For every established Hollywood megastar
making their way to Netflix, there are countless stars
who made their debut in Netflix shows and films.
Some burst out of nowhere.
Others made the jump from songs to screen
and others became cult icons overnight.
So here are eight actors
whose careers started on Netflix.
If we're talking about stars
who got their big break on Netflix,
and we are, then why not start
with the breakout to end all breakouts?
Yes, the mighty Shannon Purser
as the equally mighty Barb in Stranger Things.
When the show launched, it took the world by storm
with its paranormal adventures
and rad '80s style.
With it came an outpouring of love for Barbara Holland…
When alpha particles go through gold foil,
-they become? -Unoccupied space.
…best friend of Nancy Wheeler
and soon-to-be monster chow for the Demogorgon,
Barb, we hardly knew you.
But your epic glasses and mum jeans combo
made quite the impression.
Hashtag #JusticeForBarb trended on Twitter,
and Shannon Purser was nominated
for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
at the 2017 Emmys.
Not bad for your first TV role.
And while Barb never got her happy ending in Hawkins…
Shannon's life is going much better.
She took the title role in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser,
a Netflix remake of Cyrano,
and can be seen in Riverdale as Ethel Muggs.
We just hope Ethel doesn't hang out
by any spooky swimming pools.
It doesn't tend to end well for her.
As the breakout hit of 2021,
Squid Game made international superstars
of its entire cast,
but amongst them was another first-time face.
HoYeon Jung plays Kang Sae-byeok,
the North Korean defector battling to win the money
needed to smuggle her parents into the country.
It was a bold star-making turn
and all the more impressive
for being HoYeon's first acting role.
And not just that,
HoYeon later revealed that Squid Game
was the first script for her first audition.
Actors don't get much fresher than that.
OK, so she's also been
an award-winning model for 10 years,
even competing in Korea's Next Top Model in 2013,
but this is a very different kind of performance.
HoYeon does amazing stuff with the part
and she transforms from angry outsider
to a more trusting partner.
She said she prepared for the part
by watching documentaries about defectors
and talking with real defectors to perfect
her northern Hamgyŏng province dialect.
Though, true to her character,
you only hear it when she gets angry
or is talking with her brother.
Mum and Dad are going to come.
I'll make sure they do.
It's this level of detail that tells us
that HoYeon is one to watch.
Moordale Secondary School in Sex Education
may be an unconventional institution,
but there's no questioning the talent of its alumni.
From the fabulous Ncuti Gawa
to Aimee Lou Wood's ditzy Aimee,
the show is bulging with upcoming stars.
While many of the cast
had smaller roles on stage or on screen
before joining the show,
you might be surprised to find out
this was Emma Mackey's first major part,
especially given the brassy confidence
of her character Maeve.
You look like a Wotsit.
Nice hat.
Emma was so new to acting
that she didn't have formal headshots
when auditioning for the part,
winning the casting director by turning up in character
and playing with chewing gum through the audition.
That same attitude dazzles on screen
as we navigate the turmoil of the "Will they,
Won't they?" chemistry
with Asa Butterfield's Otis.
She isn't the only cast member
making their screen debut in Sex Education.
Others include George Robinson
as the artistic Isaac,
Chinenye Ezeudu as the school's brainbox Viv,
and in the most recent series
Dua Saleh as Cal, Jackson's new partner in crime.
We getting high in Minneapolis, baby!
Taking on any role is daunting,
but taking on the lead role in a fantasy epic
with legions of passionate fans
takes that to the next level.
But that's exactly what Jessie Mei Li did
when she stepped into the shoes of Alina Starkov
in Shadow and Bone.
Based on the hit Grishaverse novels by Leigh Bardugo,
the series charts the adventures of Alina
as she unleashes
her previously untapped magical abilities.
Your first words to me were, "What are you?"
This is what I am.
Jessie had starred on the London stage
and in short films before being cast,
but says her love of dark fantasy and fairy tales
and respect for showrunner
Eric Heisserer's previous work
made this a special edition for her.
