The Next Generation of Canadian Stars (We’re Super Excited About)
We’re pretty wedded to our Canadian stars of the nineties, and even our Canadian stars who were young and emerging actors in the nineties. But time moves on and we’re so thrilled about this next round of young talent we’re exporting to the rest of the world.
Iman Vellani
Set to star as Kamala Khan in the new Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, nineteen-year-old Iman Vellani is from Markham, Ontario. Ms. Marvel follows the adventures of Kamala Khan, a Muslim superhero from New Jersey who balances her time fighting bad guys, maintaining her grades at a special science-based high school, being good to her friends, and occasionally moonlighting with the Avengers. You can see Vellani in late 2021, when Ms. Marvel debuts, and then again in 2022 when she will appear in Captain Marvel 2.
Joel Oulette
Joel Oulette, who is Cumberland House Cree and Red River Métis, has been acting since he was five years old. Born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Oulette is best known for his leading role in the CBC series Trickster, but he also recently starred in Monkey Beach, a film based on a different Eden Robinson book. Just eighteen, Oulette will next be seen in the thriller Abducted, set to be released this year.
Darren Mann
This Vancouverite has been on IMDB since he was a child actor, perhaps thanks to his professional actress/director mother. After a stint pursuing professional hockey, he’s back to acting. Best known for appearing in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, he’s also on the new TV series Fortunate Son.
Anna Cathcart
Cathcart is an incredibly prolific actress, starring in TV shows like Odd Squad and films like the Descendants series and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Actually, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before just saw its third title released at the beginning of February. We bet Cathcart has a few more years of teen rom-coms left in her because she’s just seventeen.
Rebecca Liddiard
Liddiard won many acclaims for her roles in period dramas such as Alias Grace and Houdini & Doyle. Her next film, A Million Little Cuts, is something of a departure from historical dramas. It follows Liddiard as she wakes up in a hospital and engages in a battle of wits with a staff that won’t let her leave.
Simu Liu
You’ve probably seen Simu Liu on CBC in Kim’s Convenience. Well, the rest of the world will get to see just how talented this Torontonian is when he stars in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, coming from Marvel this summer. Shang-Chi is a bullet-dodging martial artist who fights the terrorist organization the Ten Rings. When it was announced he got the role, Simu Liu celebrated by giving away 500 tickets to a screening of The Farewell (which stars Awkwafina, his Ten Rings co-star). That’s a classy move.
