Back in 2007, a gritty British television show called Skins took over the lives of people across the globe, who were totally enamored by the young cast that was mostly made up of amateur teen actors who had attended an open audition in the UK.
The show ran for six seasons between 2007 and 2010, with a new ensemble cast taking over every two seasons, providing ample opportunity for showrunners to discover new talent who otherwise may never have gotten their big break.
And this inclusive approach to casting helped to discover a whole bunch of teen actors who have gone on to become some of the biggest stars in the industry today, with Jack O’Connell and Nicolas Hoult both being lauded for their roles in movie blockbusters this year alone.
So, here’s the lowdown on Skins’ breakout stars, enjoy!
1.Nicholas Hoult
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Nicholas Hoult is the only Skins alumni who was actually pretty established before he landed the role of Tony Stonem in Seasons 1 and 2 of the show. He is, after all, the child actor who starred alongside Hugh Grant in the 2002 movie About a Boy, which was released to huge critical acclaim.
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Nicholas was just 11 years old at the time, and the film was nominated for Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and even an Academy Award.
However, it was his performance in Skins at age 17 that really asserted Nicholas’s place in mainstream consciousness, with his character Tony — a manipulative anti-hero — the main focus of Season 1. Since then, Nicholas’s career has gone from strength to strength.
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His commercial success no doubt kicked off in 2011 when he was cast as Nux in Mad Max: Fury Road, and Hank McCoy/ Beast in the X-Men franchise. In 2013, he also garnered attention with his starring role in Warm Bodies.
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Nicholas worked steadily on several well-received projects over the years, but returned to the spotlight with a bang following his standout performance in the 2022 hit The Menu.
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And despite this huge back catalogue of incredible films, it feels as though Nicholas’s career is only just starting to peak, with the star dominating the headlines at this very moment thanks to his charming press tour for the new Superman movie, where he plays villain Lex Luthor.
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Needless to say, 18 years later, Tony Stonem is booked and busy.
2.Jack O’Connell
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Jack O’Connell also enjoyed his moment in the sun this year following his critically acclaimed performance in the Ryan Coogler hit Sinners, where he played villain Remmick. He also starred as Sir Jimmy Crystal in 28 Years Later.
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However, long-timers will know him for playing Cook in Seasons 3 and 4 of Skins, which he landed when he was 17 years old. Similarly to Nicholas, Jack — who comes from a working-class background and had run-ins with the police throughout his teen years — was already acting when he was cast in the show, but had not yet had his breakout role.
After Skins, the star mainly focused on hugely successful independent films like Starred Up and ’71, and he even won the prestigious Rising Star BAFTA in 2015.
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Jack has also enjoyed stage success, and starred opposite Sienna Miller in the London production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 2018.
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3.Daniel Kaluuya
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Interestingly, Daniel Kaluuya’s Skins character wasn’t even part of the main cast in Seasons 1 and 2, with Daniel landing the recurring role of Posh Kenneth when he was 18 years old.
Despite this, he has arguably had the most success out of the show’s entire cast, with the star earning an Oscar, two BAFTAs, a Golden Globe, two SAG awards, and even an Emmy nomination for his 2021 appearance on Saturday Night Live in the years since he made his Posh Kenneth debut.
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Daniel enjoyed steady work after his stint on Skins, but it was his appearance in an episode of Black Mirror that ended up turning his career around, with his performance catching the eye of Jordan Peele, who cast him as the lead in his hugely acclaimed 2017 movie Get Out.
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From then on, Daniel was unstoppable. He starred in Black Panther in 2018, Jordan Peele’s sci-fi horror Nope in 2022, as well as the 2021 hit Judas and the Black Messiah, which earned him most of the aforementioned accolades.
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4.Dev Patel
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Dev Patel has also come a long way from his Anwar Kharral roots in Skins Seasons 1 and 2, the breakout role that he landed at just 16 years old.
One year after his debut on the series, Dev was at the center of critical acclaim for his performance in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, which earned him a BAFTA nomination.
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His career then exploded thanks to his pivot into comedies like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, before he achieved staggering success as the leading role in the 2016 movie Lion, which saw Dev get nominated for an Academy Award, Critics’ Choice Award, Golden Globe, SAG Award, and win a BAFTA.
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And just last year, Dev was lauded even more when he made his directorial debut with the action movie Monkey Man, which he also starred in — proving that he is pretty much unstoppable.
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5.Kaya Scodelario
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Kaya Scodelario is the only actor to appear in two generations of Skins, with Kaya attending the open auditions for Season 1 of the show when she was just 14 years old, which was too young for showrunners at the time.
Still, she ended up catching the eye of one of the producers, and was cast in the recurring role of Tony’s younger sister, Effy Stonem, for the first two seasons.
She then took center stage in the second two seasons, which focused on Effy and her group of friends.
And it’s not just the creators of Skins that saw Kaya’s spark; the show proved to be the catalyst for some serious acting success, with the star being cast as the lead character Teresa in the Maze Runner film franchise in 2013.
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She also had a leading role in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and starred opposite Zac Efron in the 2019 independent movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, where she played real-life serial killer Ted Bundy’s wife.
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Since then, Kaya has been praised for her performances in some pretty big TV shows, including Guy Ritchie’s 2024 Netflix series The Gentlemen, and Senna, which is a biographical drama about F1 driver Ayrton Senna.
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Thank goodness she had the guts to attend that Skins audition despite being underage!
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And some honorary mentions…
6.Hannah Murray
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Hannah Murray previously admitted that she only attended the open audition for Skins at the age of 16 for the experience, and it worked out pretty well for her, as she ended up being cast as one of the fan favorites, Cassie.
She starred in the first two seasons of the show, and reprised her role for the two-episode seventh season in 2013, which caught up with Cassie as an adult.
And in the time in between, Hannah established herself in another hugely popular TV series, starring as Gilly in six seasons of the HBO hit Game of Thrones.
Hannah has enjoyed steady TV, movie, and stage work since then, and in 2024, it was revealed that she is working on an autobiography for release in 2026.
7.Joe Dempsie
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Joe Dempsie is another face that you might recognize from either Skins or Game of Thrones, with the actor being equally beloved in both.
He was actually the oldest of the core gang when he was cast as Chris in Skins at age 20, with the actor part of the first generation of characters.
Joe then played Gendry in five of the eight seasons of Game of Thrones, and appeared in three of Channel 4’s This Is England miniserieses. He has been acting steadily ever since, and was most recently seen in four episodes of the Netflix series Toxic Town earlier this year.
Who is your favorite Skins alum? Let me know in the comments below!
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