Debuts
- Rosanna Arquette
- Matt Craven - Meatballs
- Ted Danson - The Onion Field
- Keith David - Disco Godfather
- Matt Dillon - Over the Edge
- Cary Elwes - Yesterday's Hero
- Corey Feldman - Time After Time
- Danny Glover - Escape from Alcatraz
- Diane Lane - A Little Romance
- Hayao Miyazaki (director)
- Chris Penn - Charlie and the Talking Buzzard
- Mickey Rourke - 1941
- Rick Schroder - The Champ
- Wallace Shawn - Manhattan
- Martin Short - Lost and Found
- Timothy Spall - Quadrophenia
- Daniel Stern - Breaking Away
- Patrick Swayze - Skatetown, U.S.A.
- Ray Winstone
- JoBeth Williams - Kramer vs. Kramer
Read more about this topic: 1979 In Film