We're delighted to celebrate OSD graduate Leisa Gwenllian, who has been named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow 2026.
There are some names that make you do a double take when you see them together.
Benedict Cumberbatch. Emily Blunt. James McAvoy. Dev Patel. Florence Pugh. Jodie Comer. Paul Mescal. Jessie Buckley.
All of them have something in common: at an earlier point in their careers, they were named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow.
And now, we’re incredibly proud to say that 2024 graduate Leisa Gwenllian has joined that list and been announced as one of 2026’s Stars of Tomorrow.
Leisa graduated from OSD’s Three Year Course in 2024 and, just two years later, has been selected for one of the film industry’s best-known showcases of emerging screen talent.
Screen International’s annual Stars of Tomorrow celebrates actors, writers, directors and other emerging filmmaking talent who are making their mark on the UK and Irish screen industries. Since launching in 2004, the programme has become a significant showcase for new talent, with many former Stars going on to build major careers across film and television.
For Leisa, the recognition comes at an exciting point in an already busy early career.
Her recent screen work includes Madfabulous, directed by fellow OSD graduate Celyn Jones. Madfabulous was selected for the GREAT 8 showcase at Cannes in 2025, bringing the film and its cast to an international audience.
In 2026, Leisa starred in Effi o Blaenau, Marc Evans’ Welsh-language adaptation of Gary Owen’s Iphigenia in Splott. The film premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival, with Leisa taking on the central role of Effi.
Now, her selection as a 2026 Screen International Star of Tomorrow marks another exciting milestone in her career.
And Leisa isn’t the first OSD graduate to receive the recognition.
Seven OSD graduates. Almost two decades of Stars of Tomorrow.
Leisa’s selection brings the total number of OSD graduates named Screen International Stars of Tomorrow to seven, spanning almost 20 years – which is an incredible achievement for a school that is heading into its 40th year.
From our earliest Star, Charity Wakefield, named in 2007, through to Leisa in 2026, OSD graduates have continued to appear on the list, and we couldn’t be prouder of this legacy of talent.
Charity Wakefield - Star of Tomorrow, 2007
Read More About Charity Wakefield
Charity Wakefield was the first OSD graduate named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2007.
Charity graduated from OSD’s Three Year Course in 2003. At the time of her selection, she was already attracting attention for her screen and stage work, including the BBC’s Sense and Sensibility, where she took on the lead role of Marianne Dashwood.
Since then, she has built a varied career across television, film and theatre. Her television credits include Sense and Sensibility, Wolf Hall and The Great, for which she was double SAG Award-nominated.
Her theatre work has taken her to venues including the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, Chichester Festival Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and the West End. In 2010 she was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for her role in Jessica Swale’s The Rivals.
Them, in 2018, she played William Shakespeare in the original stage production of Emilia, which transferred from Shakespeare’s Globe to the West End and won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.
Charity has also moved behind the camera, working as a producer and director. In 2025, she returned to the School to work with our graduating Three Year actors during their London Season, leading a week of research and development workshops – a lovely example of an OSD graduate coming back to support the next generation of actors following the same path.
Claire Foy – Star of Tomorrow, 2008
Read More About Claire Foy
Just a year after Charity Wakefield, Claire Foy became the second OSD graduate named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2008.
Claire graduated from OSD’s One Year Course before embarking on a career that has taken her from the National Theatre to some of the biggest film and television productions in the world.
Claire’s breakthrough came with the BBC’s Little Dorrit, before she went on to play Anne Boleyn in the acclaimed BBC miniseries Wolf Hall. Her performance earned her a BAFTA Television Award nomination for Best Actress, as well as a Critics’ Choice Television Award nomination.
Then came the role that would make Claire internationally recognised: Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s The Crown. Her performance across the first two seasons brought a remarkable collection of awards and nominations. Claire won the Golden Globe for Best Actress, two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor, and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She also won a second Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series when she returned to The Crown in its later seasons.
Claire has continued to take on ambitious roles across film and television. Her performance as Janet Armstrong in Damien Chazelle’s First Man earned her nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress, the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also won the Critics’ Choice #SeeHer Award in recognition of her contribution to the representation of women onscreen.
Claire has also continued to make her mark on stage. Her 2019 performance in Duncan Macmillan’s Lungs at the Old Vic, opposite Matt Smith, earned her the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actress in a Play. The production was filmed and subsequently made available to audiences during the theatre closures of 2020.
From being named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow shortly after graduating from OSD to winning two Primetime Emmys, a Golden Globe, two SAG Awards and a What’sOnStage Award, Claire’s career has been extraordinary in both its scale and its range.
Sophie Cookson – Star of Tomorrow, 2014
Read More About Sophie Cookson
In 2014, it was Sophie Cookson’s turn.
Just a year after graduating from OSD’s Three Year Course, she landed the role that would introduce her to audiences around the world: secret agent Roxy Morton, also known as Lancelot, in Kingsman: The Secret Service. She reprised the role in Kingsman: The Golden Circle in 2017.
Sophie’s screen work has since taken her across film and television, with roles including Pippa in The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Sidney Pierce in Netflix series Gypsy, and the title role in BBC drama The Trial of Christine Keeler, where she played Christine Keeler in the 2019–20 series. She has also appeared in films including Red Joan, Greed, Infinite, Stockholm Bloodbath and This Time Next Year.
Alongside her screen career, Sophie has continued to work in theatre, including playing Dottie in the 2018 Trafalgar Studios production of Killer Joe, alongside Orlando Bloom.
From an OSD graduate making her first major screen appearance to leading roles in television and film, her career has continued to span a wide range of characters and genres.
