With the Halloween season upon us, there are plenty of promising upcoming horror movies to keep audiences busy and terrified for the next month or so. One of the most anticipated titles on that list is Parker Finn’s supernatural psychological horror flick Smile, which centers on a doctor whose life is turned upside down after witnessing a traumatic experience involving one of her patients.
Now that the movie is playing in theaters across the country, audiences are finally getting a shot at watching the “super twisted jaw-clincher” of a 2022 movie, leaving them with plenty of questions about the story, ending, and the actors who appear throughout its runtime. There are stories to help out with some of those other burning questions, but today we can tackle those surrounding the Smile cast and where you’ve seen them before. Let’s take a look now, starting with the film’s lead.
Sosie Bacon (Dr. Rose Cotter)
At the center of Smile’s twisted narrative, and its cast, is Sosie Bacon, whose portrayal of Dr. Rose Cotter received heaps of praise from Stephen King, which the horror legend called “what a hell of a performance.”
The daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, Bacon is no stranger when it comes to the world of horror, as she played the character Rachel Murray on the first two seasons of the Scream MTV series. Outside of the realm of grim and gore, she has appeared on shows like 13 Reasons Why, Here and Now, Narcos: Mexico, Mare of Easttown, and, most recently, As We See It. Prior to leading the Smile cast, she appeared in several movies, including The Last Summer, Charlie Says, and Ana Maria in Novela Land, to name only a few.
Jessie T. Usher (Trevor)
Jessie T. Usher shows up in the cast as Rose’s fiancé, Trevor, who thinks his bride-to-be’s problems are more psychological than supernatural.
Usher, who idolized Will Smith before playing his step-son in Independence Day: Resurrection, is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Reggie Franklin, a.k.a. A-Train, on the hilarious and brutal comic book series, The Boys. Prior to playing the super-fast and reckless character on one of the best shows on Amazon, he had roles on shows like Survivor’s Remorse, Level Up, and Criminal Minds throughout his career. His film credits include Dangerous Lies, The Banker, and Shaft, in which he played the youngest of the three titular characters featured in the 2019 movie.
Kyle Gallner (Joel)
Joel, Rose’s ex and the only person who seems to believe her, is played by Kyle Gallner, who brings with him more than two decades of experience in movies and TV.
The actor, who bookends his 2022 with Scream and Smile, has also appeared in movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Beautiful Creatures, American Sniper, The Finest Hours, Dinner in America, and Roost throughout his career. On top of that, he has popped up on shows like Veronica Mars, Big Love, Outsiders, and Interrogation. Gallner was also slated to portray a Wayne Gretzky-like character in Kevin Smith’s unrealized Hit Somebody, which went from being a movie to a miniseries before fading away entirely.
Robin Weigert (Dr. Madeline Northcott)
Taking on the role of Dr. Madeline Northcott in the Smile cast is Robin Weigert, who shows up as Rose’s therapist (including a terrifying transformation as seen in the movie’s trailer on YouTube).
Over the years, Weigert has appeared in multiple feature films like Things We Lost in the Fire, Concussion, Bombshell, and the mind-bending Synecdoche, New York. Her work on the small screen is even more impressive, with memorable roles like Calamity Jane in the Deadwood cast, both the series and the 2019 movie continuation of the classic HBO program. Her other TV credits include Sons of Anarchy, Big Little Lies, Castle Rock, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, and various seasons of American Horror Story.
Caitlin Stasey (Laura Weaver)
Caitlin Stasey originally played the Laura Weaver character in Laura Hasn’t Slept, Parker Finn’s short that the filmmaker later turned into this movie, which sees the actress play Rose’s patient who commits suicide to start the doctor’s dark journey.
Throughout her career, Stasey has popped up in movies that range from romantic comedies like Summer Days, Summer Nights to horror comedies like Fear, Inc. and All Cheerleaders Must Die. She has also appeared in movies like I, Frankenstein, Chu and Blossom, Lust for Love, Evidence, and Tomorrow, When the War Began. In that same stretch of time, she made appearances on a number of TV shows, including The Sleepover Club, Neighbours, Please Like Me, Reign, APB, For the People, and Fantasy Island.
Kal Penn (Dr. Morgan Desai)
Taking on the role of Dr. Morgan Desai, Rose’s boss, is one-half of the Harold and Kumar comedy duo and former White House aide, Kal Penn.
In addition to playing one of the leads in one of the most culturally significant comedies of the early 2000s with Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Penn has built a career on appearing in the movie’s various sequels, as well as in titles like Van Wilder, Malibu’s Most Wanted, Man About Town, and multiple others. Penn has found an equal amount of success on the small screen as well, landing prominent roles on shows like House, Designated Survivor, Sunnyside, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and 24, to name only a few. He is next set to appear in The Santa Clauses cast, the Disney+ continuation based on the Tim Allen Christmas movie franchise that started in 1994 with The Santa Clause.
Rob Morgan (Roscoe Talley)
Rounding out the cast is Rob Morgan, who portrays the Roscoe Talley, a prison inmate who has experience with the supernatural phenomenon afflicting Dr. Rose Cotter.
Throughout his career, Morgan has appeared in a number of notable movies including Mudbound, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, and Don’t Look Up. His TV work is just as impressive, with memorable roles on Stranger Things, This Is Us, The Knick, and the various Netflix Marvel shows, starting with Daredevil in 2015. Morgan is next set to appear in Lee Daniels’ upcoming The Deliverance.
This should help you remember where you’ve seen the Smile cast before. The new supernatural thriller is already a hit with critics, but time will tell if it becomes one of the best horror movies of all time.
