From actor Kelvin Harrison, Jr. dominating the indie film festival circuit with four films, to the stars of FX’s Pose making history for trans actors, Black stars made their on-screen moments count in 2018.

>With major projects premiering in 2019, here are 10 breakout stars to watch next year:


Jonathan Majors


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On the rise for the past few years with roles in Hostiles and White Boy Rick, Majors will headline HBO’s Lovecraft Country from Jordan Peele, J.J. Abrams and Misha Green, and will also star in three 2019 films — Captive State, Gully and The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Dominique Fishback


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Fishback has stunned on the small screen with HBO’s The Deuce, made her film debut with the indie hit Night Comes On and appeared in the critically-acclaimed The Hate U Give. In 2019 she takes the lead in an untitled Netflix sci-fi project with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jamie Foxx.

Chance Perdomo


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The British newcomer dazzled audiences in his starring role as Ambrose Spellman in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Season 2 of the series premieres in April 2019 and he’s sure to be in-demand for a big-screen film role as well.

Lamar Johnson


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Appearing in The Hate U Give this year, the Canadian actor has three films out in 2019: Native Son, All the Bright Places and his undisclosed role in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. 

Lovie Simone


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The Greenleaf star is set for a major film break, toplining the upcoming film Selah and the Spades with Jharrel Jerome, Jesse Williams and Gina Torres and she’ll also appear in the film Share. She also has a role in the film adaptation of Monster, which has not been released yet.

RJ Walker


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After stealing scenes with Brian Tyree Henry and Donald Glover in Atlanta, the actor will appear next in the Lena Waithe and Halle Berry-produced Boomerang series set at BET, as well as the Netflix film Wine Country with Maya Rudolph.

Jodie Turner-Smith


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After debuting in the George R.R. Martin Syfy series, Nightflyers, this year, she’s starring in the lead role opposite Daniel Kaluuya in the Lena Waithe-penned and Melina-directed film, Queen & Slim. 

Steven Silver


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The 13 Reasons Why actor is toplining the Ali LeRoi-helmed police brutality drama, The Obituary of Tunde Johnsonand is also appearing in All the Little Things We Kill. 

Zackary Momoh


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After starring in Netflix’s Seven Seconds alongside Regina King and Russell Hornsby, he’s set for a big moment in the next couple of years with roles opposite Cynthia Erivo in the Harriet Tubman biopic Harriet  at Focus Features and Ewan McGregor in The Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep.
Ella Balinska

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The relative British newcomer is headlining the upcoming Charlie’s Angels reboot with Kristen Stewart and Naomi Scott.
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