'The New Superstars'
[Mandy Moore]
Age: 18
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
Notable accomplishments: Last year pop princess Mandy Moore walked the treacherous, corpse-littered road on which so many other sirens have traveled: she made the transition to film. Smartly, she launched a one-two punch -- she took a small role as a stuck-up blonde in The Princess Diaries, then did a 180 for her first lead in A Walk to Remember. Not only did she dye her hair brown for the part, she also played an unpopular girl -- a free-spirit preacher's daughter who couldn't care less about fitting in with the cool crowd. She pulled off the supremely difficult role -- a girl so saintly and good, really, that many might be inclined to hate her, or worse, not believe any of it for a second -- with surprising dexterity. She unveiled reasons for Jamie's steadfastness without resorting to browbeating, showed genuine chemistry with costar Shane West, and, most impressively, in a story that begs for the seven-hanky treatment, gained sympathy without asking for it.
Next project: She'll soon be seen costarring in Try Seventeen with Elijah Wood, who plays a young college student busy with world-wise Moore, Run Lola Run's Franka Potente and a gaggle of kooky neighbors.
[Shane West]
Age: 24
Hometown: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Notable accomplishments: In the daringly wholesome A Walk to Remember, Shane West played Landon Carter, the sort of leader-of-the-pack bad boy transformed by the love of a young woman (played by Mandy Moore) -- a character you initially fear you've seen about five million times before. But early on in the film, West showed a redemptive, necessary gift he's shown in several otherwise-forgettable projects (his solid work on "Once and Again" notwithstanding): the ability to transcend his material. Landon's familiarity became a positive thing -- that everybody once knew somebody like him is exactly the point. He's completely real.
Next project: Until he decides on his new film, West will be spending his off hours playing with his punk band Jonny Was.