7 TV Stars Soon To Be Movie Stars

Leighton Meester

She’s the Gossip Girl star who isn’t Blake Lively, who’s just had a sex tape unearthed online (allegedly), who had a heck of an upbringing, who has nabbed a place in Tina Fey and Steve Carell’s upcoming comedy Date Night ...

She's even rumoured to be a frontrunner in the race to become Wonder Woman. Phew.

Alexander Skarsgard

He’s the son of Stellan who’s ace in David Simon’s Iraq miniseries Generation Kill and also appears in the Anna Paquin-led vampire show True Blood.

Film-wise, so far it’s just the Swedish Metropia and Puss (well, he is Swedish) and iffy-looking Britcom Beyond The Pole .

Given the right roles though, he could soon be doing work of dad’s Good Will Hunting quality.

Lyndsy Fonseca

She’s the rather pretty star of three pretty decent TV shows – Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, Big Love – and she's just shot Matthew Vaughn’s Mark Millar adap Kick-Ass .

Fonseca is now making the brilliantly titled Hot Tub Time Machine with John Cusack.

Expect much wider exposure. Oscars, one assumes, can wait.

Adam Brody

He’s practically an old-timer what with The OC having ended eons ago. But then his geek chic didn’t take off as expected despite the aceness of Thank You For Smoking and high-profileness of Mr & Mrs Smith .

Time for Take 2, with Jennifer’s Body , Kevin Smith’s A Couple Of Dicks and maybe, just maybe, a role in Justice League: Mortal as The Flash.

Elisabeth Moss

She is – Jon Hamm aside – the best thing about Mad Men and the practice her Peggy has had sticking it to the blokes will serve her well in Russell Brand vehicle Get Him To The Greek .

It’s also worth looking out for the ’60s ad show’s Vincent Kartheiser, too. He’s the new Leo, y’know.

Taylor Kitsch

He’s the hot guy you’ve just seen as Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine who had a major role in the much-praised TV show Friday Night Lights.

Coming up...

Pixar director Andrew Stanton’s live-action version of John Carter Of Mars , which also stars the brilliant Jon Hamm off Mad Men, who’s only not in this features because he’s a bit old(er).

Hayden Panettiere

The Cheerleader from hit TV show Heroes and 2006's Bring It On sequel (cheerleading, again).

But while she doesn't seem to be taking obvious steps to avoid being typecast, she insists it’s all just part of the long-term plan to move on.

Next up? She's playing a cheerleader in Chris Columbus' I Love You, Beth Cooper.

See the latest issue of Total Film (158) for an interview with Hayden Panettiere .

Click here for to see a preview.