Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 9 New Cast Members' Best Roles So Far

9. Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years A Slave

It makes sense that Lupita Nyong'o is to go mo-cap for The Force Awakens - anyone who managed to actually see 12 Years A Slave through floods of tears and their own trembling hands will know Nyong'o has the expressiveness required for motion capture. In the film, Nyong'o will play space pirate and CGI'd alien Maz Kanata, a character some distance from the Oscar-winning slave drama that brought Nyong'o fame and critical praise. In Steve McQueen's film, Nyong'o has only a small role, but it's one that lingers in the memory longer than any other. Nyong'o's Patsy is a naturally pure and caring young woman who just so happens to have been born into slavery and sold into the ownership of a violent, conflicted owner - a man who punishes her even though she's the best thing in his life. It's a devastating performance from Nyong'o - that she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for it even though it was only her first feature role should attest to that - and just how she'll go from harrowing slavery bio to family-friendly space adventure alone should prove fascinating.