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Entertainment & Arts

Faces To Watch in 2012: TV, Film, Media and New Media

As a girl in Berkshire, England, Jessica Brown-Findlay, 22, dreamed of being a prima ballerina. At age 15, she even performed with the Kirov Ballet at London's Royal Opera House, but an ankle injury a few years later permanently derailed her career ambitions. While studying art at Central St. Martin's in London, she decided to give acting a try. In short order, she was cast as Lady Sybil Crawley, the spirited youngest daughter of a wealthy British earl in "Downton Abbey," Julian Fellowes' dishy period drama set in the early 20th century. An acting neophyte, Brown-Findlay had the daunting task of performing alongside the formidable Maggie Smith, but her English rose looks and plummy voice made her the series' breakout star. Certifying her it-girl status, she was honored as one of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts' Brits to Watch at a party attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in July. The highly anticipated second season of "Downton Abbey," which premieres Jan. 8 on PBS, finds Sybil working as a nurse. To prepare, Brown-Findlay spent hours at the Imperial War Museum in London, poring over the letters and diaries of World War 1 nurses. "I really wanted to do justice to the huge sacrifice women like Sybil would have made," she said. In 2011, she filmed two other British TV series: the medieval adventure "Labyrinth" and "Black Mirror," a technophobic satire, and 2012 promises to be yet another busy year for Brown-Findlay. First up is the lead role in the indie film "Albatross." And in February, she'll be back on set for Season 3 of "Downton Abbey." -- Meredith Blake

As a girl in Berkshire, England, Jessica Brown-Findlay, 22, dreamed of being a prima ballerina. At age 15, she even performed with the Kirov Ballet at London’s Royal Opera House, but an ankle injury a few years later permanently derailed her career ambitions. While studying art at Central St. Martin’s in London, she decided to give acting a try. In short order, she was cast as Lady Sybil Crawley, the spirited youngest daughter of a wealthy British earl in “Downton Abbey,” Julian Fellowes’ dishy period drama set in the early 20th century.

An acting neophyte, Brown-Findlay had the daunting task of performing alongside the formidable Maggie Smith, but her English rose looks and plummy voice made her the series’ breakout star. Certifying her it-girl status, she was honored as one of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ Brits to Watch at a party attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in July.

The highly anticipated second season of “Downton Abbey,” which premieres Jan. 8 on PBS, finds Sybil working as a nurse. To prepare, Brown-Findlay spent hours at the Imperial War Museum in London, poring over the letters and diaries of World War 1 nurses. “I really wanted to do justice to the huge sacrifice women like Sybil would have made,” she said.

In 2011, she filmed two other British TV series: the medieval adventure “Labyrinth” and “Black Mirror,” a technophobic satire, and 2012 promises to be yet another busy year for Brown-Findlay. First up is the lead role in the indie film “Albatross.” And in February, she’ll be back on set for Season 3 of “Downton Abbey.”

-- Meredith Blake  (Dave Hogan / Getty Images)

Taylor Kitsch, actor

Taylor Kitsch is poised to become a major movie star -- if he can stomach all the Hollywood fanfare about to come his way, that is. “Am I ready for it? I’ve been asked that so many times, and I don’t know what ‘it’ is. I’m not a big Hollywood cat,” a nonchalant Kitsch said via telephone from Tokyo, where he was already doing press for “John Carter,” the $200-million-plus fantasy epic that doesn’t hit theaters until March.

The 30-year-old’s dance card is considerably full for an actor still best known for his work on television’s “Friday Night Lights,” the football drama that became a cult hit during its five-year run. His character -- the beer-toting-yet-lovable womanizing jock Tim Riggins -- was an audience favorite, and Kitsch was one of the few cast members to appear in every season of the program. After the show wrapped last year, Kitsch said he was offered a number of roles in which he’d play “the good-looking guy or the high school quarterback.”

While he wants to branch out to different fare, he’s grateful for the influx of opportunities. Growing up in Canada, Kitsch dreamed of becoming a professional ice hockey player, but when a knee injury derailed those plans, he moved to New York City to try modeling. He landed a few low-paying gigs with the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch, took acting classes when he could, but success didn’t come so easily -- he was even homeless temporarily.

“I was literally living on the subway for a couple of weeks,” Kitsch said. “You’d act as if you’re just going to sleep, more or less, and stay on until the early morning.”

Nowadays, Kitsch can afford a home in Austin, Texas, where production of “Friday Night Lights” took place. And no matter how much his star might rise over the coming year, he says that’s where he’ll remain. “If I have a meeting in L.A., I fly in, take the meeting, and get home. I know I’ll never live there.”

-- Amy Kaufman  (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

David Oyelowo, actor

After supporting roles in two of the breakout summer hits of 2011 -- playing a pastor in the civil-rights drama “The Help” and an unscrupulous pharmaceutical company boss in the sci-fi film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” -- English actor David Oyelowo (pronounced “oh-yellow-oh”) is poised to team with very big names this year. His next role is the scrappy fighter pilot Joe “Lightning” Little in the George Lucas-produced “Red Tails,” about the all-black World War II squadron known as the Tuskegee Airmen. A longtime passion project for Lucas, the film opens Jan. 20 and also stars Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr. Later in the year, Oyelowo, 35, will appear in Steven Spielberg’s star-studded historical drama “Lincoln,” which stars Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th president as well as Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field. Other upcoming films for Oyelowo include “The Paperboy,” with Nicole Kidman, and “One Shot,” with Tom Cruise.

An accomplished stage actor, Oyelowo is also known for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

-- Oliver Gettell  (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

Andy Borowitz, comic writer

It will be a long slog of sound, fury and “super PAC”-funded TV ads before we get to Nov. 6. One of the most potent antidotes to the abiding bluster of the presidential campaign will be administered by comedian, author and tweeter par excellence Andy Borowitz.

The former Harvard Lampoon editor and creator of the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” issues the Borowitz Report -- daily and sometimes hourly (Twitter: @BorowitzReport), satirical news darts that puncture the overinflated political set. (“Breaking: Rick Perry requests that debate format include Lifeline and 50/50” or “MUST READ: Obama Says US Not Abandoning Iraq; ‘We Will Continue to Follow You on Twitter.’”)

A sometime New Yorker writer and editor of a new anthology of American humor, Borowitz, 53, puts pop culture on the couch. (“CBS Cancels ‘Two and a Half Men’; Will Instead Mount Camera on Charlie Sheen’s Head. ‘More Entertaining’”) Prescription: Massive therapeutic intervention required. That’s good news for the audience, which is in store for yuck therapy, in ample doses.

-- James Rainey  (Donald Bowers / Getty Images)

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