10 Actors With Upcoming Projects That Could Make Or Break Their Careers

We all know about the pressures that titanic studios face to deliver consistently to their audience. You can go from being the talk of the town to tainted goods in 120 minutes and that influences the intense detail that goes into everything from casting to what weekend the movie in question is released to the public.

Studios have gone under after a series of flops have been rejected by the paying publics and critics alike - with films such as New Line's The Golden Compass forcing the company into merging with Warner Bros after a disappointing box office return. The guys above, pulling the strings, aren't the only ones who are putting it all on the line with each impending project. Spare a thought for the actors.

For every Chris Pratt taking his chance, in style, with Guardians of The Galaxy, there's an Elizabeth Berkley risking it all in Showgirls, only to provide a What Not To Do example for the next generation of stars to pop out of a hit teen TV series.

Actors are invited to take these risks as the rewards are worth it. Your name engraved into immortality with that elusive Oscar win or maybe you just manage to keep yourself popular enough to stay employed.

The Project

The His Dark Materials TV series is an adaptation of the previously mentioned Phillip Pullman books that boasts episodes directed by Les Miserables' Tom Hooper and the adapting of the novels being bolstered by This is England's writer Jack Thorne.

The cast is filled out by the ludicrously talented James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson and Logan's Dafne Keen - that's without mentioning Lin Manuel Miranda, himself in the role of Lee Scoresby.

Why It's Make Or Break

Miranda's recent enterprises in the world of cinema have left a little much to be desired. It's not that they've been bad - his contribution to making Moana the Catchy Song Hit of 2016 and his turn as Mary Poppins' companion Jack, he puts in a decent and enjoyable performance - but none of these have been the smash hits that his brainchild, Hamilton, has been on the US Broadway scene.

The danger is that the fans that are rooting so hard for him to succeed will eventually lose interest in his on-screen career and the clock is ticking! He has the potential to make himself a megastar in the ilk of Gene Kelly but he needs a few showings that leave us walking away with him imprinted in our psyche.

Lee Scoresby, a skilled aeronaunt whose best friend is an alcoholic armoured Bear, offers him a role that requires gravitas and an ability to centre the story that is swirling around him. The guys also a bit of a mercenary who's a dab hand with a gun so here's hoping we see Miranda flex his combat skills, too.