"Breakout star" redirects here. For other uses, see Breakout star (disambiguation).
A breakthrough role, also known as a breakout role,[1] is a term in the film industry to describe the performance of an actor or actress which contributed significantly to the development of their career and beginning of critical recognition. A breakthrough role is often a significant increase in importance in the actor's part in the film, such as moving up from a minor character to one of the main cast or a "high impact" role in a film which has mainstream success and results in the actor's widespread recognition and popularity.[2] A breakthrough performance has also been defined as one which "attracts the attention of film critics, or receives rave reviews and is subsequently nominated for many major film awards".[3]
Lord Rohan in The Man in Grey has been cited as James Mason's breakthrough performance.[4] The television film adaptation of Gideon's Trumpet has been referenced as Lane Smith's breakthrough role, despite lacking a theatrical release.[5] Similarly, the BBC series Pennies from Heaven has been highlighted as the breakthrough of Bob Hoskins.[6] Brandon Lee's starring role in The Crow has been cited as his breakout, though it was also his final film as he died when a prop gun malfunctioned on the set of the film.[7][8]
^Smith, Michael. "Breakout role revisited". Retrieved 18 December 2011.
^Squire, Jason E. (1 May 2006). The Movie Business Book. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). p. 226. ISBN 978-0-335-22002-1.
^Porter, Lynnette (3 June 2013). Benedict Cumberbatch, In Transition: An Unauthorised Performance Biography. Andrews UK Limited. p. 170. ISBN 978-1-78092-437-3.
^Mayer, Geoff; McDonnell, Brian (1 January 2007). Encyclopedia of Film Noir. ABC-CLIO. pp. 280–. ISBN 978-0-313-33306-4.
^Scivally, Bruce (3 October 2007). Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway. McFarland. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-7864-3166-3.
^Welsh, James Michael; Whaley, Donald M. (2013). The Oliver Stone Encyclopedia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-8108-8352-9.
^Lott, M. Ray (1 January 2004). The American Martial Arts Film. McFarland. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-7864-1836-7.
^Cettl, Robert (12 October 2014). American Film Tales. Lulu.com. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-312-56680-4.
A breakthroughrole, also known as a breakout role, is a term in the film industry to describe the performance of an actor or actress which contributed...
in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series Opposite Sex in 2000 before landing his breakthroughrole the following year as Jess Mariano...
Look up breakthrough in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Breakthrough or break through may refer to: Break Through (book), a 2007 book about environmentalism...
gained wider attention with his breakthroughrole in the drama Lifeguard (1976). He achieved commercial success with his role in the biopic Mask (1985) and...
Molly Windsor is an English actress. Her breakthroughrole was in the 2009 Channel 4 television film The Unloved, and she has appeared in Oranges and...
the University of Southern California, in 2010, she received her breakthroughrole as Spencer Hastings in the Freeform drama series Pretty Little Liars...
recognition for his roles in the coming-of-age film The Spectacular Now (2013) and the Divergent film trilogy (2014–2016). His breakthroughrole came in the drama...
His breakthroughrole in Danny Boyle's drama Slumdog Millionaire (2008) earned Patel a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. His...
debut as Princess Lili in the fantasy film Legend (1985), and had her breakthroughrole starring as Sloane Peterson in the comedy film Ferris Bueller's Day...
action feature Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). In 2016, Keough had her breakthroughrole as an escort in the first season of the anthology series The Girlfriend...
on-screen roles included Genius (1999), Songcatcher (2000), Passionada (2002), and Nola (2003). At sixteen, she was cast in her breakthroughrole in Mystic...
made her acting debut with the 2005 Malayalam film Boyy Friennd. Her breakthroughrole came in 2012 with Trivandrum Lodge. Honey Rose Varghese was born in...
Something in the Air (2000–2001), and Blue Heelers (2000–2002). Her breakthroughrole was in the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship, which introduced her to a...
director, photographer, writer, and former rapper. He received his breakthroughrole in Ocean’s Eleven as Turk Malloy, who he played in the Ocean's trilogy...
Tuff Turf (1985), Pretty in Pink (1986), and Mannequin (1987). His breakthroughrole came with the Steven Soderbergh drama Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)...
film Rams (2020) and had a supporting role in How to Please a Woman (2022). Yasbincek secured her breakthroughrole in Heartbreak High while she was working...
with ABC's television film Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. His breakthroughrole was in the romantic comedy Chasing Liberty (2004), for which he received...
feature Stripes (1981), the latter being a commercial success. Her breakthroughrole was that of Rachael in the sci-fi Blade Runner (1982). She then portrayed...
In 2006, following her film debut in Starter for 10, Hall got her breakthroughrole in Christopher Nolan's thriller film The Prestige. In 2008, she starred...
before his breakthroughrole in the romantic comedy films The Kissing Booth 2 (2020) and The Kissing Booth 3 (2021). Perez had a supporting role in the sex...
villain Peter Kingsley Group during the second season of 24. Bell's breakthroughrole came in 2003 when he was cast as John Kramer / Jigsaw in the horror...
On television, her breakthroughrole was as Dr. Lilith Sternin, Frasier Crane's wife, on both the sitcom Cheers (in a starring role), its spin-off Frasier...
film debut with a leading role in The Legend of Billie Jean (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthroughrole as Jason "J.D." Dean, a sociopathic...
Carter (2005), and had his breakthroughrole in the 2006 dance film Step Up. He gained wider attention for his leading roles in the sports comedy She's...
received recognition for her recurring role as Kathy on the fourth season of the NBC sitcom Friends. Her breakthroughrole came as FBI Supervisory Special Agent...
on the HBO crime drama series The Sopranos (1999–2007) and for her breakthroughrole portraying Karen Hill in the Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas (1990)...
Global Information