Her biggest role to date hasn’t even hit screens yet, but this Australian native is already getting a lot of buzz. She costarred in Amelia this year with heavy hitters like Hilary Swank and Ewan McGregor, and next year, she’ll be along side Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway in Tim Burton’s re-imagining of Alice In Wonderland as the title character, a role every young actress could dream about. Originally trained in ballet, Mia has said she enjoys acting because the performance isn’t about perfection as it is with dance, but there is a grittier, more realistic side. With at least two more films following the release of Alice, she’s sure to see plenty of chances exploring the other aspects of performing.

Chris Pine went from being that guy, you know, the one you think you’ve seen somewhere before, but you can’t remember, to taking on one of the most iconic roles of all time: Captain Kirk. When previews for J. J. Abrams’s Star Trek started showing up early this year, everyone wanted to know if the new cast could pull off roles that were so well known. Lucky for Chris, pretty much everyone agreed that he was perfect for the role William Shatner made famous so many years ago. He nailed the self assured ladies man with a knack for looking out for himself while simultaneously doing the right thing. People are already talking about his next turn as the space captain, although that won’t likely happen for at least another couple of years.

The Wolf Pack consists of Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon, Chaske Spencer, Taylor Lautner, and Bronson Pelletier. Chances are, you didn’t actually know each of the five guys by their real names before, you just knew they were the guys without their shirts on in all the promos, but, you do know that the Wolves are what the second movie in The Twilight Saga is all about. The New Moon buzz started off surrounding Taylor Lautner and his dramatic physical transformation, but the closer we got to the movie’s premier, the more the rest of the cast began to talk up the new additions to the set as well. It seems that the Wolves added a whole new dynamic, not only to the movie, but to the making of the film. They’re being described as warm, energetic, and fierce. They bring action to the supernatural romance, and are all incredibly talented. Now that Twi-hards everywhere have greeted them with open arms (and lots of screaming), chances are their stars will all continue to rise.

Owl City is a one man band who hit the big time this year. Adam Young started out making music in his parents’ basement. He started posting his production to his MySpace page, demonstrating a heavy electronic slant to his sound. (Think The Postal Service if you need something to compare him to.) Two independent album releases later, and he still wasn’t a mainstream hit. As his MySpace page racked up the followers and his music got passed around the internet, and he signed with a major record label early this year. All it took was for him to release “Fireflies” to become the hottest music act everyone wants to listen to. While some Indie musicians might think Adam has sold out, I think we should all be happy a major label took a chance on a MySpace act, because his music is definitely something to hear.

This teenager from Canada seems like he’s become something of an overnight success this year, and his stardom came to him almost by accident. He and his mother began posting videos of him on Youtube so that family members who couldn’t make it to performances would still be able to see him sing. Those videos got passed around the internet and their hits quickly jumped into the millions. Cut to about a year later, and Justin Bieber was singing for R&B singer Usher, hoping to be signed to his label. (Fun fact: Justin actually sang one of Usher’s songs for him, and, according to Usher, sang it better.) Now, Justin is making the rounds of the talk shows and his singles have been climbing higher and higher on the radio charts. If anyone deserves to be referred to as a breakout star, it’s definitely him.

Two guys. Two girls. Great music. And some country twang. Taylor Swift might be the reigning queen of country music, but she helped introduce the world to this band and their fabulous four part harmonies. The four members of the group had been in other bands before, some of them had even tried solo acts, but they never worked out. Then, in 2008, the four of them met, and they just clicked. Their perfect chemistry shows through in their performances, and Taylor must have thought so too, because the band opened for her throughout her Fearless Tour in the United States, introducing them to a legion of super-fans. Their singles are getting continuous airplay on country radio, and they were even nominated for a People’s Choice Award. The word is out, and it seems to be spreading like wild fire.

Okay, so she’s not a big television star, and she isn’t cranking out Top 40 hits on the radio, but that doesn‘t mean tons of teens don‘t know her name. Aprilynne is actually a young adult author. Her first book, Wings was published this year, and she’s getting compared to one of the most famous young adult writers out there right now, Stephenie Meyer (of Twilight fame), in a good way. Her novel puts a whole new spin on the world of fairies, and it takes on a human-nonhuman love triangle just like Meyer’s books do. This first book of hers has also already had the film rights sold, with Miley Cyrus interested in the lead role. The next installment of her series is coming out in early 2010, so her star will surely continue to rise.

We all know that Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder get top billing in the newest hit, but they’ve all got television and movies under their belts already. This time, it’s the supporting players’ chance to shine. Supporting players, you ask, who are those? Candice Accola, Katerina Graham, Kayla Ewell, and Steven R. McQueen. Some of the names you probably already recognized from smaller parts or daytime soaps (and even in the November 2009 issue of Portrait), but The Vampire Diaries is what’s making these up and coming actors famous. The buzz on the show originally centered on the three leads (all of whom are established TV actors), but it hit a fevered pitch when the show debuted to the highest ratings the CW has ever seen, and it was the performances of the supporting players who started getting more notice for filling out the scenes and making the show about more than just a vampire-human love connection. The supporting cast has been praised for their layered performances and as the storylines begin to expand, I’m sure they’ll be turning out quite a few knock out scenes coming up.

This pair of actors play a couple of twenty-somethings with extraordinary skills fighting for the side of justice in a fantasy television series based on the popular Sword of Truth novels by Terry Goodkind. While science fiction and fantasy stars don’t usually get a lot of recognition in the mainstream media, the two stars of Legend of the Seeker seem to have fixed that. The show, filmed in New Zealand, and aired in 130 countries around the world, has become something of an unlikely hit in syndication. Although the series debuted in November of 2008, the press and the audience increased as the first season came to a close earlier this year. Both of its stars have a lot of acting experience (Bridget mostly on the stage and Craig largely in Austalian teen television shows), but it was their turn on the fantasy adventure series that has launched them into the spotlight. Critics who don’t have any love for the show have even praised the performances of the two stars, demonstrating that they just have that “it” factor that makes you want to watch.

I don’t think I could go anywhere this year without hearing about the newest (and currently, the only) musical television series. The dozen cast members (Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Dianna Agron, Harry Shum Jr, Naya Rivera, Heather Elizabeth Morris, and Dijon Talton) that make up the show’s “New Directions” glee club went from zero to gleek in no time. All twelve of the cast members are triple threats with singing, dancing, and acting a part of their daily filming routine. Not only has the show produced solid ratings since the pilot episode aired in May, but many of the cast members were able to go on a “Gleek Tour” through the States, a press tour in Australia, and a CD signing tour in New York, not to mention singing the American National Anthem at the (Baseball) World Series. It might sound like the cast is a little overexposed at the moment, but that isn’t stopping fans of the show from devouring every bit of news they can. A concert tour to promote the soundtrack to the show is even in talks for 2010. I doubt anyone will be able to “stop believing” in the talented cast any time soon.