Is ‘Divergent’ star Shailene Woodley the next big thing in Hollywood?

When Hollywood proclaims someone the “next big thing,” it can put a lot of pressure on that person. However, “Divergent” star Shailene Woodley seems to be handling her “it girl” status quite well.

Unsurprisingly, Woodley’s recent rise to fame has drawn comparisons to another much talked about young actress: Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence.

Like Lawrence, Woodley got her start on television (starring in the hit TV series "The Secret Life of the American Teenager"), and later came to the attention of moviegoers with a critically-acclaimed turn in an indie movie (Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants”). Since that breakout role, the 22-year-old actress has mirrored Lawrence’s path to success in many ways, building her fledgling career on a foundation of small budget, director-driven films (like James Ponsoldt’s “The Spectacular Now” and Gregg Araki’s upcoming movie “White Bird in a Blizzard”) and now “Divergent,” a major film franchise based on a series of young adult books.

In a strange twist of fate, Woodley was once in the running for the role of Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games" — a part that eventually went to Lawrence. Despite being beat out by Lawrence for the role, there’s no rivalry between the two. Speaking with Yahoo Movies Canada in 2012, Woodley expressed her admiration for Lawrence.

“Jennifer is just incredible,” Woodley said. “She's a great actress and does a great job as Katniss.”

In a recent interview with Teen Vogue, Woodley revealed that she even asked Lawrence’s advice before taking on “Divergent.”

“I said no to the role at first, and everybody was shocked,” Woodley said. “I asked Jennifer Lawrence, ‘Are you happy with your choice to take on ‘The Hunger Games?’ And she said she wouldn’t change it for the world. She told me, ‘There are some things – don’t make a sex tape, don’t do drugs, don’t do things in public — that you wouldn’t want other people judging you for. But this is the best decision you’ll ever make.”

“Divergent” won’t be Woodley’s only trip to the big screen in 2014. The actress made a big splash at Sundance earlier this year in the psychological thriller “White Bird in the Blizzard” co-starring Eva Green (“300: Rise of an Empire”). Woodley earned high praise from critics for her performance as a teenager in search her missing mother and turned plenty heads at the festival with multiple nude scenes. It’s the sort of adult role that not many young actresses in her position would take on, but Woodley felt the nudity only helped the movie.

“I think that really authentically portrays where this character is at in her life,” the actress told Vanity Fair in January. “As long as nudity is not exploitative in a film, I think that it’s really beautiful.”

Woodley’s meteoric rise hasn’t been without speed bumps though. Last year, the actress was cast as Peter Parker’s main squeeze Mary Jane Watson in the upcoming “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” but was dropped from the film after just a few days of shooting. While an appearance in “The Amazing Spider-Man 3” is not off the table quite yet, if “Divergent” is a big hit - and ticket pre-sales seem to indicate it will be - Woodley may be too busy shooting "Insurgent" and "Allegiant" to appear in subsequent Spidey films.

So is Shailene Woodley the next Jennifer Lawrence? That's not an entirely fair question. While they two actresses may have followed a similar career path up to this point, Woodley is doing great work that speaks for itself in both big budget Hollywood pictures and indie darlings alike. Is she the next big thing? Maybe. Maybe not. The only thing that is certain, is that Woodley is consistently doing fantastic and interesting work across the board. That's a big win in any young actor's book.

"Divergent" arrives in theatres on March 21.