10 Actors With Game-Changing Movie Roles Coming Up

3. Halle Bailey - The Little Mermaid

Now, this really is a game-changer. Halle Bailey, best known for her music alongside sister Chloë, has already achieved a great deal in the music world at the age of only 22, garnering five Grammy nominations for her music as part of ‘Chloë x Halle’. She’s a well-known name within the spheres of music, pop culture and social media, however, within Hollywood, she is less so. But, everyone has to start somewhere!

Bailey has appeared in a handful of smaller projects here and there as well as her own music videos, but nothing compares to being cast in a live-action remake of one of Disney’s most beloved and iconic characters, Ariel. It's a role of huge responsibility and significance, and with Bailey being a relative newbie to the industry, criticism was to be expected when she was announced to lead The Little Mermaid as opposed to casting a recognised actor.

However, what followed was an unprecedented tirade of racially-motivated attacks toward Halle. The backlash emphasised the sheer mass and magnitude of toxicity birthed and inhabiting social media today, and the resulting damage many have been forced to become accustomed to. If the Atlanta-born singer can knock the role out of the park, it would make a real statement in recognising her talent for acting as well as music and her future on-screen could be set in stone for many years to come.