Summer movies: 11 breakout actors to watch

By LINDSEY BAHR Associated Press A large number of of the big movies this summer might come from familiar places whether they re franchises sequels or hybrid adaptations of beloved animated classics But look closer and there are quite a scarce fresh faces making a splash with memorable characters new and old The Associated Press spoke to of the actors about the roles Sydney Elizebeth Agudong and Maia Kealoha in Lilo Stitch This image published by Disney shows the character Stitch left and Sydney Agudong as Nani in a scene from Lilo Stitch Disney via AP Maia Kealoha was years old when she saw an advertisement for an open casting call for the new hybrid Lilo Stitch movie and promptly communicated her parents that s what she longed to do Now Kealoha who was born on Hawaii s Big Island is making her film debut as the spirited Lilo in Disney s new live-action adaptation hitting theaters on May It was so amazing Kealoha announced I was really proud of myself Sydney Elizebeth Agudong who plays Lilo s older sister and caregiver Nani praised her young co-star It was amazing building a world with her Agudong stated It s a lot of CGI and we re working with aliens and such and she was full of imagination and creativity Hailing from Kaua i Agudong also came to the role from an open casting call Being part of the film has been a special experience as a lifelong fan of the animated version and a proud Hawaii resident Hawaii s very much like tough love and soft heart Agudong mentioned We truly created a family and hopefully people can see that The Gilmore Boys in Happy Gilmore This image circulated by Netflix shows background from left Philip Schneider as Bobby Maxwell Friedman as Gordie Ethan Cutkosky as Wayne Conor Sherry as Terry and John Daly as John Daly in Happy Gilmore Scott Yamano Netflix via AP Happy Gilmore is a dad in the sequel coming to Netflix on July The Gilmore boys played by Ethan Cutkosky Shameless Conor Sherry Shake Shack Maxwell Jacob Friedman a pro wrestler and newcomer Philip Schneider are just goons Schneider noted All came to the project strangers though intimately familiar with a film they d all grown up with And everyone but Friedman had to prove they had a little skill on the ice I looked like a goon so they just assumed I d be fine on the rink Friedman laughed Related Articles Trump threatens a tariff on foreign-made films saying the movie industry in the US is dying The F group on adapting several of the spirit of Top Gun to Formula One film with Brad Pitt Key things to know about the upcoming summer movie season Thunderbolts review Tormented superheroes in the first pretty-good Marvel movie in a while Meet David Corenswet cinema s new Superman The four actors hurriedly discovered their rhythm together on set in Jersey City playing the rambunctious troublemaking Gilmore spawn during the four-month shoot The fast pace of stupidity that we got to and what made us family was such an amazing thing Cutkosky announced It s really hard to come by Friedman added In between scenes we could like look at each other and know what we were thinking and make each other laugh without talking Schneider attributed the atmosphere to their on-screen dad Adam Sandler who made the whole set feel like a family His genius Schneider commented is that he gets people he wants to work with and just sees what happens He trusts the chemistry For Sherry it was helpful so early in his career to get to see how Sandler could be both a giant in the industry and so humble That s the dream right To balance both Sherry revealed Eva Victor in Sorry Baby This image published by A shows Eva Victor in a scene from Sorry Baby Mia Cioffy Henry A via AP One of the breakout films from Sundance was Sorry Baby a poignant drama that s both funny and shattering about the aftermath of a traumatic event It s the feature debut of triple threat Eva Victor who wrote directed and stars as Agnes a graduate trainee at a New England school I sought to make a film that was about feeling stuck when everyone around you keeps moving that really didn t center any violence mentioned Victor who uses they she pronouns Victor who had a recurring role on Billions was making short comedy videos online and writing for the satirical website Reductress when Oscar-winning Moonlight filmmaker Barry Jenkins messaged them and inquired if they had any scripts Now that script is going to be in theaters on June through A I hope the film finds people when they need it Victor disclosed Ben Wang in Karate Kid Legends This image circulated by Sony Pictures shows Ben Wang in a scene from Karate Kid Legends Jonathan Wenk Sony Pictures via AP Ben Wang didn t know he was up against particular people vying to play the new Karate Kid The -year-old actor best known for his role on the Disney series American Born Chinese learned that after the fact But it was a stressful month of not sleeping very well while waiting to hear if he got it he declared Karate Kid Legends out May brings together Jackie Chan s Mr Han and Ralph Macchio s Daniel LaRusso for this new entry about a teenager at a new school Wang s Li who has to learn from both It s a fun one to play Wang commented And I get to try to kick Jackie Chan which is new and exciting for me Nico Parker in How to Train Your Dragon This image circulated by Universal Pictures shows Mason Thames left and Nico Parker in a scene from How to Train Your Dragon Universal Pictures via AP Nico Parker grew up with both the How to Train Your Dragon books and movies so it was a dream come true when she got the chance to play Astrid in the new live-action adaptation June It s a demanding thing when there s already such a brilliant version of Astrid out there Parker revealed The main thing that I really needed to be prevalent in everything was how driven she is and how it doesn t come easy It takes effort and skill and determination Parker the daughter of actor Thandiwe Newton and director Ol Parker has been on sets her whole life She was only when she filmed Tim Burton s Dumbo But this feels different she mentioned because she really understands the scale and scope of being in a major franchise To be older I feel as if I m acknowledging way more what it means and doesn t mean she explained And I get much more stressed about it Benjamin Pajak in The Life of Chuck This image disclosed by Neon shows Benjamin Pajak in a scene from The Life of Chuck Neon via AP You can t blame filmmaker Mike Flanagan for assuming Benjamin Pajak was a skilled dancer Pajak made his Broadway debut as Winthrop in The Music Man with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster But ask Pajak now and he demurs that dancing is not exactly his strong suit But you would never guess that to see him waltzing and sambaing across the floor thanks to Mandy Moore s choreography in The Life of Chuck out June Film is so different from theater Pajak revealed But there were just so plenty of people kind of lifting me up and helping me throughout the process One of those was Mark Hamill who plays his grandfather Perhaps even more exciting than being in the movies Sharing scenes with Luke Skywalker Krypto in Superman This image published by Warner Bros Pictures shows Krypto the dog in a scene from Superman Warner Bros Pictures via AP Superman s very good boy Krypto might be a computer-generated creation but the inspiration was a very real dog filmmaker James Gunn s rescue Ozu It was complex transition to life in a home Ozu destroyed shoes furniture and even his laptop Gunn who was at work writing Superman thought How challenging would it be if Ozu had superpowers That was how Krypto came to be part of the newest Superman out July changing the story and the script The white pup features prominently in the film s trailer At the Puppy Bowl earlier this year Gunn noted that Krypto is lovable and mischievous and has all the powers of Superman yes he can fly too