Rising stars of 2006: Film

Ashley Walters

His performance as a troubled teen in Bullet Boy received universal raves in 2005. Now the erstwhile So Solid Crew rapper is set to expand his new acting career with roles in the 50 Cent biopic Get Rich or Die Tryin', the first of a new franchise based on a bestselling children's book Stormbreaker, and a London-based urban drama called Life'n' Lyrics for the BBC and Scion Films. The first of these gets its release on 20 January, and Walters, 23, takes on a smallish role as a friend of Fiddy. On 2 June Life'n'Lyrics gets a release. "I play a guy called Danny, a DJ and producer, and the story's about two hip-hop crews from north and south London who compete in freestyle competitions." Director Richard Laxton has already publicly praised his performance and his "amazing instincts". Seven weeks later, on 21 July, Stormbreaker is released. This film is based on the Alex Rider "teen spy" novels by Anthony Horowitz. Walters plays an SAS soldier. Meanwhile there's also another album release in January and he has just recently read for Danny Glover's yet-to-be-announced project, a biopic of the 18th-century "Black Napoleon of Haiti", Toussaint L'Ouverture.

Others to watch

Ben Wishaw

Best known as a stage actor (Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, the Old Vic's Hamlet), this year Ben Wishaw, 25, starred as Keith Richards in Stoned - for many the only good thing in it. In 2006 he has a lead in the new Chris Morris series A Box of Slice and the lead in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, the adaptation of the Patrick Süskind novel helmed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), acting opposite Dustin Hoffman.

Kelly Reilly

After a slew of low-budget films in 2005, which peaked with Mrs Henderson Presents, Kelly Reilly, 28, returns to the stage with Piano/Forte by Terry Johnston, a play written for the 50th anniversary of the Royal Court. She is the youngest actress ever to be nominated, in 2004, for the Olivier Award (After Miss Julie). We'll also see her on screen, in Russian Dolls, a French film by Cédric Klapisch.

Last year's prediction: Karl Golden. Changes in tax regulations affected many productions in 2005, including Golden's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 'People Who Knock on the Door'. The movie is now cast and will shoot in February.