CW
A Salute to Rising Stars
It’s that time again to salute those actresses who are on the move, actresses who deserve a little extra attention for their latest work, those actresses who are rising stars. Landing that crucial role in a TV movie or guest appearance in a successful show or film makes all the difference for aspiring actors.
Let’s take a look at the next group of actresses who viewers should keep their eyes on:
Blu Hunt
Blu Hunt is a 30-year-old actress from Sacramento, California. Her grandmother lived on the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and her great-grandfather was Apache. Blu studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and made her acting debut in a short film called One Block Away in 2015.
Her first big break on TV came in 2017 on The CW drama The Originals where she played Inadu, better known as The Hollow, a powerful Native American witch. She followed that up with an appearance in a 2019 episode of the short-lived TV series Stumptown then a recurring role in the Katee Sackhoff-led sci-fi series Another Life from 2019 to 2021.
It was during this time that she made her film debut in the 2020 box office movie The New Mutants, starring alongside Game of Thrones alum Maisie Williams as well as Anya Taylor-Joy and Alice Braga. She played Dani Moonstar, a proud queer super-powered heroine. Blu, herself, states she is proudly “super queer.”
Since then she has appeared in several episodes of the popular comedy grown-ish and the limited series Lawmen: Bass Reeves. She will soon be seen starring alongside Harry Potter alum David Thewlis in the upcoming CW period piece drama Sherlock & Daughter, playing Amelia Rojas, who believes that she just might be the daughter of the one and only Sherlock Holmes (Thewlis).
Sherlock & Daughter is set to debut on the CW on April 16 at 9 PM.
Blu can be followed on Instagram here.
Rachel Hilson
Rachel Hilson is also a 30-year-old actress from Baltimore, Maryland, who began dancing at the ripe age of 3-years-old. She dedicated her life “to Nutcrackers (via) spring recitals and dance camps and even recreat(ed) scenes from the 2000 movie Center Stage” (that starred Oscar winner Zoe Saldana).
She was discovered at the age of 12 and started acting, attending the Broadway Artist Alliance in New York and later the Baltimore School for the Arts. She went on to attend the New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, performing in several theatre productions including Hamlet. She graduated in 2018 with a concentration in Writing and Performing Race.
Her acting career got started in 2010, though, where she landed a recurring role in the CBS legal drama The Good Wife. Over the next 10 years, she appeared in episodes of Royal Pains, Elementary, Nurse Jackie, The Affair, Madam Secretary, The Americans, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and First Wives Club.
Rachel then made her feature film debut in the 2017 box office movie Kings, starring opposite Halle Berry and Daniel Craig. It was that same year that she landed a recurring role in the short-lived TV series Rise. And then came her big break, landing a recurring role as the teenage version of Beth Pearson (who was played by Susan Kelechi Watson) in the hit NBC series This Is Us. She followed that with her first series regular role in the Hulu series Love, Victor. And then in 2021, she joined the cast of the HBO period drama Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. She also appeared in the 2023 Amazon Prime movie Red, White & Royal Blue.
Her next big project is the upcoming MAX period drama Duster from J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan, which is set in 1972, following the FBI’s first Black woman agent (Hilson) who is working to stop a crime syndicate with the assistance of a talented getaway driver (played by Lost alum Josh Holloway).
Duster will debut on MAX on May 15.
Rachel can be followed on Instagram here.
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