20 Stars Who Weren't Even Born When Empire Started

As Empire celebrates our 20th birthday, we look back at the movie stars who have not only started their careers since our debut, but who weren't even born when our first issue hit the shelves. It's either depressing or inspring, we're not sure which...

20
Will Poulter
You know him from: Son Of Rambow.
Why's he good? He provided many of the laughs as tearaway Lee Carter in Garth Jennings' Son of Rambow. While he may not be quite as cute as Bill Milner, he has the range of facial expressions that give him the comedy edge.
Will he have an adult career? He is up next in The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader as Eustace, the dour cousin of Lucy and Edmund Pevensie, which is a good first step. It's early days to predict anything more, however.

19
Emma Watson
You know her from: HP Alumnus, Ballet Shoes.
Why's she good? Having grown up on the big screen as struggling muggle-born Hermione Granger, Watson has shouldered immense pressure to come out smelling of roses. Now she has started to make a niche for herself outside of the franchise with a leaning towards costume dramas and a rumoured leading role in Napoleon and Betsey.
Will she have an adult career? Will she want one? Judging by her sickeningly good exam results and place at Cambridge, she may crave something a bit more challenging.


18
Kristen Stewart
You know her from: Panic Room, Into The Wild, Twilight.
Why's she good? She's a good indie actress, having made her name in a succession of incredibly hip films from Panic Room to Undertow to the upcoming Adventureland, via occasional bigger outings in Zathura, Jumper and of course Twilight.
Will she have an adult career? Twilight will keep her busy for a few years to come, and the fact that she's lined up a turn as Joan Jett next suggests that she's anxious to keep mixing it up. Assuming she doesn't get bored with the business and give up, we expect to see her around for years to come.


17
Rory Culkin
You know him from: Little brother of child megastar Macaulay, Igby Goes Down and Signs.
Why's he good? Specialising in off-kilter indie flicks such as Igby, The Chumscrubber and his next offering Lymelife, Culkin has nailed a succession of roles as wry, slightly reserved losers.
Will he have an adult career? Hard to say. At the moment he seems much more likely to stay in the limelight than once-massive older brother Macaulay, certainly, but whether he can transition to fully adult roles remains to be seen.


16
Josh Hutcherson
You know him from: Oddly named adventure films Zathura and Bridge To Terabithia.
Why's he good? Hutcherson has an impressive ability (for a child actor) to dial his tone up or down according to the material, underplaying in Terabithia but going much broader opposite Brendan Fraser in Journey To The Centre Of The Earth.
Will he have an adult career? He is set to make another Journey to the Centre of the Earth and has the rather starry Cirque du Freak out soon, so it's looking good so far. But it's his turn in Little Manhattan that really gives us hope: this guy has some serious comedy chops.

15
Annasophia Robb
You know her from: Because of Winn-Dixie, Bridge To Terabithia and Race To Witch Mountain.
Why's she good? She is the gorgeous all-American teen that studios are clambering to lay claim to - her detached performance as Sara in Witch Mountain showed us she can act and she's set to star alongside Abigail Breslin in '60s road trip rite of passage movie Dear Eleanor later this year.
Will she have an adult career? AnnaSophia runs the risk of becoming a generic pretty blonde actress who could fade into obscurity. That said, it only takes one good role to make a star: maybe she should follow Panettiere's example and try playing a cheerleader?


14
Freddie Highmore
You know him from: Finding Neverland, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The Spiderwick Chronicles.
Why's he good? In his slightly younger days he was utterly adorable (we're sure he's much tougher now) but was never precocious or annoying; just one of the most able and convincing child actors around.
Will he have an adult career? He is probably the highest profile of the new crop of child actors hailing from this side of the pond. It remains to be seen how he'll grow, but we suspect that ability like that doesn't just vanish.

13
Abigail Breslin
You know her from: Little Miss Sunshine, Definitely Maybe, Nim's Island.
Why's she good? Flying in the face of ubiquitous cutesy tweens in Hollywood's kiddie-casting ball-pool, Breslin's offbeat beauty pageant wannabe was a breath of fresh air amid her blonder rivals.
Will she have an adult career? It's looking good for Abigail, thanks to her large body of work in indie fare as well as mainstream blockbusters. If not, though, we hope she'll consider a career in dance - those Little Miss Sunshine moves should not be wasted.

12
Saoirse Ronan
You know her from: Dobbing in James McAvoy in Atonement, running from Bill Murray in City of Ember, Peter Jackson's upcoming Lovely Bones.
Why's she good? This blue eyed waif has a striking screen presence which earned her an Oscar nod at the tender age of thirteen. And she's only getting better from what we've seen of Lovely Bones.
Will she have an adult career? Almost certainly. Peter Jackson has compared her to a young Cate Blanchett (who her dad starred alongside in Veronica Guerin) and predicted big things for the future of the young actress. High praise indeed from the man who discovered Kate Winslet.

11
Bill Milner
You know him from: Son Of Rambow, Is Anybody There?
Why's he good? He is ultra cute and, like Freddie Highmore, can cash in on his youthful looks to play convincing child characters without seeming precocious.
Will he have an adult career? Hold fire on the predictions until his voice breaks and we see how he matures - hopefully he won't suffer the same fate as Jonathan Lipnicki. Luckily though he has just starred alongside the legend that is Sir Michael Caine and has no doubt picked up some tips.