That enthusiasm obviously shone through.
When the books' author, Leigh Bardugo,
was viewing audition tapes, she didn't watch any more
as soon as she got to Jessie's.
And so it is that her breakout screen roll
was in one of the biggest Netflix shows of 2021,
and with it a second season now in production.
Loosely based on comedian Mindy Kaling's childhood,
Never Have I Ever is not just a welcome burst
of South Asian representation on TV,
but a brilliantly funny and warm comedy
in its own right.
If I had your body, I'd treat it right too.
I'm so sorry, that was such a weird thing to say.
Much of this rests
on Maitreyi Ramakrishnan's turn as Devi,
which makes it all the more astonishing
that she was a total unknown before being cast.
Responding to an open casting call on Twitter,
Tamil-Canadian star Maitreyi recorded her audition tape
in her local library with a friend
and was eventually chosen from 15,000 applications
to play the part.
We fell head over heels for her charming debut,
and we're not the only ones.
In 2021, she was named by Time magazine
as one of the 100 most influential people,
and that popularity has seen her cast
in The Netherfield Girls for Netflix,
a fresh contemporary take on Pride and Prejudice,
where Maitreyi takes the lead role of Lizzie Bennet.
The film and Season 3 of Never Have I Ever
are both heading to Netflix,
so expect plenty more Maitreyi to come.
Later, skater!
What?
If you're anything like us,
you binged the first series of Young Royals
in a single day,
hooked on the budding romance
between Prince Wilhelm of Sweden
and working-class student Simon Erikson
played by Omar Rudberg.
If you think that onscreen chemistry
comes from years of actorly experience, guess again.
Outside of his music videos,
Young Royals is Omar's first acting role.
The Venezuelan-Swedish star
is better known for his music career.
He took part in Sweden's Got Talent in 2010
and enjoyed a stint in the boy band FO&O,
where he almost represented Sweden
in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Going solo in 2018, Omar saw further chart success,
which explains that
lovely singing voice in Young Royals.
Who couldn't swoon at the choir's rendition
of It Takes a Fool to Remain Sane?
He may not have made it to Eurovision,
but it's douze points from us.
And you can expect more Omar
when Young Royals returns for a second season.
Now, you may have heard of Addison Rae
before seeing her acting debut
in He's All That.
Perhaps you're one of her 86.1 million followers
on TikTok, where the social media superstar rose to fame
grooving around her living room.
Not bad considering she only started posting vids
in July 2019.
In 2021, she branched out
with her debut single Obsessed in March
and her first acting role in Netflix
gender-swap remake of She's All That.
Where in the original, Freddie Prinze Jr.
tried to transform Rachael Leigh Cook's dorky Laney,
the new version sees Addison's popular Padgett
attempt to turn Cobra Kai's Tanner Buchanan
from antisocial misfit to prom king.
The film's bubbly energy won over a legion of new fans
and led to Addison signing up to make more films
with Netflix in the future.
So, you saw her here first
and you will see her again soon.
This will be me proving that, once again,
I can take anything or anyone
and make them popular.
South African drama Blood & Water
was the first original African programme
to hit the number one spot on Netflix in the US.
It definitely got its hooks into us
as schoolgirl Puleng infiltrates an elite school,
where she suspects another student, Fikile,
of being her long-lost sister.
Puleng is played by Ama Qamata,
who made her Netflix debut alongside a recurring role
on South African soap Gomora,
while Fikile is played by Khosi Ngema
in her first acting role.
Are you trying to find some painful childhood secret?
Things could have been different.
Khosi actually auditioned for Puleng
before being called back to try out for Fikile.
But while we can't imagine the duo
being played by anyone else,
watching the pair navigate their tricky relationship
is compulsive stuff.
It even won Best TV Drama
at the 2021 South African Film and Television Awards.
We can't wait to see what comes next for our stars.
Those are just some of the stars seen first on Netflix.
Why not let us know any of your favourite discoveries
in the comments?
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