Many of Netflix’s original horror movies are among the best horror movies I have seen in more recent years. Joining forces with the platform is Christopher Landon — the writer and director of recent favorites from Blumhouse, Freaky and the Happy Death Day films — for his latest horror-comedy movie, We Have a Ghost.
Based on the short story, “Ernest,” by Geoff Manaugh, the new 2023 Netflix original movie follows an average family who get themselves into a situation that is far from ordinary after discovering that the lingering spirit of a deceased man lives in their new house. However, once you see who plays titular apparition, you will understand why this ghostly presence is nothing to be afraid of. That is where we shall start as we take a look at the actors who make up the We Have a Ghost cast.
David Harbour (Ernest)
As the ghostly, but friendly, Ernest, we have David Harbour, who has played characters who've, instead, had to deal with paranormal activity before — Hellboy in the comic book hero’s 2019 reboot and Hopper in the Stranger Things cast.
The two-time Emmy nominee’s other previous comic book roles include Dexter Tolliver in 2016’s Suicide Squad and Red Guardian in the Black Widow cast, and his other Netflix exclusive credits include Extraction and the animated series, Q-Force. The Violent Night cast’s Santa actor is also known for Brokeback Mountain, Revolutionary Road, End of Watch, and Stephen Soderbergh’s twisty 2021 crime drama, No Sudden Move.
Anthony Mackie (Frank)
Playing Frank, the father of the household that Ernest haunts, is fellow MCU star Anthony Mackie who — before playing current Captain America, Sam Wilson — made his film debut in 8 Mile, which he followed with several more notable releases, including two Best Picture Oscar winners (Million Dollar Baby and The Hurt Locker).
We Have a Ghost is only Mackie’s latest collaboration with Netflix — following original sci-fi movies IO and Outside the Wire and original sci-fi TV shows Black Mirror and Altered Carbon Season 2, among other titles. Some of his most notable credits as off late include fact-based crime drama Detroit, 2018 social commentary The Hate U Give, and the recent time travel favorite, Synchronic, in 2019.
Jahi Winston (Kevin)
Starring as Frank’s son and Ernest's living friend, Kevin, is Jahi Winston, who debuted at age 13 on AMC’s short-lived drama, Feed the Beast, before landing his first movie with 2017’s The Upside, which he followed the next year with a role in Taraji P. Henson’s Blaxploitation throwback, Proud Mary, and his last Netflix original title — the short-lived series, Everything Sucks!
In 2019, he appeared alongside the all-star cast of The Dead Don’t Die and in one of the best Daniel Kaluuya movies, Queen & Slim. The following year, he led Charm City Kings — an HBO Max original no longer available on the platform — and the thriller The Violent Heart.
Tig Notaro (No Character Name Provided)
Another We Have a Ghost cast member who has worked with Netflix multiple times — such as for one of her stand-up specials, as Marianne Peters in the Army of the Dead cast, a documentary about her cancer diagnosis, and the hit rom-com, Your Place or Mine, most recently — is Tig Notaro. The comedian (also the co-creator and star of her short-lived, autobiographical Amazon Prime dramedy, One Mississippi) has led a versatile acting career that includes comedy movies like 2018’s Instant Family and even one of the Star Trek TV shows — namely Star Trek: Discovery as Commander Jett Reno.
Erica Ash (No Character Name Provided)
The last you might have seen of We Have a Ghost cast member Erica Ash on Netflix is in her recurring role of Grace on Family Reunion, but her earliest credits include breakout gigs on sketch comedy series The Big Gay Sketch Show and MADtv, a notable feature film role in 2013’s Scary Movie V, and hilarious performance on BET’s Real Husbands of Hollywood as co-creator Kevin Hart’s ex-wife, Bridgette.
After appearing in 2018’s sports comedy, Uncle Drew, she led the 2019 crime thriller, Skin in the Game and earned a recurring role on The CW’s Legacies. More recently, Ash leant her voice to HBO’s animated DC TV show, Aquaman: King of Atlantis, appeared in the Shudder original anthology horror movie, Horror Noire, and returned to sketch comedy with an episode of HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show.
Jennifer Coolidge (No Character Name Provided)
As a medium from the West Bay we have Jennifer Coolidge, whose own previous Netflix exclusive credits include the 2016’s Mascots (her latest of several mockumentaries directed by Christopher Guest), the 2021 LGBTQ+ holiday rom-com, Single All the Way, and The Watcher cast as a realtor.
However, some of her biggest fans may recognize her better from the American Pie cast as Stifler’s Mom, the Legally Blonde movies, or her Emmy-winning role in The White Lotus cast as Tanya McQuoid. Her eclectic career (which began with a Seinfeld episode) also includes a starring role on 2 Broke Girls, playing Carey Mulligan’s mom in Promising Young Woman, and the recent romantic action movie, Shotgun Wedding.
Faith Ford (No Character Name Provided)
Another member of sitcom royalty in the We Have a Ghost cast is Faith Ford, who earned five Emmy nominations for playing Corky Sherwood on Murphy Brown (including the 2018 revival), before playing the late Norm Macdonald’s love interest on his self-titled sitcom and, later, playing one-half of the titular sisterly duo on ABC’s Hope & Faith. She also starred opposite Vin Diesel in 2005’s family-friendly action-comedy, The Pacifier, and appeared on star Craig Robinson’s Peacock original TV show, Killing It, in 2022.
Niles Fitch (No Character Name Provided)
Another Netflix veteran in the We Have a Ghost cast — with guest spots on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Atypical, and Social Distance — is Niles Fitch, who debuted with a guest role on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne before earning a recurring role on Army Wives and landing his film debut with 2014’s St. Vincent. Soon after, he landed his best known role as a younger Randall Pearson alongside the This Is Us cast and, during that run, starred opposite Denzel Washington in Roman J. Israel, Esq., played Uzo Aduba’s son in Miss Viriginia, and was in the Jenna Ortega-led coming-of-age drama, The Fallout.
Isabella Russo (No Character Name Provided)
Isabella Russo’s Netflix exclusive credits prior to joining this cast consist of one episode of two different animated series — Centaurworld and Princess Power. She also leant her voice to Apple TV+’s Wolfboy and the Everything Factory, but her notable live-action work includes two episodes of HBO’s Crashing and on episodes of both Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime that crossed over with one another in 2022.
Steve Coulter (No Character Name Provided)
Last, but not least, we have Jennifer Coolidge’s Shotgun Wedding co-star, Steve Coulter, whose very impressive and lengthy resume includes franchises like the Fast and Furious movies and the Conjuring Universe (both of which feature him as a priest) and other acclaimed films like Just Mercy and The Front Runner, to name a few. His most notable screen roles as of late include Jennifer Walters’ boss in the She-Hulk cast, Montana State University president Mel Thompson in the Yellowstone cast, and Sheriff Tommy Bailey on Starz’s P-Valley, also to name just a few.
See who gets spooked on We Have a Ghost by streaming the new horror-comedy on Netflix now.
