You want to talk about one of my favorite modern musicals? Let’s talk about Mamma Mia!
From the brilliant songs that will surely make your head bop from side to side and get up out of your seat to dance to the fun romance that makes me smile each time, Mamma Mia! is a comfort movie at its finest, and one that I can get behind. But with a movie that’s almost fourteen years old (yes, you read that right, fourteen), one might be wondering where the cast is.
Besides most of these actors appearing in the sequel, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! in 2018, everyone has been up to so many things, from starring roles in other musicals to major dramas and award-winning portrayals. Here is everything the cast of Mamma Mia! has done since their iconic roles.
Meryl Streep (Donna Sheridan-Carmichael)
You want to talk about an icon, let’s talk about Donna in Mamma Mia!, played by an icon herself, Meryl Streep. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to her version of the very song, “Mamma Mia." Even so, Meryl Streep, of course, has been up to her knees in amazing movies and shows for years now.
In terms of movies, one of her highlights has been playing the legendary prime minister of England, Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, for which she won an Academy Award. Some of her other major roles that you might have seen her in are Julie & Julia, the musical film, Into the Woods ,the romantic comedy, It’s Complicated, the Netflix original film, The Laundromat, the biographical movie The Post (alongside Tom Hanks), the 2021 Netflix film, Don’t Look Up, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, and many, many more.
While she focuses a lot of her talent on movies, Meryl Streep also appeared in some major TV shows, her biggest being a part of the Big Little Lies cast during Season 2. Coming up, she'll be appearing in a new TV series called Extrapolations, a new series at Apple TV+.
Amanda Seyfried (Sophie Sheridan)
The daughter of Donna, Sophie was a young woman who just wanted answers about her mother’s past in Mamma Mia!, and who could forget the sweet duet she shared with Donna in “Slipping Through My Fingers” together? Amanda Seyfried portrayed Sophie in the film, and has been quite active in movies.
Amanda Seyfried did for a time appear in Big Love on HBO, but has mainly kept her talents to movies. Some of the highlights of her career so far include a starring role in Les Miserables, the horror film, Jennifer’s Body, The Art of Racing in the Rain, the Scooby-Doo film, Scoob!, the Netflix original film, Mank, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, and her most recent entry, A Mouthful of Air.
Soon, she'll be appearing in The Dropout, an upcoming miniseries on Hulu, playing the lead character, Elizabeth Holmes.
Christine Baranski (Tanya Chesham-Leigh)
Next up, we have Tanya, one of Donna’s former bandmates and a bit of a vixen herself with sass for days in Mamma Mia!, played by the amazing Christine Baranski. This legendary actress has been active in both movies and TV, with some big roles in the latter.
For movies, Baranski's popped up in films like Into the Woods, A Bad Moms Christmas, Christmas on the Square, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, and more.
But some of her biggest roles have been in television. While she’s had plenty of guest and recurring roles, one of her biggest parts thus far was portraying Diane Lockhart on The Good Wife, as well as on The Good Fight, for several episodes, and a role that she has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award numerous times.
Coming up, Baranski has a starring role in The Gilded Age, a new HBO series, as well a role in the movie, Bad Moms' Moms, which was announced in 2019, though no new news has come out since.
Julie Walters (Rosie Mulligan)
Next up, we have Rosie Mulligan, another one of Donna’s former bandmates who comes to Greece for this destination wedding in Mamma Mia!. Played by Julie Walters, the actress has made her way into the hearts of both movie-goers and TV lovers alike.
With film, Walters portrayed Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter series for several years, becoming the family’s matriarch and everyone’s favorite mom. Besides that, she’s had roles in several movies like the Paddington series, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, the Pixar film, Brave, Brooklyn, Mary Poppins Returns, The Secret Garden and more.
In television, she’s appeared in several limited series, including The Jury, The Hollow Crown, Indian Summers, National Treasure and more. She’s also used her lovely voice to narrate several documentaries, like Heathrow: Britain’s Busiest Airport and For the Love of Britain.
Walters doesn't seem to have anything in the works as of right now, but I'm sure it won't be long until we see her talented acting on the screen once more.
Pierce Brosnan (Sam Carmichael)
Next up, we have Pierce Brosnan, who played Sam Carmichael in Mamma Mia!, one of the three lovely men from Donna’s past. Brosnan has, of course, been up to his knees in work. This is one of the former James Bonds we’re talking about.
In movies, Brosnan has starred in The Ghost Writer, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lighting Thief, Love Is All You Need, A Long Way Down, The Foreigner, the Amazon original movie, Cinderella, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, and many others.
Brosnan has also had success in television since his appearance, appearing in the miniseries, Bag of Bones, adapted from the Stephen King book, and The Son.
