead role, alongside June Squibb, in her mesmerizing directorial debut, Eleanor the Great. Kellyman’s performance as student Nina, who forms an unlikely friendship with nonagenarian Eleanor (Squibb), was the talk of Hollywood – and preceded her top billing in the Alex Garland-penned (The Beach) and Nia DaCosta-directed new instalment of 28 Years Later. But, before this blockbuster moment sends her stratospheric, Kellyman will take to the stage in award-winning playwright Anna Ziegler’s Evening All Afternoon at London’s Donmar Warehouse.

Fans of Netflix sleeper hit The Diplomat will instantly recognize Ali Ahn as the show’s no-nonsense CIA station chief Eidra Park. Having also starred in Marvel’s Agatha All Along, plus a slew of previous appearances in Billions, Orange Is the New Black and The Path, it’s safe to say that Ahn is firmly on the radar of television’s most influential showrunners. And with the lead role in 2026 Sundance-selected Take Me Home, from esteemed indie director Liz Sargent, and The Diplomat renewed for a fourth season, likely to arrive later this year, get ready to see a lot more of Ahn on our screens.

Jensen McRae’s self-described “folk-alternative-pop” sound has been quietly galvanizing a devoted internet fanbase. There have been a slew of viral singles and a stint opening for Noah Kahan on his tour, but with the release of her second album, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me, via Dead Oceans (the label behind Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski and Japanese Breakfast), McRae is stepping into the limelight. This year, she’ll head out on a headline tour of her own, as well making her on-screen debut in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, for which she’s also contributing a song to the soundtrack.

Director Georgia Oakley’s sophomore feature film is tipped to be one of the year’s buzziest releases when it lands in September: the big-screen adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (from Working Title Films and Focus Features), starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and written by Diana Reid. Oakley’s 2022 debut – Blue Jean, about a gym teacher who has to navigate hiding her sexuality at work – scored trophies at the Venice Film Festival and British Independent Film Awards, as well as a BAFTA nomination, so great things are expected from her next talking-point project.

Comedian Charly Clive caught critics’ attention with her show Britney (performed with her writing partner, Mickey 17’s Ellen Robertson), which enjoyed a sell-out run at London’s Soho Theatre – an incubator for great talent including Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Richard Gadd. Now Steve Carrell has come knocking, recruiting Clive to play his daughter in HBO’s latest comedy offering, Rooster – the heart of which is their father-daughter relationship. Next up, spot Clive in Everybody Wants to F*ck Me, a curious “rom-com thriller” produced by Margot Robbie’s Lucky Chap studio and starring Taron Egerton and Mia McKenna-Bruce.