Black Actors Under 30 We Should Be Paying Attention To - Page 3

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The Rising Stars of Black Hollywood Under 30 – HOT100.9

Updated February 13, 2026
Written by Chase Iseghohi

Hollywood isn’t waiting for the next generation of Black stars to arrive. They’re already here.

From Emmy winners and franchise leads to breakout film actresses earning awards buzz in their very first major roles, this class of Black actors under 30 is shaping what the next decade of film and television will look like.

Some are leading billion dollar franchises. Others are quietly building award worthy résumés. And yes, Indianapolis is represented.

Here are 20 Black actors under 30 defining the future right now.

RELATED: Black Actors Under 40 We Should Be Paying Attention To

Zendaya – 29
Euphoria, Dune franchise, Spider-Man franchise

Chase Infiniti – 25
One Battle After Another, Presumed Innocent, The Testaments

Jharrel Jerome – 28
When They See Us, Moonlight, I’m a Virgo

Storm Reid – 22
Euphoria, Missing, A Wrinkle in Time

Halle Bailey – 25
The Little Mermaid, The Color Purple, Grown-ish

Caleb McLaughlin – 24
Stranger Things, Concrete Cowboy

Priah Ferguson – 19
Stranger Things, The Oath

Marsai Martin – 21
Black-ish, Little, Fantasy Football

Michael Rainey Jr. – 25
Power, Power Book II Ghost, Barbershop The Next Cut

Asante Blackk – 24
When They See Us, This Is Us, The 4400

Yara Shahidi – 26
Black-ish, Grown-ish, The Sun Is Also a Star

Jacob Lattimore – 29
The Chi, The Maze Runner, House Party

Chosen Jacobs – 24
It, It Chapter Two, Sneakerella

Jahi Winston – 22
The Chi, We Have a Ghost

Dominique Fishback – 29
Judas and the Black Messiah, Swarm, Transformers Rise of the Beasts

Jabari Banks – 27
Bel-Air

Coco Jones – 27
Bel-Air, Let It Shine

Jonathan Daviss – 25
Outer Banks

Issac Ryan Brown – 20
Raven’s Home, Black-ish

Miles Brown – 21
Black-ish

China Anne McClain – 27
Black Lightning, House of Payne, Descendants 2‘

Trevor Jackson – 29
Grown-ish, Superfly

Amandla Stenberg – 27
The Hunger Games, Bodies Bodies Bodies, The Acolyte

Abraham Attah – 24
Beasts of No Nation, The Burial

Marcus Scribner – 26
Black-ish, Grown-ish

Lonnie Chavis – 18
This Is Us

Akira Akbar – 19
Captain Marvel, Bel-Air

Lovie Simone – 27
Greenleaf, Selah and the Spades, Manhunt