At this point, trying to pin down the official start of awards season is basically a fool’s errand. As soon as the Academy hands out the final trophies of the year, A-listers are already making arrangements to get to Sundance and SXSW to promote their next project. But if there’s one thing we can agree on, it’s that nothing sets the tone for the upcoming awards season quite like the Cannes Film Festival.

The 2026 Cannes Film Festival kicked off on May 12 with familiar faces like Demi Moore, Jane Fonda, Gillian Anderson, and Heidi Klum all ascending up the famous staircase for another year of South-of-France-glamour and unnecessarily long standing ovations. By the time the festival concludes on May 23, we’ll probably have a few Best Picture frontrunners, as well as a suite of fresh new talent to keep on your radar. Being the film obsessives that we are, team NYLON has been scouring through the IMDb pages of all the films on Cannes’ 2026 lineup, and through this research, we managed to pick out 12 of the most promising young actors worth investing your 2026 awards season stock into. So when you start seeing these newcomers everywhere this winter, remember where you heard their names first.

Havana Rose Liu

Havana Rose Liu is having a big week: not only was she just crowned NYLON’s May It Girl, but she’s also set to make her Cannes debut with her new film Her Private Hell, a futuristic thriller that follows a young girl’s journey to find her missing father. You’ve probably already seen Liu in projects like Bottoms and Oh. What. Fun., but now that Her Private Hell is premiering at the same time as her other new film, Tuner, it’s safe to assume the 28-year-old’s breakout moment is just around the corner.

Sophie Thatcher

Another former NYLON It Girl who will be sharing the silver screen alongside Liu is Sophie Thatcher. Thatcher will be toplining Her Private Hell as Elle, after previously starring in Yellowjackets, MaXXXine, and Heretic.

Kristine Froseth

Whoever did the casting for Her Private Hell should give themselves a pat on the back. Kristine Froseth has been acting since 2016 (and even shared the Off-Broadway stage with Liu back in 2025), but don’t be surprised if (read: when) a premiere at Cannes and a killer press tour sends the Buccaneers star’s career into the stratosphere.

Aoi Yamada

Rounding out the cast of Her Private Hell is Aoi Yamada, a 25-year-old Japanese dancer-turned-actress who previously appeared in the 2023 film Perfect Days, directed by Wim Wenders.

Milena Smit

29-year-old Spanish actress Milena Smit only has seven film acting credits to her name — two of which have been directed by Pedro Almodóvar. She first worked with Almodóvar on 2021’s Parallel Mothers, and now the two have teamed up again for Amarga Navidad, or Bitter Christmas.

Guitarricadelafuente

You might know him as a musician, but soon you’ll know Spanish singer-songwriter Guitarricadelafuente as an actor, too. The 28-year-old is set to make his acting debut in the new film, La Bola Negra (or The Black Ball), which he’ll star in alongside legends like Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close.

Lorenzo Zurzolo

Also starring in La Bola Negra is Italian actor Lorenzo Zurzolo. The 26-year-old has appeared in his fair share of Italian film and TV projects, but considering his new film will be competing for this year’s Palme d’Or, it stands to reason that Zurzolo could become an international superstar by the end of 2026.

Hugo Welzel

La Bola Negra will mark Spanish-born Hugo Welzel’s second feature film, following the release of 2025’s Enemigos. Though he was born in 2004, the internet seems to be split on his exact age — in other words, he’s the textbook definition of an up-and-coming actor.

Yenesi

In case you weren’t already sold on the potential starmaker that is La Bola Negra, the film is also set to star Yenesi, a 25-year-old non-binary Spanish singer and drag performer. Need we say more?

Amanda Fix

Jane Schoenbrun’s new film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma stars a suite of established actors (Hannah Einbinder, Gillian Anderson, Eva Victor, Sarah Sherman, the list goes on), but we’ve got our attention on Canadian actress Amanda Fix. The 24-year-old starred in the Netflix horror miniseries Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen earlier this year, which will probably pair nicely as a double feature with this slasher film.

Arthur Conti

22-year-old British actor Arthur Conti is also set to appear in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, after making his feature debut in the 2024 film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Quintessa Swindell

29-year-old Quintessa Swindell made their acting debut in 2019 on a little show named Euphoria, and went on to star in projects like Voyagers and Black Adam before landing a role in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.