Hollywood film stars to watch in 2004

Keira Knightley: It may be surprising to many, but Keira Knightley's first American blockbuster was not this summer's Pirates of the Caribbean with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. But rather, it was Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, where she played Sabe, Queen Amidala's decoy. In 2003, between Menace and Pirates, the native Brit played a kick-ass soccer chick in the English-made Bend It Like Beckham that made a huge splash in the U.S. The brunette-sometimes-blonde beauty also stars in Love, Actually with Hugh Grant. And with three films in 2004, viewers won't be able to escape the prolific Knightley. King Arthur with Clive Owen, Tulip Fever with Jude Law and The Jacket with Oscar winner Adrien Brody all hit theaters next year. Oh--and it's just been announced that Pirates of the Caribbean 2 is in the works!

Josh Duhamel: Las Vegas is a long way from North Dakota--which is where Josh Duhamel, star of the NBC show--originates. The glitzy show about surveillance experts at a Sin City casino debuted this fall and stars James Caan, Molly Sims And Vanessa Marcil. Audiences have responded so warmly that it's one of the few new shows to survive the network axe. The hunky Duhamel started out on the soap All My Children and in 2004 fans can catch him in the title role in Win a Date With Tad Hamilton, starring Kate Bosworth, That 70's Show's Topher Grace and Will and Grace's Sean Hayes.

Eva Mendes: Houston native Eva Mendes first jumped onto the movie screen in 1998's Children of the Corn V. It may be safe to say that the year 2003 has forever kept her from the fifth sequel to any more horror flicks. In the past year, the 29-year-old starred in 2 Fast 2 Furious with Paul Walker, played good cop/bad cop in the Johnny Depp and Antonio Banderas actioner Once Upon a Time in Mexico and played the ex-wife to Oscar winner Denzel Washington's character in Out of Time. But there's more to come of Ms. Mendes. Look for her in the Farrelly's Stuck On You with Matt Damon and in 2004 she appears in The Wendell Baker Story, the newest Owen and Luke Wilson collaboration.

Ryan Gosling: He made an impression on the indie film audience in 2001 with The Believer, playing the very dark role of a real-life American Nazi leader. He caught the mainstream's eye in 2002 in the Sandra Bullock vehicle Murder By Numbers. But in 2004 he'll test his acting chops once again in: One from Monster's Ball director Marc Forster called Stay starring Ewan McGregor and The Ring star Naomi Watts. The Canadian native will also play Noah Calhoun in the Nicholas Sparks bestseller The Notebook with screen legends Gena Rowlands and James Garner.

Amber Tamblyn: Many may recognize her from her six years as Emily Bowen on the ABC soap General Hospital, but Amber can now be seen in the new drama Joan of Arcadia. In the CBS show, 20-year-old Tamblyn plays Joan Girardi, a highschooler who gets messages from various forms of god--ranging from cute guys to cafeteria workers. Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen plays her overbearing mother and Joe Mantegna plays her police chief father. The non-preachy Arcadia is smoking its competition, partly because it's one of the only shows out there filling the family drama void--but it's mostly due to Tamblyn.

Diego Luna: The Latin looker who has been acting in Mexican cinema since he was just 13, wowed movie buffs everywhere in 2001 with the Spanish-language film about road trips and friendships Y Tu Mama Tambien, which became a hit in Mexico's neighbor to the north. The twenty-something's first American movie was 2002's Frida, which he starred in alongside friend Salma Hayek. This past summer he starred in the Kevin Costner directed Open Range, where he got the opportunity to read lines with Robert Duvall and Annette Bening. In 2004 look for him in the Tom Hanks/Catherine Zeta-Jones flick The Terminal, Criminal with Oscar-nominated john C Reilly and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.

Alison Lohman: She first amazed moviegoers when she held her own against silver-screen marvel Michelle Pfeiffer in 2002's White Oleander. The 24-year-old did the same this fall in Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men playing Oscar winner Nicolas Cage's 14-year-old daughter turned con artist. This month she's again joining a cast of heavy-hitters in eccentric director Tim Burton's movie about a loveable yet sometimes delusional man with a vast imagination called Big Fish. She stars alongside Ewan McGregor, Jessica Lange, Danny DeVito, Billy Crudup and Albert Finney.

Adam Brody: Sure, he plays the slightly awkward teen Seth Cohen on Fox's hottest new show The O.C., but he's actually a 23-year-old San Diego native with a quick wit. Some may recognize him from his bit part in the smash hit The Ring but The O.C. is what's really got America stopping to take notice. Although in 2003 he also starred alongside Randy Quaid in Grind and with Ed Asner and Illeana Douglas in Missing Brendan, The O.C. is the place to be to catch this curly-haired cutie.

Source: Entertainment today.