6. Q'orianka Kilcher - The New World
It often feels as if characters in Terrence Malick's movies aren't so much individual human beings as they are avatars for broader philosophical concepts - in Tree Of Life this idea was brought to the fore through the perspective of childhood memories and the roles played by mother and father seen as a metaphor for grace and nature. With The New World, Malick was more concerned with the clashing of civilisations with the arrival of the British to the Americas and their first encounters with the indigenous population. As with his exceptional war film The Thin Red Line, mankind's conflict and attempted reconciliation with the natural world sits at the fore, with Q'orianka Kilcher's Pochahontas (although she is never named this during the film) representing the physical embodiment of the purity of life. Q'orianka Kilcher hadn't acted before appearing in The New World aged 14, and her career has been intermittent since, with a well-received starring role in the otherwise mediocre Princess Kaiulani and a small role in the TV series Sons Of Anarchy. As if inspired by her character in The New World, Kilcher's main commitment has been to activism, speaking out on environmental issues.