You probably don’t recognize Halston Sage or even her name for that matter, and if you do then you probably either have a very impressive knowledge of under-35 Hollywood actors, or you’ve watched enough episodes of The Orville to remember her. Halston Sage was born on May 10, 1993, in Los Angeles—the city of Hollywood itself—so it’s not too much of a surprise that she ended up being an actress. She was raised in a family of five with two siblings, an older brother, and a younger sister. Her parents were never involved in the entertainment industry, so it’s safe to say that Halston isn’t a “Nepo baby actress” like a few modern-day actors are.

That said, even though Halston’s parents aren’t famous actors, writers, producers, or musicians, they were nonetheless supportive of her pursuit of becoming an actress, and their appreciation for the arts certainly helped shape that support. And luckily for Halston, her parents aren’t the academically driven kind who wouldn’t as much as show an ounce of pride in their child until it earns a PhD, so she never felt pressure to overperform academically in order to earn their approval. Instead, she was free to do what she wanted while growing up, which included a lot of horseback riding (she’s an award-winning equestrian) and becoming an actress.

How Did Halston Get Into Acting?

So, with parents not connected to the entertainment industry in any way and with no real connections to the world of entertainment herself, how did Halston Sage actually end up becoming an actress? Was she, like many modern-day actresses, a model at first and then transitioned to acting thanks to her looks? Nope. Halston was never involved in modeling, at least not on a professional cutthroat level. Instead, Halston participated in tons of school plays back when she was studying in the private high school Archer School for Girls which is how her love and passion for acting was initially cultivated.

In many interviews, she recalls how performing on a theater stage during her high school days not only helped her fall in love with acting but also allowed her to develop the confidence necessary for performing on stage. She never went to any formal acting school or participated in specialized acting programs, rather, she learned acting organically via those aforementioned high school plays she continuously participated in, and the positive feedback she received for her performances encouraged her to seek out a career in acting.

Her Breakthrough Role Was For A Nickelodeon Show Called “How to Rock”

Seeing as how Sage lived in LA, it wasn’t exactly hard for her to at the very least begin prodding into the entertainment industry, specifically Hollywood, which was basically right at her doorstep. She signed with an agent early on in her career and earned her first breakthrough recurring role in 2012, meaning that she was already acting full-time just a year after graduating from high school. That role would have her playing the character Grace King on a Nickelodeon show called How to Rock. Sage appeared on 25 episodes of that show, which not only helped hone her acting talent but also filled her resume as a professional actress. It wasn’t long before Sage started receiving offers for other television projects. In 2014, she made a guest appearance on the critically acclaimed teen drama ""Crisis"", where she portrayed Amber Fitch, a pivotal character in a high-stakes kidnapping plot. Her work in this show demonstrated her ability to handle more dramatic and complex roles, which is something like a rite of passage for many professional actors, especially those who want to avoid being typecast.

Her Most Notable Role To Date Is “Alana Kitan” On The Hilarious Sci-Fi Comedy “The Orville”

If you’ve ever seen even a single episode of The Orville then you’ve definitely witnessed some peak modern-day comedy writing. The show itself is produced by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, who also stars as its main character. Seth has a penchant for hiring some incredibly witty writers for the shows he produces, and The Orville is certainly no exception to that. Halston plays Alana Kitan in that show, a high-ranking officer in a space fleet whose personality is equal parts strong, intelligent, and courageous. Her role in The Orville wouldn’t last long, as she only appeared in the show’s first season. That said, Halston was nonetheless a fan favorite while starring as Alana Kitan in a total of 17 episodes of The Orville, and that role would mark her official departure from kids' shows, helping her develop into a fully-fledged adult actress capable of starring in shows that aren’t meant for a younger audience. After The Orville, Halston would start shifting away from TV roles and would start to appear in more big-budget flicks.

Transition To Film And Breakout Movie Roles

By 2014, Sage had become a serious actress and would start to accept only roles meant for high-profile movies with considerable budgets. This includes 2014’s Neighbors, 2015’s Paper Towns and 2017’s Before I Fall. In Neighbors, she played college student Brooke Shy, a member of the rowdy sorority that moves in next door to a suburban couple. The role itself wouldn’t demand much of her as far as acting goes, but the movie was a commercial success, meaning that her portfolio as an actress received yet another impressive addition. Remember, with Hollywood, sometimes it doesn’t take groundbreaking acting to be considered a good actor, as having even a minor role in an otherwise successful movie meant that your appearance in a big-budget flick is good for business.

After Neighbors, Halston continued to diversify her portfolio with her appearance in the mystery thriller Paper Towns, which is based on the best-selling novel by John Green. In this film, Sage plays Lacey Pemberton, a high school student who joins a group of friends in searching for their missing classmate. Unlike Neighbors, Paper Towns demanded considerably more oomph from Halston in terms of her acting ability, which she delivered. Her character displayed a wide range of emotional complexity and groundedness, proving that Sage could potentially develop into an Oscar-worthy actress in the future. Two years later in 2017’s Before I Fall, Halston played Lindsay Edgecomb, a popular yet deeply flawed high school student. Before I Fall explores themes of regret, friendship, and redemption, and provided yet another opportunity for Halston to show off her increasingly impressive range of acting skills. After her appearance in Before I Fall, Halston more or less became a genuine high-profile Hollywood actress.

Sage’s Most Recent Work Is Nothing Short Of Impressive

During the last few years of the 2010s to the present, Halston’s acting portfolio filled up with even more pivotal roles in high-profile movies as well as critically-acclaimed TV shows. One of her most notable recent works is her portrayal of Ainsley Whitney in the psychological drama Prodigal Son. The 33-episode-long show was praised for its gripping narrative, and Halston’s role as the intelligent, driven Ainsley Whitney allowed her to showcase yet another facet of her impressively diverse acting abilities. The role also proved that she could seamlessly transition between genres since by then she’d had multiple roles in comedies, dramas, and thrillers.

In other words, Halston could just as well play a cold and calculated character as she could a goofball, and she also had no difficulties embodying emotionally conflicted and distressed characters as well. In 2019, Halston also proved that she could successfully star in action-packed superhero movies with her portrayal of the X-Men mutant “Dazzler” in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. And more recently, she also returned to her comedy roots by starring in the 2023 comedies The List and Daughter Of The Bride, proving yet again that she could transition back and forth from serious to unserious, lighthearted roles. As Halston Sage continues to take on new and challenging roles, there is little doubt that she will remain a prominent figure in Hollywood, and could potentially go on to win an Oscar one day.