In addition to the stars we know and love—Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Peter Mayhew—The Force Awakens includes a number of new names that you may not be familiar with. Before the new movie comes out in just under a month, do yourself a favor and take some time to get to know them!
Because the new actors in the movie don’t have illustrious careers behind them, you may not have seen them yet; but they all have at least some credentials. Here are 16 movies and shows that will help you get to know the new faces:
- Ex Machina: Domnhall Gleason (General Hux) and Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) both have amazing performances in this AI thriller.
- Game of Thrones: Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma) plays Brienne of Tarth, a loyal knight and companion; Jessica Henwick (Jessika Pava) also makes an appearance as Nymeria Sand.
- Blue Season: Daisy Ridley (Rey) plays Sarah in this sci-fi thriller short; though its reviews aren’t stellar, this is one of Ridley’s only non-TV appearances (the interactive film Lifesaver is another).
- Hungry Hearts: Adam Driver (Kylo Ren)’s relationship is put to the test when he’s confronted with a life-or-death situation.
- Inside Llewelyn Davis: Adam Driver (Kylo Ren) and Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) star in the Coen Brothers’ look at the 1960s folk scene.
- Star Trek: if you don’t know who Simon Pegg is, you’re missing out—check out Star Trek and enjoy his performance as Scotty.
- Scream Queens: Billie Lourd has a small role in TFA, but she’s been a regular on this comedy-horror David Harbour movies and tv shows for a while.
- Attack the Block: John Boyega (Finn) helps defend his London block from an alien invasion (if you can find a way to watch Imperial Dreams, check that one out, too).
- Avengers: Age of Ultron: Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke) has a small role as Klaw; to see what he can do as a voice actor, check out Rise of the Planet of the Apes, where he voices Caesar.
- 12 Years a Slave: Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata) plays Patsey in this highly acclaimed drama.
- The Seventh Seal: Max Von Sydow is one of the greatest actors of all time, and this 1958 drama about a knight during the Black Plague proves it.
- The Originals: Maisie Richardson-Sellers (Korr Sella) plays a member of a family of vampires trying to take back the city they built—what more could you ask for?
- The Raid 2: although Iko Uweis and Cecip Arif Rahman are only rumored to be involved in TFA, they could have a phenomenal effect on the fight choreography (be warned; this movie is extremely brutal).
If you’ve seen some of these movies and TV shows, you’re ahead of the game. If not, you better get watching soon!
