20 Underused Actors We Hope to See Break Out in 2017

Kaitlyn Dever and Timothy Olyphant in Justified season 5, image courtesy of FX

20. Kaitlyn Dever

Why you should know her: “Who is that kid?” That’s the thought that crossed my mind when Justified introduced Dever as orphaned, marijuana-dealing rebel Loretta McCready. In her first scene on FX’s neo-Western TV show, the actress, then 14 years old, has to convincingly fend off the advances of a statutory rapist simply by talking. She pulls it off with preternatural aplomb, exhibiting none of the stiffness or precociousness normally associated with child actors. With her steely gaze and rough drawl, Dever seems right at home in the seedy world of Harlan, reeling off Justified’s florid dialogue as though she were born speaking it. Even when opposite actors like Timothy Olyphant, Margo Martindale, and Sam Elliott, she’s mesmerizing.

Beyond Justified, Dever is a regular on the Tim Allen sitcom Last Man Standing. She has also appeared in a few movies, most notably Short Term 12, in which she played the troubled, volatile Jayden Cole. Her Short Term 12 costars Brie Larson, Rami Malek, John Gallagher Jr., Keith Stanfield, and Stephanie Beatriz have all gone on to other successful projects. With luck, Dever will soon follow in their footsteps.

Upcoming projects: She’s working on Kathryn Bigelow’s as-yet-untitled movie about the 1967 Detriot riots alongside John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, and Jack Reynor, among others. There is also the family drama We Don’t Belong Here (one of Anton Yelchin’s final films) and a coming-of-age drama called Grass Stains with Tye Sheridan.