Zoe Kravitz
Zoe Kravitz is an indie/hipster chick (I didn’t even know “indie” was a term on Urban dictionary. I was just calling her self-made.). She embodies the lifestyle of someone that can float between different genres and styles; can do or be anything. The big budget action blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road and the independent coming of age tale Dope made me pay attention to her skills last year, but I have a chance to see more of her past work as she has so many independent films she’s done that are luckily on Netflix.
Viena and the Fantomes, Adam Green’s Aladdin, The Divergent Series: Allegiant on March 18th (How many of those movies are there in total?), and the long delayed Vincent N Roxxy.
Tessa Thompson
Ever since Dear White People, I smile every time I see Tessa Thompson appear in a film. I say to myself, “Tessa going to make everything alright”. If your introduction to Thompson was the rebellious leader, Sam White from DWP, you would understand. Whether it was portraying Civil Rights activist Diane Nash in Selma or the challenging/complex Bianca in Creed, her characters are intricate to the plot and hold attention on the films.
Tessa can be seen in the upcoming projects: Westworld the HBO series and the films Salt Water and War On Everyone this year.
Teyonah Parris
It’s something about Teyonah Paris. Her character in Dear White People wasn’t supposed to be likable, but when it came to the end of the film, I wanted to see her character have a better ending. Her leading role in Chiraq SAVED the movie from getting a zero star review from me. Putting the majority of the film on her was Spike Lee’s best decision when it came to this joint. I kind of want to give Survivor’s Remorse on Starz a second chance just because of her.
On June 1st, we will see her as R&B singer, Miki Howard, in The Miki Howard Story on TVOne.
Gugu Mbatha Raw
WATCH BEYOND THE LIGHTS! NETFLIX! ON DEMAND! WHEREVER YOU CAN FIND IT! I don’t need to say anything else but that to tell you why this actress makes my list.(Love that movie) I kind of wanted to see Concussion just because of her. (The plot didn’t interest me enough). I hope to see her in a leading role, besides as a love interest. I know that Belle gets a lot of love and she’s the titular character, but I’m not into period pieces or anything that takes place before the 1900’s.
Free State of Jones will be in theater on May 16. (Am I the only one that thinks its weird that Gugu Mbatha Raw and her Beyond The Lights co star, Nate Parker (Birth of a Nation) are both going to be in slave movies this year?) Drama/Thriller, The Whole Truth will be released this year and the Beauty and The Beast remake will arrive in 2017.