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 You might not know who he is now, but give him time. This 18-year-old landed the plum role of Eragon in the film of the same name, beating out thousands of other actors to play a boy who finds a dragon's egg and becomes a magical hero. In  fact,
the whole film was almost scrapped when producers couldn't find a lead
actor they liked. Cue Speleers, a school kid with a bit of theatre
experience who thought it might be fun to audition. Smart move (he's even
signed up for two sequels). Now this soccer fan, who also likes to play
the saxophone, is preparing for his big debut. "My job isn't about
pursuing fame and then becoming an actor," he says. "It's about
becoming an actor and if fame follows suit, that's fine. |
  Dakota Fanning won't be officially a teenager until February (the 23rd to be exact) but she is already earning $3 million a picture. Sure, that's a lot, a whole lot, but when you figure that Fanning's movies bring in more money than any other Hollywood actress including Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon, you have to believe it is money well spent. Fanning first got noticed with her role in I Am Sam opposite Sean Penn. Since then she has appeared in blockbusters like War of the Worlds to family films like The Cat in the Hat. Next up is the live-action version of Charlotte's Web and well, her teen years. |
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 From starring as a terminally-ill lover in A Walk to Remember to a singing diva in American Dreamz, Mandy Moore has proven she is more than just another singer turned actress. Once a  pop princess in the mould of Britney and Jessica,
Moore is now better known for her movie roles than her one top 25 single
"I Wanna Be With You," especially those showcasing a mean steak
(The Princess Diaries, Saved!). Next up for Moore is the comedy Because I Said So, playing a woman whose mom tries to find her a normal guy. In real life, her search for the perfect guy continues. She recently split with her boyfriend of more than a year, Zach Braff (Scrubs). |
 
As a four-year-old,
Tyler James Williams thought he had it made. Why? His first acting gig was
on Sesame Street opposite his fave stars Elmo and Big Bird. Fast
forward 10 years and Williams is now a seasoned pro having done a couple
of seasons on the sitcom Everyone Hates Chris, playing a young
Chris Rock. "I never decided to become an actor. It just came to me," says Williams. A big basketball fan, the New Yorker landed a major role in the comedy Unaccompanied Minors opposite Wilmer Valderrama playing Charlie, one of a bunch of kids left stranded at an airport during the holidays. |
  Willa Holland was born into a family who worked in the Hollywood industry. After a day playing at Steven Spielberg's home, Spielberg told her mother "You've got to put her in front of a camera!" Holland started her career with the Ford Modeling Agency. She began working immediately, landing her first job with Burberry of London and has since modeled for Guess, Gap, Abercombie & Fitch and Ralph Lauren. In 1999, her stepfather, director Brian De Palma (Mission: Impossible) took Holland to a theatrical talent agency where she was signed for commercial work. Currently, she stars as Kaitlin Cooper on The O.C. and has filmed two movies, Garden Party and Chasing 3000. |
  This 21-year-old has been in the acting game a long time. Despite appearances in more than 100 commercials and a couple of spunky kid flicks including Harriet the Spy, Trachtenberg became a star with her role as Dawn Summers, Buffy's demon-fighting younger sister on TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Following in the footsteps of her Buffy co-star and horror film scream queen, Sarah Michelle Geller, Trachtenberg's next project is the thriller Black Christmas in which she plays a sorority girl being stalked by a psycho killer. "When you grow up on film, people sometimes have difficulties accepting the fact that you are growing up," said Trachtenberg. As for her love life, she is dating Canadian and X-Men star, Shawn Ashmore. |
  You might recognize this 20-year-old actress from her roles in Click or When a Stranger Calls, but Katie Cassidy's biggest claim to fame is that she was cast as Lucy Ewing in the big-screen remake of Dallas, a role both Jessica Simpson and Kristin Cavelleri desperately wanted. Quite a score indeed. But then again, this actress is busy making a name for herself based on her own work (including the upcoming Black Christmas) and not her famous last name. (Her dad is '70s teen idol David Cassidy -- just ask a parent, they'll fill you in.) "People ask if my last name helps. Yes. But then again, at the end of the day I still have to go in there and audition like everybody else. They're not going to hire you if you suck," she said. |
  Taylor Kitsch has become a bonafide hottie since landing the role in the TV series Friday Night Lights. The 25-year-old got his big break after he returned to Canada (he was born in Kelowna, B.C.) by landing roles in Snakes on a Plane, starring Samuel L. Jackson and John Tucker Must Die, starring Jesse Metcalfe. He also starred in the fall flick The Covenant alongside Sebastian Stan. |
 If you've recently seen the horror flick The Covenant, you'll already be familiar with rising star Sebastian Stan. Stan, 23, admitted he landed the part of Chase Collins in the film after making his own audition tape in his apartment in New York. Stan, who continues to pursue his fledging movie career, has already been in The Architect, Red Doors, Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding and will star in the upcoming film The Education of Charlie Banks along with Eva Amurri, Susan Sarandon's daughter in 2007.  |
  Hayden Panettiere, 17,
started her career at the age of 11 months, starring in several
commercials. Before hitting the big screen, Panettiere did stints on TV
shows including One Life to Live, Guiding Light and Ally
McBeal.Her major film debut was opposite Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans and has since starred in Raising Helen with Kate Hudson, Racing Stripes, Ice Princess and Bring it On: All or Nothing. She also landed a major cosmetic contract with Neutrogena, following in the footsteps of Mischa Barton and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Currently, she dates Stephen Colleti of Laguna Beach fame and is busy starring as invincible cheerleader Claire Bennet on the hit TV series Heroes. |
  After appearing on-stage in several musicals, Zac Efron started landing several parts on television including ER and the defunct Summerland. His biggest claim to fame was his starring role in the US hit High School Musical. A song he recorded with fellow co-star Vanessa Anne Hudges, "Break Free" made the fastest climb in history on the Billboard music chart jumping from 86 to 4 in one week. The 19-year-old California native is currently filming the musical Hairspray in Toronto and is sure to gain an even bigger fan base. On his rising fame Efron says: "The fans make the person a star. I'd be nowhere if no one watched my stuff. I'm very grateful to the fans, it's great to have people appreciate what you do on the screen." |
  "I feel like you have to be who you are and be true to yourself first, always. You can't worry about how you're going to be perceived by other people. I have a quote that my mom taught me: 'It's none of my business what other people think of me,'" says Rachel Bilson about her career. She made appearances in episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, and in the short film, Unbroken. Bilson was then cast in The O.C., which debuted in 2003 becoming her claim to fame. Bilson's first film role was The Last Kiss, a romantic comedy/drama co-starring Zach Braff and she will appear on the big screen next in Jumper opposite Hayden Christensen. She is currently dating her O.C. co-star Adam Brody. |
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