10 Actors Who Had Tremendous Breakthroughs In 2015

8) O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell – Straight Outta Compton

It’s impossible to single out just one of the newbie trio that leads the hip-hop bio Straight Outta Compton, so, y’know, why not just single out them all?

They come as a package in the film anyway, playing off one another and making a compelling central unit by utilizing each of their individual strengths. The three are Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell and O’Shea Jackson, Jr. (playing his father Ice Cube in a meta bit of casting).

They’re not just fantastic mimics of the figures they’re playing – each of these guys has a moment to display his dramatic prowess, whether it’s Jackson as Ice Cube smashing up his manager’s office after being denied a proper share of royalties, Hawkins as Dr Dre breaking down at his brother’s funeral, or Mitchell as Eazy-E crying in desperation after being told he’s got just months left to live.

Still, they’re best all together, so much so that they’re going to find it difficult to find the same chemistry apart.