10
Rupert Grint
You know him from: Driving Lessons. And there was that little role in Harry Potter.
Why's he good? He's supported Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter through thick and thin, and has a likeable everyman quality which should allow him to avoid typecasting.
Will he have an adult career? Well, so far out of the HP triumvirate Grint has the most solo-projects under his belt. That said, he is ginger, and anti-redhead sentiment remains the last socially acceptable prejudice, so he'll have to keep working at it.


9
Emma Roberts
You know her from: Wild Child, Nancy Drew, Hotel For Dogs.
Why's she good? Taking her acting credentials from Aunt Julia - rather than dad Eric - Emma is everything a young Hollywood starlet should be, pretty, witty and wise. Her ear to ear smile is pure Julia too.
Will she have an adult career? Hard to tell yet if she'll manage that difficult transition from starlet to star, but it helps that she's gorgeous. All she needs is a movie about a hooker with a heart of gold and she's set.


8
Hayden Panettiere
You know her from: Heroes, Racing Stripes, The Ice Princess.
Why's she good? Former child actress Hayden Panettiere came to the attention of a wider audience when she was the cheerleader everyone was trying to save in order to save the world in Heroes. The boys seem to like her too, just a bit. Maybe it's the cheerleader's uniform.
Will she have an adult career? Hard to tell at this stage if she'll break out post-Heroes, but if she doesn't her animal-rescue activities mean that she could become another Brigitte Bardot. Without the controversy though, ideally.


7
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
You know him from: As mono-monikered Hawaiian ID holder McLovin' in Superbad, Role Models.
Why's he good? His nerdy comic little-brother persona is an interesting break from the swathe of Michael Cera everyboys on the comedy scene right now.
Will he have an adult career? He is still playing on his youth, which is a worry, but he is guaranteed to never be average so should be able to continue in comedy indefinitely. With comic timing that good, and an upcoming part in Kick-Ass to cement his popularity, he should be around for some time yet.

6
Thomas Turgoose
You know him from: This Is England, Somers Town, Eden Lake.
Why's he good? He was picked from his salt-of-the-earth comprehensive over copious drama school drones for his turn as the disaffected child turned skinhead gang member Shaun for This Is England. He seems to have the swagger of a young Ray Winstone and is certainly a wake up call to casting agents looking for a Brit teen.
Will he have an adult career? As a Shane Meadows favourite, Turgoose could take careers cues from Paddy Considine and mix well respected Brit dramas and supporting parts in big budget blockbusters. We can see him being another Jackie Earle Haley in character roles.

5
Taylor Lautner
You know him from: Robert Rodriguez's The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl 3-D and more recently Twilight. Eeeeek!
Why's he good? His dedication to everything he put his mind to has allowed him to become a successful child actor and first choice for the swarthy shape-shifting other wolf-man in Bella Swan's life for the Twilight franchise.
Will he have an adult career? Well, he's sewn up with Twilight adaptations for the next three years, barring accidents, and even if it all goes south after that he's got a lifetime of conventions he could choose to attend. But we hope he has a wider career - he's a thoroughly nice guy.


4
Dev Patel
You know him from: Skins actor turned left-field name-on-everyone's-lips since Slumdog Millionaire.
Why's he good? He may be a lanky kid from the London 'burbs, but Dev Patel's eternal optimism and willingness to try new things catapulted him to leading-man status in Danny Boyle's Oscar-sweeping Slumdog Millionaire. Next up: working with Shyamalan on The Last Airbender.
Will he have an adult career? We very much hope so. He's young, British, has an Oscar winning film under his belt and can do kung-fu, what more could casting agents want? Plus there is a serious shortage of Asian talent in Hollywood, and Patel could change that.


3
Dakota Fanning
You know her from: Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, Coraline, Push, her TV roles in Taken and Friends.
Why's she good? She may be so precocious it's scary, but Fanning is also a very talented actress, and one who's worked with everybody.
Will she have an adult career? We're thinking yes: she did a good disaffected teen turn in Push, she's growing up rather beautiful (which never hurt a career) and she looks set to pull a Jodie Foster and transform into an Oscar-winning butterfly rather than pulling a Donnie Smith and disappearing.


2
Miley Cyrus
You know her from: Her massively successful pop career and Hannah Montana movies.
Why's she good? Well, she's popular anyway, massively so with the tweenies who comprise her audience. And she's already caused a few tabloid storms - not bad for a 16 year-old.
Will she have an adult career? Again, it doesn't matter financially, but given her current levels of fame and popularity it would take a Lohan-style implosion to slow her momentum. And the last time a child star was this popular, she was Shirley Temple and grew up to be a UN Ambassador. So we can see Cyrus going into politics, much as we'd prefer not to.


1
Daniel Radcliffe
You know him from: A little series called Harry Potter; December Boys.
Why's he good? Because he brought one of the world's most popular characters to life over five movies (to date) and has largely been acclaimed for his efforts.
Will he have an adult career? Well, if he doesn't he'll still never have to worry about money, which is something, but the endlessly curious Radcliffe has barely gotten started on an adult career. His decisions outside of Potter - TV drama like My Boy Jack, his stage turn in Equus - suggest that he's not one to be typecast, and will be pushing boundaries for some time to come.


source. you can see the rest of the pics at the source if you want.