There was a time, believe it or not, that no one had ever heard of Sofia Vergara.
Then the 2009-10 TV season arrived. And suddenly she was everywhere: Selling soft drinks, killing people in “Machete,” standing on an actual pedestal at the Emmys, and of course starring on ABC's biggest comedy, “Modern Family.”
Even with viewership down from decades past, TV still has the power to make superstars. And one of the names below could be the next one. Is it Hudson Yang, the child of a Wall Street Journal reporter chosen to star in “Fresh Off the Boat?” The lead character in “Jane the Virgin,” Gina Rodriguez? Alfred Enoch, who plays a law student willing to do almost anything on “How to Get Away With Murder?”
We don't know. It could be none of them. Or all of them.
Meet the 11 actors to watch >
Patina Miller, “Madam Secretary”
Soap opera fans might know Miller as Erica Kane's television producer on “All My Children.”
The actress — who'll appear as Commander Paylor in both “Mockingjay” installments of the “Hunger Games” movie franchise — will play Daisy Grant, press coordinator to Tea Leoni's Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord.
Suraj Sharma, “Homeland”
After anchoring an Oscar-winning film — “Life of Pi” — all by himself, Suraj Sharma is joining the legions of actors who have turned to TV.
He'll play a medical student who crosses paths with Claire Danes‘ Carrie Mathison as Showtime's CIA thriller sends her overseas to Pakistan.
Gina Rodriguez, “Jane the Virgin”
It takes a lead actress of rare charm and presence to get an audience to go along with a storyline as outrageous as this one: After years of holding on to her virginity, Jane is accidentally artificially inseminated.
Rodriguez is funny and empathetic in what could be a star-making performance. The role will finally introduce her to audiences who haven't yet checked her out in 2012 Sundance hit “Filly Brown.”
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