Whenever a Judd Apatow movie comes along you are almost guaranteed to see some of Hollywood’s biggest stars being put in rather ridiculous situations, but few of those compare to his latest film, The Bubble, which debuted on Netflix on April 1, 2022. The movie, which centers on a group of actors brought together to film the sixth installment in the fictional Cliff Beasts dinosaur franchise on a closed set, sounds like some fever dream, but it is all too real and the list of actors involved is something else.
The Bubble cast features everyone from the acclaimed director’s wife, Leslie Mann, and daughter, Iris Apatow, to Hollywood action stars like Karen Gillan and Pedro Pascal, and even David Duchovny, and that’s barely scratching the surface. With so many names involved, you know we had to go through and break down the entire cast from this hilarious COVID Netflix comedy.
Karen Gillan (Carol Cobb)
Leading The Bubble cast is Karen Gillan, who portrays Carol Cobb, one of the longtime stars of the Cliff Beasts franchise, which is now in its sixth installment when the new Netflix movie starts. And, just like her character, Gillan knows a thing or two about successful action franchises.
Gillan has been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since she first played Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014 and has continued to pop up in some of the best Marvel Movies in that time. The actress, who had a breakout role on Doctor Who, has also been a part of the Jumanji franchise since the long-dormant property was brought back with 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Her other credits include Gunpowder Milkshake, Stuber, and Oculus, to name a few.
Iris Apatow (Krystal Kris)
Iris Apatow, the daughter of director Judd Apatow and co-star Leslie Mann, pops up in The Bubble as Krystal Kris, a Tik Tok star who has recently joined the Cliff Beasts 6 cast.
Throughout her career, which started with a performance in her father’s 2007 romantic comedy Knocked Up, Apatow has appeared in a number of her dad’s films including Funny People and This is 40, as well as the Netflix original series Love, on which she portrayed Arya Hopkins.
Fred Armisen (Darren)
Taking on the role of Cliff Beasts 6 director Darren in The Bubble is former Saturday Night Live mainstay and Portlandia co-creator, Fred Armisen.
Throughout his career, Armisen has also appeared in countless movies, including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Easy A, The Smurfs film franchise, and most recently The Mitchells vs. the Machines. Outside of SNL and Portlandia, Armisen has been a part of shows like Crank Yankers, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Documentary Now!, Big Mouth, and Late Night with Seth Meyers, where he serves as the late night talk show’s band leader.
Maria Bakalova (Annika)
Maria Bakalova plays Annika, one of the employees at the hotel where the Cliff Beasts 6 cast is holed up during the closed shoot in The Bubble.
Bakalova is most recognizable from her appearance in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, in which she portrayed Sacha Baron Cohen’s on-screen teenage daughter, Tutar Sagdiyev. Her performance was met with universal praise and earned her a Critic’s Choice Award and nominations at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA Film Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards, to name a few. Her other work includes Bulgarian dramas Transgression and Last Call, as well as the 2022 A24 horror movie Bodies Bodies Bodies.
David Duchovny (Dustin Mulray)
Taking on the role of Dustin Mulray, another mainstay of the Cliff Beasts dinosaur action franchise in The Bubble, is David Duchovny, who brings with him years of experience in comedy, sci-fi, and just about every other genre imaginable in film and TV.
Best known for his portrayal of FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on the long-running supernatural thriller series, The X-Files, and its film adaptations, Duchovny is also remembered for leading the comedy-drama series Californication as Hank Moody, with both roles earning him Golden Globe Awards and other accolades. Duchovny’s other work includes Aquarius, Twin Peaks (the 2017 revival), Evolution, and Beethoven.
Keegan-Michael Key (Sean Knox)
Keegan-Michael Key shows up in The Bubble as Sean Knox, another longtime member of the Cliff Beasts franchise, and one who seems to be down for any and all stunts.
Although best recognized for the long-running sketch comedy show, Key & Peele, alongside Jordan Peele, Key has an extensive body of work outside the hit Comedy Central series, including Mad TV, Reno 911!, Whose Line is it Anyway?, Friends from College, and Schmigadoon!, to name just a few. His film work includes a great deal of animated features like Toy Story 4, The Lion King, the Hotel Transylvania series, and the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie.
