Young Irish star makes Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch for 2023 list

Stephen Porzio

35 people chosen for the list in previous years have gone on to be nominated for or win Oscars.

Irish actress Alison Oliver has been named as one of Variety’s “10 actors to watch for 2023”.

Since 1998, the entertainment magazine has honoured rising stars through its list, which aims to herald “artists who are experiencing a major breakthrough on screen”.

Those chosen in previous years include 35 Oscar nominees and winners such as Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong’o, Mahershala Ali, Octavia Spencer, and Viola Davis.

Born in Cork, Oliver – aged 26 – is best known for her lead role as Frances Flynn in the series adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel Conversation with Friends.

alison oliver

She also starred alongside Michael Sheen and Sharon Horgan in this year’s acclaimed four-part BBC drama Best Interests.

In terms of upcoming projects for Oliver, the actress is among the cast of Saltburn – a psychological thriller drama featuring Barry Keoghan in the film’s lead role.

He plays a young man struggling to find his place at Oxford University who finds himself drawn into the world of a charming aristocrat (Jacob Elordi).

The latter winds up inviting Keoghan’s character to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.

Written and directed by Oscar winner Emerald Fennell, the movie recently had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival to positive reviews and is set for a cinema release in Ireland on November 17th.

Alison Oliver is also part of the cast of The Order, a US crime thriller starring Jude Law as an FBI agent who aims to take down a white supremacist group.

The movie does not have a release date as of yet.

Also named on Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch in 2023 list were Aaron Pierre (Foe), Archie Madekwe (Gran Turismo), Cara Jade Myers (Killers of the Flower Moon), Charles Melton (Poker Face), Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers), Ji-young Yoo (Expats), Myha’la Herrold (Industry), Nicholas Galitzine (Handsome Devil) and Teyana Taylor (A Thousand and One).

Each of the 10 performers will be profiled later in the year in an issue of Variety. You can check out the full list from the outlet right here.