Coming up, Brosnan is going to be appearing in a variety of movies, including DC's Black Adam, The Medusa, The Last Rifleman and more.
Colin Firth (Harry Bright)
Moving on, we have Harry Bright, another love from Donna’s past life, played by the lovely Colin Firth. Firth, like Meryl Streep, has had quite the career after his appearance in Mamma Mia!, mainly in movies.
Two of his biggest roles thus far in film were portraying King George VI in The King’s Speech, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, as well as a main role in The Kingsman spy series as Harry Hart.
Other big roles of his in the last fourteen years have included Dorian Gray, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Devil’s Knot, Bridget Jones’s Baby, 1917, Supernova, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, and many more. He did appear in the romantic comedy television short, Red Nose Day Actually on television, but other than that, he has mainly stuck to the big screen.
Firth is set to appear in a new miniseries, The Staircase, as well as appear in two new movies called Kill the Light and Empire of Light.
Stellan Skarsgard (Bill Anderson)
Next up, we have the final man from Donna’s past life in Mamma Mia!, Bill Anderson, played by Stellan Skarsgard. He has been active in Hollywood for quite some time, and has only continued to prove how much of a powerhouse he is.
In movies, one of Skarsgard’s biggest roles was being a part of the Thor world for some time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing Erik Selvig and appearing in both Thor and Thor: The Dark World, as well as The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Some of his other big roles in movies since his appearance have been Angels & Demons, Frankie and Alice, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Romeo and Juliet, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, Disney’s live-action Cinderella, 2021’s epic sci-fi film, Dune, and much more.
Skarsgard has also had quite the career in television as well, appearing in shows such as Entourage, Quarry, River, and the HBO miniseries, Chernobyl.
He’s also going to be a part of the upcoming Disney+ series set in the Star Wars universe, Andor. Alongside that, Skarsgard is set to appear in the sequel to Dune, as well a new movie titled What Remains, so you'll surely see him again soon enough.
Dominic Cooper (Sky Ramand)
Moving on, now we have Dominic Cooper, who played Sky Ramand, the care-free guy that Sophie was in love with and wanted to spend the rest of her life traveling around the world with, even after their wedding was a bust in Mamma Mia!. Dominic Cooper has also had a crazy career, both movies and television.
Like Skargard, Cooper also went into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing the role of young Howard Stark in Captain America: The First Avenger. He would go on to reprise this role in both the short film, Agent Carter and the series it was based on, and voice the role again for What If…?, one of the latest Marvel series on Disney+.
In terms of other movies, Cooper has popped up in a variety of genres, such as An Education, My Week With Marilyn, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Need for Speed, Warcraft, The Escape, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, and more.
Cooper, however, has kept a lot of his talent to television as he had a hit AMC show, Preacher, that he starred in for four seasons, acting a priest who gets insane powers and gives him the opportunity to find God. Besides his big role here, he’s also appeared in many other shows like The Grand Tour, Spy City and others.
The actor is set to star in the series The Dirty Black Bag as Arthur McCoy, as well as pop up in some new movies as well, including The Duchess of Malfi, Peacock, and Nightfall.
Niall Buggy (Father Alex)
While he wasn’t in Mamma Mia! for long, Father Alex was a priest who was literally just there to get someone married and wanted to get the heck out of there as soon as possible, and he was played by Niall Buggy.
Buggy has appeared in a variety of projects with both movies and TV. In movies, he popped up in Mr. Turner, A Girl from Mogadishu and the TV film As Luck Would Have It. He’s had many appearances in television as well, having guest roles in shows such as Jack Taylor, Will, Cobra and others.
Buggy doesn't seem like he has anything lined up just yet to work on, but hopefully it won't be long before we see him appear on our TV screens or movie screens again.
Philip Michael (Pepper)
Last but not least, we have Pepper, the saucy bartender who was heavily hitting on Tanya and the center of the song, “Does Your Mother Know?” in Mamma Mia! Philip Michael portrayed the role, and ever since he’s kept a relatively low profile in Hollywood, appearing in independent films or the occasional guest role in TV shows.
This includes, but is not limited to, The Londoners, Prank Lab, Major Crimes, Luke Cage, Things Eternal, and others. He’s also had appearances in movies like The Black Hole, Trees of Peace and more. His biggest role was playing Joshua Udenze in Fair City, a long-lasting Irish TV drama.
But it seems Michael has a lot of work coming up, including a miniseries titled Southbank, and a couple of movies titled Pride of the Fist and Ulysses Coyote, so hopefully we’ll get to see more of him soon.
I think we need another Mamma Mia! movie, but only that happens, I can at least rewatch this films and feel happy all over again. Great, now that song is stuck in my head.
