Although she's only 23-years-old, Danielle Rose Russell is already an up-and-coming actress who looks sure to be one to watch for the future. She's most famous for her character, Hope Mikaelson, on the hit CW show The Originals and its spin-off, but has also been a supporting actress in some great films too. While the list of her acting credits list is still a burgeoning one, her popularity is certainly growing.

After starting off as a model, Russell made her first film appearance in 2014. She's since become a well-liked actress among younger viewers and has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award because of this. With some memorable roles already behind her, Russell's career seems almost certain to flourish in the wake of her growing popularity so far. Here's look at all of her performances so far in ranked order.

8 Aloha

Russell in Aloha
Sony Pictures Releasing

In only her second acting role back in 2015, Danielle Rose Russell was already proving to be a highly competent young actress, even at 15-years-old. In the film, Aloha, she played Bradley Cooper's young daughter at a time when he had already been nominated for two Academy Awards.

Related: Best Movies Produced by Bradley Cooper, Ranked

Although her role wasn't a big one, the young actress was able to gain experience working alongside stars like Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, and Alec Baldwin. The film itself, a romantic comedy, however, lost money at the box office and was panned by critics. Regardless, young Danielle was already proving more than capable of holding her own, even when cast alongside major stars.

7 Pandemic

Russell in Pandemic
XLrator Media

Russell immediately followed up her work in Aloha with another film role. This time she took part in a movie that had many unusual elements. Pandemic was shot in a first-person POV style, giving it the stylized look of a first-person shooter video game. The film follows a zombie outbreak in the aftermath of a pandemic that has ravaged the world.

The film did receive some positive reviews but was mostly panned by critics. Despite its appeal as a supernatural flick with some pretty cool action scenes and a style that should have appealed to gamers, overall, the film was criticized for being a little gimmicky. However, Danielle Rose Russell played her part well, and after notching another film appearance to her name, her best work was still yet to come.

6 A Walk Among the Tombstones

Russell in A Walk Among the Tombstones
Universal Pictures

A couple of years before she made Aloha and Pandemic, Russell had first made her acting debut in the Liam Neeson led film, A Walk Among the Tombstones. Billed as a neo-noir action film based on a novel of the same name by Lawrence Block, the film was commercial success. The reviews were generally favorable, but still underwhelmed with critics.

However, like the original story, the movie was a gritty one that followed a former NYPD cop turned private investigator as he chased murderers around the city on behalf of his client. His methods along the way often skated between lines of lawfulness and vigilantism. The film was again a smaller role for Russell as she played Lucia, the teenage daughter of a Russian drug dealer, but still garnered her enough attention to lead to her other roles.

5 The Last Tycoon

Russell in The Last Tycoon
Amazon Studios

In what was her first role in a TV show, Danielle Rose Russell took on the role of Darla Miner in the short-lived 2016 series, The Last Tycoon. Starring Matt Bohmer and Kelsey Grammar as its leads, the show was based on a novel by the famed author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, that was published posthumously.

Related: 8 TV Shows That Were Canceled Before They Could Properly Finish Their Story

It told the tale of a producer and his clashes with a rival during the 1930s Hollywood scene. Russell had a recurring role in the show and featured in six episodes. Unfortunately, the show was canceled by Amazon Studios since it failed to muster the kind of critical reception required to justify its large budget and renewal expectations. However, Russell's role in it led to her featuring other series after it which would eventually take her career to new heights.

4 Wonder

Russell in Wonder
Lionsgate

By 2017, Russell had moved to feature in the sweet drama film, Wonder. Also based on a novel, Wonder had a stellar cast that included Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and one of the most talented child stars of our generation, Jacob Tremblay. The film revolved around Tremblay's character, August "Auggie" Pullman, while Russell played his sister's best friend.

Wonder was a real tear-jerker, and had a soul to it that was as sweet as the little kid at its center who suffers through many struggles, physical agony, and complex emotional pain since he was born with a rare facial deformity. Despite his tragic circumstances, Auggie wins over the hearts of audiences, just as the film won over critics. A huge commercial success, the film holds an 85 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes - making it the most successful film Russell has been in to date.