Tanya Reynolds – Star of Tomorrow, 2020
Read More About Tanya Reynolds
In 2020, Tanya Reynolds became the fourth OSD graduate to be named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow. Tanya graduated from OSD’s One Year Course in 2015 and racked up early screen roles in Sky’s Delicious and Netflix’s Sex Education.
As Lily Iglehart in Sex Education, she brought her brilliantly eccentric energy to one of the show’s most memorable characters, appearing across its first three seasons.
Since then, Tanya has continued to move between comedy, drama, film and theatre. She played Mrs Elton in Autumn de Wilde’s Emma, appeared as Queen Victoria in Dodger, and returned to the West End as Mei in A Mirror, earning an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 2024.
And now, in 2026, Tanya has taken on a brand-new role in the fourth season of Ted Lasso. It’s another chance to see Tanya bring her comic timing and emotional vulnerability to one of television’s biggest shows.
There’s another lovely OSD connection in Tanya’s recent work. She stars as Caroline Bingley in The Other Bennet Sister, alongside fellow OSD graduates Ella Bruccoleri, who plays Mary Bennet, and Anna Fenton-Garvey, who plays Charlotte Collins.
From Sex Education to the Olivier-nominated A Mirror, and now Ted Lasso and The Other Bennet Sister, Tanya’s career continues to show the range of opportunities that can come from building a life in the industry.
Lizzie Annis – Star of Tomorrow, 2022
Read More About Lizzie Annis
Lizzie Annis was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2022, just two years after graduating from OSD’s One Year Course. And by that point, she had already made an impressive start to her professional career.
Shortly after graduating, Lizzie was cast as the powerful druid Zacaré in Netflix’s The Witcher: Blood Origin. Filming the series marked one of her first major professional screen roles, putting her straight into an international Netflix production.
Then came her West End debut. In 2022, Lizzie took on the role of Laura Wingfield in Jeremy Herrin’s production of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie at the Duke of York’s Theatre, opposite Amy Adams. She had graduated from OSD only two years earlier.
The role brought further recognition, with Lizzie nominated for Best West End Debut at The Stage Debut Awards and Emerging Talent at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. She went on to win Most Promising Newcomer at the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards in 2023 for her performance as Laura.
Since then, Lizzie has continued to work across stage and screen, including appearing as Jade in Disney+ comedy Extraordinary. In 2026, she made her Royal Shakespeare Company debut in Middlemarch, playing Celia Brooke and Mary Garth.
From graduating in 2020 to filming The Witcher: Blood Origin, making her West End debut and being named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow within just two years, Lizzie’s early career moved at remarkable speed.
Richard Gadd – Star of Tomorrow, 2024
Read More About Richard Gadd
In 2024, Richard Gadd became the sixth OSD graduate to receive the recognition. By the time the announcement was made, his career was already entering a remarkable new chapter. Just weeks earlier, Netflix had released Baby Reindeer, the screen adaptation of his acclaimed one-man show, which he wrote, created and starred in. The series quickly became a global phenomenon, reaching number one on Netflix in dozens of countries and turning Richard into an international name almost overnight.
Richard graduated from OSD’s One Year Course in 2012 and spent the years that followed developing his own work on the comedy and theatre circuit. His shows Monkey See Monkey Do and Baby Reindeer both began at the Edinburgh Fringe before transferring to London, with Baby Reindeer going on to win an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre in 2020. That journey from one-person stage show to global television series is a particularly striking part of Richard’s story.
The success of Baby Reindeer brought an extraordinary run of awards recognition. At the 2024 Primetime Emmys, Richard won three awards: Outstanding Lead Actor, Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, the latter as an executive producer. He went on to win the 2025 BAFTA for Writer: Drama and a Golden Globe as part of the Baby Reindeer team, while also receiving nominations for BAFTA Leading Actor and Limited Drama, a Golden Globe for his performance, and a Screen Actors Guild nomination.
Richard has continued to write, create and perform his own material. In 2026, he starred as Ruben in Half Man, a new six-part drama he created about two estranged friends whose lives unfold across four decades. The series sees Richard return to the deeply personal, character-driven storytelling that has become such a distinctive part of his work. His performance as Ruben earned him a 2026 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series.
From developing one-man shows at the Edinburgh Fringe to creating and starring in one of Netflix’s biggest recent series, Richard’s career is a brilliant example of the possibilities that can come from making your own work. His journey from OSD’s One Year Course to Baby Reindeer, and now Half Man, continues to span theatre, television, writing and performance.
And now: Leisa Gwenllian – Star of Tomorrow, 2026
Leisa’s selection brings this history right up to the present.
Just two years after graduating from OSD’s Three Year Course, she’s already building a career across Welsh and UK screen work, with projects ranging from independent film to major festival showcases.
Her selection also brings the Stars of Tomorrow story full circle in an interesting way.
Our seven graduates have come through both of OSD’s main acting courses, with four One Year Course graduates and three Three Year Course graduates represented.
They have worked in theatre, film, television, writing, producing and directing. They’ve appeared in international productions, major streaming series, Hollywood films, the West End and at some of the UK’s leading theatres. And their careers have developed in very different ways.
That’s something we’re particularly proud of at OSD. There isn’t one version of what an acting career looks like, and there isn’t one route into the industry. Our job is to give actors the training, craft and confidence to build careers that are their own.
With Leisa now joining this remarkable group, we’re excited to see where her career takes her next.
Congratulations, Leisa – and welcome to the OSD Stars of Tomorrow!
We can’t wait to see what’s next.