on The Rise 2012: 10 Actresses Poised For The Big Time

 

Julia Garner
When we were in our senior year of high school, we were mostly concerned with getting the opposite sex to talk to us and bartenders to give us drinks. But Julia Garner has bigger things on her mind, clearly. The ethereally beautiful 18-year-old first came to the attention of many as Sarah, one of the women in Patrick’s commune in “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” But it was in Berlin when we really suspected that she was going to be a star: Garner stars in “Electrick Children,” as Rachel, a 15-year-old Mormon girl who falls pregnant with what she believes is an immaculate conception from a cover version ofBlondie‘s “Hanging on the Telephone.” Our review from the Berlinale said that “the camera doesn’t so much love as fall at the feet of in worship. If she’s not the next big thing, she’s probably the next next big thing,” and subsequent reviews from SXSW have echoed that. She told us in an interview that she’s aiming to have a career like Philip Seymour Hoffman, and she certainly seems to be following his diversity: she’s got small roles in “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower” and David Chase‘s “Not Fade Away,” and is then starring in quirky indie comedy “HairBrained” with Brendan Fraser, in Leyer Meyerhoff’s intriguing-sounding “Unicorns,” and in the horror sequel “The Last Exorcism 2,” which is shooting right now. She’s steadily building a strong resumé which will only lead to bigger and better things.