3 Measure of a Man

Russell in Measure of a Man
Great Point Media

By 2018, Danielle Rose Russell had established herself as promising actress on the rise. Since her success in a much better received TV show that same year, she then took on what would become her last film to date. The film was called Measure of a Man and is also known as American Summer. With a talented cast that featured Blake Cooper, Donald Sutherland, Judy Greer, and Luke Wilson, it took on some complex issues like body image and bullying.

Russell plays the role of Joanie, the best friend of the main character, who suffers with self-esteem issues. A review by The Hollywood Reporter summarized Russell's character in the film as follows:

"Joanie’s bigger-than-average nose is the kind of quirk that makes her otherwise generically pretty face beautiful. But only the viewer and Bobby see things that way: She’s bullied about it, and like plenty of Jewish girls before her, has internalized her mother’s dissatisfaction. When Joanie tells Bobby her family has to leave the lake for a few weeks to stay the city, Bobby’s the only one who doesn’t understand that’s so she can heal from a nose job with no one around to see."

2 The Originals

Russell in The Originals
The CW

In its day, The Originals was a hit spin-off show that built off the success of its famous predecessor The Vampire Diaries. Featuring vampires, witches, and werewolves, the show was one that reveled in these supernatural elements and often delved into the political dynamics of such beings.

The famous Mikaelson family (known as "the originals" since they were the first vampires) from the parent show again feature prominently as it initially revolves around Klaus Mikaelson, who is a "hybrid" - since he's the son of a witch and werewolf. The show ran for five seasons, but not before it had a massive effect on Danielle Rose Russell's career. She was introduced in season five, playing a character called Hope.

Related: The Originals: Main Characters Ranked By Tragedy

Also a part of the Mikaelson family, Hope is the teenage daughter of Klaus and another character named Hayley. Through her parentage, Hope has a trifecta of werewolf, witch, and vampire blood running through her veins, making her extremely powerful. Russell proved to be immensely popular as Hope Mikaelson, so much so that after the show ended, a new spin-off took its place and featured her as the main character.

1 Legacies

Russell in Legacies
The CW

Following on her success in The Originals, Danielle Rose Russell reprized her role of Hope Mikaelson. This time, in the spin-off show, Legacies, she shone as the main character and her popularity as an actress has since skyrocketed too. Legacies builds further on The Vampire Diaries universe as it features characters from that show and The Originals.

Hugely popular among fans of supernatural shows, Legacies, like its predecessors, became a beloved part of the larger franchise and has received its share of critical acclaim as well. Russell also gained a huge fan following and was the hit of the show for many people. After she stayed in it as its main character for all of its four seasons between 2018 and 2022, Russell took an unexpected break from acting when the show ended after a successful four season run.

While she and her character were both extremely popular, a sad turn of events somewhat marred the success she gained from being on The Originals and Legacies. Russell has long since been seen as a beautiful actress, and was previously well known for being curvy as well. Unfortunately, not everyone saw it that way.

When the popular fantasy book series by famous author Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses, got picked up to be adapted into a series for Hulu. Many Legacies fans felt that Danielle Rose Russell would be a great casting choice for it. Even though these were just opinions, other fans of the books began body-shaming Russell, stating that she was too fat to be in the show. The heated debate this caused between her fans and her body-shamers possibly led to Russell stepping away from acting for a while - though this was never confirmed.

Nevertheless, when Russell emerged again, she was noticeably slimmer and her new look has caused greater levels of interest and fascination in the young actress's weight loss journey. Whatever her reasons for losing the weight, Russell and her performances in the films and TV shows she's been in so far have earned her a loyal legion off fans who can't wait to see what's in store next for the talented star. Only time will tell, but what seems certain for now is that we haven't seen the last of Danielle Rose Russell on our screens as the actress seems set to become a huge star of the future.