Ones to Watch 2023: Leading Young Black Men in Hollywood

In the last 10 years, a new wave of millennial Black actors have been rising up the ranks on their way to achieving icon status. From film to television to award-winning performances on Broadway, these actors' limitations know no bounds.

Check out our list of young Black men in Hollywood representing the next generation that you should look out for.

Algee Smith

In 2017, Algee Smith had his breakthrough role as New Edition lead singer Ralph Tresvant in BET’s The New Edition Story biopic television miniseries. The following year, Smith was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for his role in the biopic. He later starred in Detroit and the Oscar-nominated film Judas and the Black Messiah. Smith has also been currently starring in HBO’s hit series Euphoria.

Keith Powers

Like Smith, Keith Powers also starred in BET’s The New Edition Story biopic television series in which he portrayed Ronnie Devoe. Powers has also starred in Straight Outta Compton and the Netflix series What/If. He is set to appear in the upcoming film The Perfect Find.

Jeremy Pope

Since breaking onto the scene with Tony Award-nominated roles in the Broadway plays Choir Boy and Ain’t Too Proud, Jeremy Pope has delivered on both the big and small screen with roles in award-winning films including One Night in Miami and Netflix’s Hollywood miniseries. Pope recently returned to his stage roots of Broadway as the late artist Jean Michel Basquiat in the play The Collaboration.

Da’Vinchi

In 2021, Da’Vinchi stepped into Terry Flenory’s shoes on the hit star series BMF and two years after, he has 1.4 million followers on Instagram. Aside from BMF, Da’Vinchi has appeared in Mary J. Blige’s music video for Come See About Me and the television series All American and Grown-Ish.

Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Last year, Kelvin Harrison Jr. starred in the Oscar-nominated film Elvis as the late blues legend B.B. King and next month the world will see Harrison portray 18th century French Creole violinist/composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges in the biopic Chevalier. He will also be the voice of Mufasa in Mufasa: The Lion King, expected for release in 2024.

Jharrel Jerome

Jharrel Jerome first came to the public’s attention in the 2016 Oscar-winning film Moonlight. He later went on to win a Primetime Emmy Award in 2019 for portraying Korey Wise in the Netflix series When They See Us, which was based on the Central Park Five. Jharrel is going to be seen next as Cootie in the Boots Riley Amazon Prime series I’m a Virgo.

Caleb McLaughlin

Caleb McLaughlin began his career on Broadway at the age of ten playing Young Simba in The Lion King musical. McLaughlin is best known for playing Lucas Sinclair in Netflix’s Stranger Things. He also filmed a role in the upcoming Lee Daniels film The Deliverance.

Micheal Ward

Micheal Ward is a British-Jamaican actor who won a BAFTA Rising Star award in 2020 after having success as Jamie Tovell in the television series Top Boy, which he joined in Season 3. Currently, Ward is filming a role in the American film The Book of Clarence.

Myles Frost

After beating out hundreds of hopefuls, Myles Frost landed the role of the iconic music legend Michael Jackson in Broadway’s MJ: The Musical. In 2022, Frost won a historic Tony Award for his portrayal of Jackson on the Broadway stage. He was also nominated for his first Grammy Award for the cast recording album of MJ: The Musical. It was recently announced that after playing Jackson in the production for nearly two years, he is leaving in April.

Asante Blackk

Asante Blackk began his career as a child actor transitioning into roles such as young Kevin Richardson in Netflix’s When They See Us. Since then Asante has landed roles in the television series This is Us as the character Malik and provides the voice for the character Kareem-Abdul Jabbar Brown in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.