From Leo DiCaprio’s ex to Disney star from Tamworth & I’m A Celeb influencer…meet stars set to storm onto A-list in 2025
FROM a new Superman to the “next Stacey Dooley” and a Croydon songstress about to earn international acclaim . . . 2025 promises to be an exciting year for entertainment.
And many of these future big names come from good old Blighty, with an impressive roster of home-grown talent tipped to top the music, streaming and earnings charts.
But who are these talented stars of tomorrow?
Josh Saunders takes you through the big names – including one who is predicted to make £5MILLION by the end of next year.
LEO WOODALL
LEO may prove 2025’s ultimate heart-throb after he hits the big screen on Valentine’s Day as the toyboy love interest in Bridget Jones romcom Mad About The Boy.
The Londoner, 28, won over a legion of swooning fans last year as Dexter Mayhew in Netflix romantic tragedy One Day, and before that in mini-series The White Lotus.
He only decided to become an actor nine years ago after watching the period crime drama Peaky Blinders.
Rather than studying sports, he enrolled at the Arts Educational School in Chiswick, West London, where he graduated in 2019 with a BA in acting.
Not only is he starring opposite Renee Zellweger, he will also feature in thriller Prime Target, which drops on Apple TV+ on January 22, and has projects Nomad, Nuremberg and Tuner in the works.
GK BARRY
HAVING been tipped as the next Stacey Dooley, TikTok giant GK Barry could well be fronting some of the nation’s biggest documentaries by the end of the year.
The 25-year-old, real name Grace Eleanor Keeling, super-sized her popularity – and her future pay packet – by appearing on I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here! last month.
Brand experts predict she could earn up to £5million by the end of 2026 thanks to the ITV show, which is a far cry from five years ago when she struggled to make £1,000 a month as a barista.
GK took her Saving Grace podcast on a sold-out UK tour last year, capitalising on her legions of fans.
She has four million TikTok followers and has boosted her popularity further with TV appearances on Love Island: Aftersun, The Wheel, Loose Women and also Big Brother: Late & Live.
The Cambridge-born star got her first acting gig in Netflix drama Missing You, which was released on Wednesday. She also has potential documentaries on the horizon.
CAMILA MORRONE
THE 27-year-old model turned actress will feature in the second series of spy drama The Night Manager.
She replaces Elizabeth Debicki, who was catapulted to worldwide fame after sharing steamy scenes with Tom Hiddleston’s lead character in the BBC One hit’s first outing.
Camila earned acclaim in 2023’s TV drama Daisy Jones & The Six as well as nominations for a Primetime Emmy and Critics’ Choice TV award.
She holds Argentine, American and Italian citizenships, and was also Leonardo DiCaprio’s longest-lasting partner of recent times after dating him for five years until 2022.
Camila, who first made her name as a Victoria’s Secret Angel, Moschino catwalk model and Vogue cover star, is also due to take the main role in Netflix psychological horror series Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen, which is due to drop this year.
DAVID CORENSWET
HE’S the new Man of Steel who has a tough crowd to appease after taking over from Henry Cavill as Superman.
But fans of the DC Comics superhero need not worry, as David, 31, has solid acting credits behind him.
The Pennsylvania-born star graduated from New York acting school Juilliard and has had lead roles in Netflix series The Politician, HBO’s We Own This City and popular romcom The Greatest Hits.
David is also the grandson of Edward Packard, creator of children’s gamebook series Choose Your Own Adventure.
While many will be drooling over him in the upcoming Superman reboot, unfortunately for those fans, he married producer and actress Julia Best Warner in March 2023.
LUCY BOYNTON
HAVING found fame in 2006 biopic Miss Potter, playing title character Beatrix in her younger years, Lucy will now be centre stage in a new ITV four-parter.
The 30-year-old is taking the lead in A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story about the last woman to be hanged in Britain.
Toby Jones, star of Mr Bates Vs the Post Office, plays her solicitor John Bickford.
For years, Lucy has been notching up acting credits including as Freddie Mercury’s love interest in 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody, plus in Barbie, Murder On The Orient Express and Locked Down.
