The Breakout Stars of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival

Part of the fun of attending the Sundance Film Festival each year isn’t just discovering great movies — it’s also becoming acquainted with terrific new actors. And the festival’s 2017 edition offered a wealth of emerging talent, from young performers making their cinematic debuts (Ashleigh Murray and Chanté Adams) to TV stars crossing over into features (Jessica Williams and Kumail Nanjiani) to a veteran character actress (Lois Smith) proving that you’re never too old to be a Sundance superstar. Here are the 10 breakout Sundance performances you can expect to hear about all year. — Ethan Alter and Kevin Polowy