Leslie Mann (Lauren Van Chance)
Showing up as Cliff Beasts franchise star Lauren Van Chance in The Bubble is Leslie Mann, who has appeared in a number of her husband’s films, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People, and several others over the years.
Throughout her career, Mann has been a part of several dozen other film projects including George of the Jungle, Big Daddy, Orange County, Blockers, Motherless Brooklyn, and Blithe Spirit, to name just a small portion of her film work. Man has also popped up on shows like Freaks and Geeks, Modern Family, and The Simpsons. She is next set to lead the upcoming Amazon original series, The Power.
Pedro Pascal (Dieter)
Taking on the role of Dieter, one of the members of the Cliff Beasts 6 cast, in The Bubble, is Pedro Pascal, who fans of The Mandalorian will recognize from the sound of his, oh so familiar, voice.
In addition to playing one of the most badass Star Wars characters introduced in quite some time, Pascal has also made his mark on TV with explosive performances on shows like Game of Thrones and Narcos (with The Last of Us HBO series on the way). Pascal has a great deal of film credits to his name as well, including Wonder Woman 1984, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, If Beale Street Could Talk, and the ridiculous upcoming Nicolas Cage action comedy, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
Peter Serafinowicz (Gavin)
Peter Serafinowicz shows up in The Bubble as Gavin, the producer of Cliff Beasts 6 who has been put in the unenviable position of making sure the production doesn’t go off the rails.
One of the actors who have appeared in Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (he voiced Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace and Solo: A Star Wars Story and portrayed Denarian Garthan Saal in Guardians of the Galaxy), Serafinowicz has also popped up in movies like Shaun of the Dead, The World’s End, and John Wick: Chapter 2 throughout his career. He has also appeared in dozens of TV shows, with some of the most notable being The Tick, Archer, and South Park.
Guz Khan (Howie Frangopoulos)
Guz Khan appears in The Bubble cast as Howie Frangopoulos, another longtime actor in the successful yet out-of-this-world dinosaur action franchise, Cliff Beasts.
Fans of the Netflix original movie Army of Thieves will certainly recognize Khan from his portrayal of Rolph in the 2021 heist comedy, but that’s just one part of the British comedian’s career. Since making his debut in 2016, Khan has had major roles on shows like Borderline, Zapped, Man Like Mobeen, and Our Flag Means Death, as well a few movies, including Finding Fatimah and Walk Like a Panther.
Harry Travaldewyn (Gunther)
Relative newcomer and star-in-the-making Harry Travaldewyn shows up in The Bubble cast as Gunther, the COVID-19 compliance officer who is constantly trying to keep everyone healthy (from COVID, anyway) and under control on the set of Cliff Beasts 6 so that the movie's complicated production can finally come to a close.
The new Judd Apatow movie is only Travaldewyn’s second film credit to date, with his previous feature film being the Netflix historical drama, The King, in 2019. He’s next set to appear on the TV series Call My Agent and in the upcoming comedy-drama, Sweet Sue.
Nick Kocher (Scott)
Taking on the Scott, a member of the Cliff Beasts 6 crew, in The Bubble is former Saturday Night Live writer Nick Kocher, who has appeared in a number of movies, shows, and short films throughout his career.
A co-founder of the internet sketch comedy duo BriTANick alongside Brian McElhaney, Kocher has made brief appearances on shows like The Movie Show, CollegeHumor Originals, Next Time on Lonny, How I Met Your Mother, and Louie. His film credits include Awesometown, Much Ado About Nothing, and Balls Out.
Hopefully, this helps you make sense of the massive The Bubble cast and where you’ve seen the stars before. But, this is just the beginning of the list as Kate McKinnon, Rob Delaney, Vir Das, and multiple other familiar faces pop up from time to time in Judd Apatow’s latest effort. If you want to know what other movies are coming to the popular streaming service, check out our breakdown of the 2022 Netflix movie schedule.
And, if you haven't already, you can stream The Bubble on Netflix.