The New Yorker, who grew up in London and dated Rami Malek for six years, is currently filming movie See You When I See You, a comedy drama.
MALACHI KIRBY
PREVIOUSLY best known for appearing in Black Mirror, Roots and Curfew, Malachi could see his career soar stratrospherically this year.
The 35-year-old Londoner will play one of the two main characters in Disney+ series A Thousand Blows, alongside Stephen Graham.
The drama, due for release on February 21, was written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and centres on the violent illegal boxing rings in 1880s Victorian London.
It follows high praise and a Bafta for his powerful portrayal in Mangrove, the first of director Steve McQueen’s Small Axe film anthology, in 2020.
Since then, Malachi has been topping up his CV alongside big names such as Stephen, in drama Boiling Point, and Olivia Colman in Wicked Little Letters.
Now he will finally be taking the spotlight in this new show.
LAUREN LYLE
GLASWEGIAN Lauren could become a household name after getting roles in some of the biggest British TV dramas based on real-life events.
She is about to appear in Netflix’s Toxic Town, a four-parter about the Corby contaminated waste scandal, due out this year.
There is also Lockerbie, a BBC and Netflix production about the 1988 terrorist attack, which is currently filming.
Surprisingly Lauren, who is also due to be in a new series of Outlander, at first planned to pursue a career with the Scottish Young Conservatives before switching to acting.
She earned plaudits as peace protester Jade Antoniak in BBC drama Vigil and as the title character in ITV crime thriller Karen Pirie, which is due to return to TV screens.
Lauren, 31, also won two gongs at the Bafta Scotland Awards in 2023.
RACHEL CHINOURIRI
SHE is due to earn an army of fans after joining Sabrina Carpenter this year on her Short n’ Sweet tour.
The Ivor Novello nominee, 26, from Croydon in South London, has already found fame with hit So My Darling, which went viral on TikTok, and her highly praised debut EP Mama’s Boy.
Not bad for someone who just nine years ago, aged 17, was recording songs on a £20 microphone and uploading them to SoundCloud via her mum’s laptop.
Opening for Sabrina follows a great 2024 when Rachel released debut album What a Devastating Turn of Events and performed at Glastonbury and Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Luton.
ERIN KELLYMAN
SHE is already a Disney favourite, having appeared in its biggest franchises the Marvel Universe, Star Wars and the revamped Willow TV series.
Now the 26-year-old from Tamworth is due to infiltrate another onscreen giant when she appears in producer Danny Boyle’s zombie film 28 Years Later, in June.
Top Boy star Erin, who played Pebbles in the London crime flick, has also wrapped filming on Eleanor The Great, which is Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut and will be hotly watched.
These will be crowning moments for the actress, who got her first break in Caitlyn Moran’s Channel 4 sitcom Raised By Wolves.
CHARLEY MARLOWE
PREVIOUSLY famed for hilarious commentary over TikTok videos, Charley Marlowe could finally find it’s her time to shine in 2025.
She describes herself as “an incredibly gay and talented presenter”, and earned hundreds of thousands of views for her POVs, Days in the Life and comedy skits on social media.
Last year Charley took over as the narrator for BBC Three dating show I Kissed A Girl, which is presented by Dannii Minogue and matches up ten single women.
The Liverpudlian has been a red carpet regular and amuses fans with her videos from it.
Now it appears she is moving into the mainstream after appearing on shows like Celebrity Mastermind.
LISA
THAI rapper Lisa is part of the wildly successful South Korean girl group Blackpink and is predicted to have an extremely fruitful 2025.
The 27-year-old, born Pranpriya Manobal, is due to make her acting debut in the next series of HBO hit The White Lotus, which will earn her even more fans and could set her up for a major career change.
The music powerhouse has broken nine Guinness World Records including most-viewed video by a solo artist in 24 hours with 73.6million hits of her song Lalisa on YouTube.
It knocked Taylor Swift’s video Me! off the top spot.
Her 2021 debut album, also called Lalisa, sold 736,000 copies in its first week – the most ever achieved by a female artist in South Korea.
Other milestones include being the most- followed K-pop soloist on Instagram and Spotify, which led to her being named a cultural ambassador by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture.