10 Canadian celebrities who had a REALLY big 2022

2022 has been a big year for a lot of stars, from the rising to the A-list.

There are endless people who've made big achievements this year but some Canadians had a REALLY big 2022. Check out our ranking in the Etalk's 2022 "Power List." 

10. Ryan Gosling

The Canadian actor celebrated his 2022 with two big blockbusters - The Gray Man and Barbie. The latter may not have been released this year but it was a buzzy conversation all year! Ryan also made his big return to the screen after 4 years with the most expensive movie that Netflix has ever made, The Gray Man. With a budget of $200 million and was directed by the Russo brothers, Ryan was pumped to get his shot at an action flick. 

"Always wanted to make an action movie. My whole life, I've done films that have action in them, but never a full-blown action movie. Kind of reminded me of like the eighties and nineties action films," he told Etalk. 

We're also predicting a pretty big 2023 for Gosling with Barbie on the horizon.

9.  Brooke Lynn Hytes 

 It feels like every year is bigger than the last for Brook Lynn and 2022 was no exception. 

She not only continued to reign supreme on Canada's Drag Race (stream now on Crave) she also appeared on Secret Celebrity Drag Race (stream now on Crave), Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. The World (stream now on Crave) and the new season of 1 Queen 5 Queers (stream now on Crave). When does she sleep?!

8.  Domee Shi 

Domee Shi is in the Oscar conversation again!  Turning Red's premiere was such a success, not only was it a feel-good animated movie, but it's also the first Pixar film to be set in Toronto, Canada. As for Domee, Turning Red was her feature directorial debu and more than just that, this made her the first woman to solo direct a Pixar film. 

"And my hope is that your takeaway is, is to embrace the messiness of life, of growing up. It's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to be big and hairy and loud" Domee said of Turning Red

7. Stephan James & Shamier Anderson

Stephan James and Shamier Anderson continue to be a power duo in 2022!

Not only are they both continuing to build up their Hollywood resumes (Stephan with Delia's Gone and Surface, and Shamier with Bruiser, A Lot of Nothing and filming for 2023's John Wick: Chapter 4), the brothers also created The Legacy Awards, honouring the achievements of Black Canadians. 

 "Seeing in the media Black trauma, it's important to know that we are doing incredible and great things and achieving levels of success that we just don't talk about that we should be talking about," Shamier told Etalk.

"So this is about creating opportunity for folks that look like us and to breed inspiration for the next generation," Stephan says.

6. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan

This year has been an amazing year for Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.

"I'm so excited, I'm so happy and so proud!" said Maitreyi. Not only did she continue to star in Never Have I Ever, the young talented actress also got her first voice acting role with Turning Red and let's not forget her CSA Radius Award this year!

"To any aspiring actor, I would just say, don't compare yourself to others if you believe in yourself first. That's what matters the most. Believe in your own work." Maitreyi continued.

We also have one more season of Never Have I Ever to look forward to in 2023. 

5. Ryan Reynolds 

In 2022, Ryan Reynolds, once again, dominated the zeitgeist. Not only were there several major stories about him all over entertainment news every month, Ryan also set streaming records with the family-friendly sci-fi flick, The Adam Project.

His successes don't stop there, the Canadian actor was also honoured with an American Cinematheque Award and the E! People's Choice Icon Award. 

"My career has taken incredible and wonderful turns because I get to work with some of the most talented people on the planet every single day," Reynolds humbly said. Ryan also has a present for all of us this holiday season by teaming up with Will Ferrell for a classic Christmas comedy movie, Spirited.

Aside from his work in film this year, Ryan and his wife, Blake Lively, also donated $500,000 to support clean water and Indigenous communities.

What an admirable and powerful celeb couple!

4. Simu Liu 

Simu Liu has been a rapidly rising star for a few years now, but in 2022, he accomplished one of the biggest things a celeb can hope for: he was noticed by Rihanna. That's right, we'll never forget about that sizzling appearance at Rihanna's Fashion Show, Savage x Fenty. 

Jokes aside, Simu is really not boxing himself in the Superhero category but branching out to do a bit of everything from hosting the JUNOs, to presenting at the Oscars to covering Vanity Fair to writing a book, We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story.

One of the most heart-warming things he did this year was finding time to come home to host the Chinese-Canadian Youth Athletic Association celebrity charity classic basketball game.

3. Tatiana Maslany 

Speaking of superheroes, Tatiana Maslany made her big MCU debut in 2022. 

We usually see Maslany in more serious and dramatic roles, but in She-Hulk, Tatiana shook up her image and showed she's got the comedy and superhero action chops to lead a mega MCU series. The talented actress also continues to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community with her now-bigger platform -- wearing a t-shirt advocating for trans rights for major She-Hulk press. 

To cap off a stellar year, she was also inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame! You can stream the ceremony on CTV.ca and the CTV app. 

2. Brendan Fraser 

There are few people who've had as big of a comeback story in 2022 as Brendan Fraser. 

The actor made his big screen return after several years away with the Oscar-buzzy drama The Whale. Not only does he have critics raving about his performance, fans are deeply invested in his success after the actor publicly opened up about the  upsetting reason he left filmmaking for so long. 

Nothing encapsulates Fraser's return better than the moment at this year's Venice Film Festival when the actor openly teared up out of happiness as he received a full 6 minute standing ovation at The Whale premiere. Later, the actor premiered the film in Toronto at TIFF to a similarly enthusiastic response.

"Very excited and welcoming and very emotional. And I'm grateful for everyone turning out tonight," said the 54-year-old at TIFF event.

1. Iman Vellani 

The top 1 of this list belongs to Iman Vellani.

 In 2022, Iman became the titular Ms. Marvel in one of the MCU's biggest TV series of the year. That's a big feat for any actor, but even more impressive when that actor is 20 years old and it's her first acting role EVER.

"It literally feels like we shot the show yesterday, and now it's a public thing. Like, it's so surreal, and I've used that word to the point where I've lost all meaning, but that's the only way I could describe it," the young actress said.

For future plans, she'll star alongside Brie Larson in The Marvels, and she's rumoured to appear in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

Watch out 2023, Iman is coming for you too!

Don’t forget to tune in to Etalk’s Present: Power List on Tuesday, December 27, 2022 at 7pm ET.