TIFF 2018: 30 A-List Celebs We Can Expect to See in Toronto

Date August 22, 2018

It’s that time of year again. The countdown to the 43rd annual Toronto International Film Festival is officially on. Which means that between September 6 and 16, the entire world will have their eyes on Toronto — and in Toronto, all eyes will be peeled for A-list celebrities.

The TIFF 2018 schedule is officially out, meaning we are now in the process of planning which Oscar-contending movies we want to catch, and, more importantly, which Hollywood actors we could catch a glimpse of. Eager to know whom you might casually bump into on the streets of Toronto come TIFF? See below for a list of the stars we look forward to stalking.

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper play country-singing love interests in A Star is Born, Cooper’s directorial debut. The high-anticipated film is set to have its North American premiere at TIFF following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Julia Roberts

America’s sweetheart, Julia Roberts, stars in Amazon Studios’ upcoming series Homecoming, which will screen its first four episodes as part of TIFF’s Primetime Program. Roberts also stars alongside Lucas Hedges in Ben is Back.

Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet

The silver fox and the millennial heartthrob—a truly dangerous duo. Timothée Chalamet plays Steve Carell’s methamphetamine-addicted son in Beautiful Boy, a biographical drama directed by Felix Van Groeningen.

Ryan Gosling

The Canadian comes home! For their La La Land encore, Gosling teams up with director Damien Chazelle to play astronaut Neil Armstrong in First Man.

Dev Patel and Armie Hammer

Call Me by Your Name’s Armie Hammer and Slumdog Millionaire’s Dev Patel both star in Hotel Mumbai, a true story about the victims and survivors of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson plays a criminal sent into outer space in French filmmaker Claire Denis’ film, High Life. The movie will make its world premiere at TIFF.

Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern

In TIFF’s closing film, Jeremiah Terminator Leroy, Kristen Stewart plays Knoop, who posed as the titular literary persona of her sister-in-law, Laura Albert (Laura Dern), throughout the 1990s.

Natalie Portman and Jude Law

Natalie Portman stars as a Madonna-like pop superstar in Vox Lux, a musical drama which will have its North America premiere in TIFF following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Joel Edgerton

In the Joel Edgerton directed film, Boy Erased, awards season darling Lucas Hedges plays the son of a Baptist preacher who is forced to participate in a gay conversion program after being forcibly outed to his parents, played by Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe.

Julianne Moore

The world premiere of Gloria Bell, an English remake of the 2013 film Gloria about a free-spirited divorcée, will likely bring festival fav Julianne Moore back to Toronto.

Chris Pine

TIFF is getting a Hollywood Chris! Pine puts on a Scottish accent (and a very serious beard) to play Robert the Bruce in Netflix’s bloody, Game of Thrones-eque drama, The Outlaw King.

Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem

One of the industry’s most talented married couples, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, co-star in Everybody Knows, a Spanish psychological drama.

Elle Fanning

Elle Fanning will likely return to TIFF for the third time for her film Galveston, a thriller by True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan

In Wildlife, Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal star as a couple whose marriage crumbles after they move to Montana. Gyllenhaal’s sister Maggie will also be stopping by the festival for her Netflix film, The Kindergarten Teacher.

Matthew McConaughey

We can expect Matthew McConaughey to return to Toronto for White Boy Rick, a mystery drama about a blue-collar dad and his teenage son, who becomes a hustler, drug kingpin and FBI informant in 1980s Detroit.

Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell and Michelle Rodriguez

There are a lot of heavy-hitters in Steve McQueen’s Widows, which was co-written by Gone Girl’s Gillian Flynn. The female-led heist thriller follows four women who find themselves in debt after their criminal husbands are murdered.