Personally, I believe that video game movies and TV shows are in a better place than they have ever been thanks to hit releases like the Sonic the Hedgehog movies and the TV series adaptation of The Last of Us, to name just a few recent examples. Said Emmy-nominated HBO show gives me reason to believe that upcoming horror movies (and/or upcoming horror TV shows) based on video games also have a bright future ahead of them, which is why Five Nights at Freddy’s is one of the hottest tickets on the 2023 movies schedule for the Halloween season.
From co-writer and director Emma Tammi, this thriller is inspired by the popular series of video games by Scott Cawthon set at a rundown family entertainment center inhabited by cute animatronic animals that just happen to be possessed by vengeful spirits. While the real stars of this new Blumhouse horror movie — which opens today — are, obviously, Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy and Mr. Cupcake, the humans in the Five Nights at Freddy’s cast boast some great talent and star power. Before you head to your local theater or you use your Peacock subscription to see them in action, let’s take a look at what other movies and TV shows you may know these actors from.
Josh Hutcherson (Mike Schmidt)
Leading the Five Nights at Freddy’s cast as Mike Schmidt, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza’s new security guard, is Josh Hutcherson, who has been acting since he was 10 and, early on, starred in hits like Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle, Robert Zemeckis’ mo-cap holiday adventure The Polar Express and another Chris Van Allsburg adaptation, Zathura. He went on to lead the coming-of-age romance Little Manhattan, played Robin Williams’ son in RV, did another hit book adaptation called Bridge to Terabithia, and was in the Oscar-nominated dramedy, The Kids are All Right.
Of course, Hutcherson is best known these days for playing Peeta Mellark in the Hunger Games movies, Around this time, he also starred in the Jules Verne-inspired Journey film series, 2012’s Red Dawn remake and the animated fantasy Epic in 2013. More recently, he appeared in A24’s The Disaster Artist, led the Hulu original sci-fi comedy series, Future Man, and starred opposite Morgan Freeman in another time-travel thriller called 57 Seconds, which also came out in 2023.
Elizabeth Lail (Vanessa)
Vanessa — a police officer Mike meets while working at Freddy’s — is only Elizabeth Lail’s latest major role in a horror title. She previously starred on Freeform’s short-lived teen slasher series Dead of Summer in 2016, led 2019’s technophobic thriller Countdown, and was on the first season of You when it was still a Lifetime exclusive (if you want to count that).
Her breakout role was in the Once Upon a Time cast as Princess Anna/Joan for 10 episodes in 2014. Following guest appearances on series like The Blacklist and The Good Fight, she made her film debut in 2018’s Unintended. More recently, Lail appeared on Max’s Gossip Girl reboot, was on NBC’s short-lived drama Ordinary Joe, shared the title role of Mack & Rita with Diane Keaton and, also in 2023, starred opposite Willem Dafoe in Gonzo Girl.
Matthew Lillard (Steve Raglan)
As a career counselor named Steve Raglan, we have the most esteemed horror veteran in the Five Nights at Freddy’s cast, Matthew Lillard, whose experience with the genre actually predates joining the original Scream cast as Stu Macher. His first movie was 1990’s Ghoulies Go to College, which he followed directly with John Waters’ Serial Mom before starring in 2001’s cult favorite haunted house movie Thir13en Ghosts. That was followed soon after by his outings in the live-action Scooby-Doo movies as Shaggy, whom he has voiced in several animated titles since.
The SLC Punk star also has previous experience acting in a video game movie — namely 1999’s Wing Commander, which was also his second of many Freddie Prince Jr. collaborations following She’s All That, which spawned a Netflix gender-swapped remake called He’s All That that he also appeared in. Some of Lillard’s other notable credits include 1995’s Hackers; 2004’s camping comedy Without a Paddle; Alexander Payne’s Oscar-winning dramedy The Descendants, and NBC’s Good Girls cast, more recently.
Piper Rubio (Abby Schmidt)
Making her major motion picture debut in Five Nights at Freddy’s as Mike’s little sister, Abby, is Piper Rubio. The 8-year-old actor’s first feature-length credit was the 2020 holiday Hallmark movie Holly & Ivy, in which she played Ivy.
Rubio made her acting debut in 2019 an episode of the Disney Channel sitcom, Coop and Cami Ask the World. In 2022, she landed a guest-spot on the short-lived CBS sitcom How We Roll, and lent her voice to the animated miniseries The Sheep’s Hotel. Also in 2023, she appeared in an episode of another animated series called Pretzel and the Puppies and the Rob and John Owen Lowe-led Netflix series Unstable.
Mary Stuart Masterson (Aunt Jane)
Mike and Abby’s overbearing and conniving Aunt Jane is played by Mary Stuart Masterson, who actually got her start in the horror genre, making her screen acting debut in 1975’s The Stepford Wives as a child. She later appeared in a 1986 episode of the original Amazing Stories and in 2019’s Shudder exclusive thriller Daniel Isn’t Real. Her main claim to fame in the early years of her career, however, was coming-of-age dramas like 1985’s Heaven Help Us and writer John Hughes’ Some Kind of Wonderful from 1987.
She ended the ‘80s with the star-studded drama Immediate Family and a movie about reincarnation called Chances Are, and went on to star in classic ‘90s movies that don’t get as much attention today, like Fried Green Tomatoes and Benny & Joon. Many of her most notable in more recent years have been on TV, like her starring role on the short-lived legal drama For Life, her role on Blindspot (that evolved from a main character to a recurring spot), and her guest appearances in the likes of The Good Wife and Blue Bloods.
Kat Conner Sterling (Max)
While Mike goes to work at Freddy’s, keeping an eye on Abby throughout the night is Max, played by Kat Conner Sterling, who appeared in another horror-comedy movie earlier in 2023. She had an uncredited role in the heartwarming Netflix original fantasy We Have a Ghost as a woman infatuated with the central entity, Ernest (David Harbour).
In 2019, Sterling landed a small role in an episode of Fox’s short-lived Marvel-inspired TV show The Gifted — which was only the first time she appeared in a project about super-powered mutants, having starred in a short called Choice the following year. She went on to land more guest roles on shows like 9-1-1 and The Resident, and made her feature-length debut in Netflix’s Christian teen musical A Week Away, in 2021.
Lucas Grant (Garrett)
In harrowing flashbacks to his childhood, we discover that Mike used to have a little brother named Garrett. Making his feature film debut in the role is Lucas Grant.
The up-and-coming child actor began to make a name for himself on the small screen appearing many popular 2022 TV shows — namely Hulu’s Emmy-winning biographical miniseries Pam & Tommy, an episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star on Fox, and a small role in FX’s The Patient cast as a younger version of the character Ezra Strauss. Next on his agenda is a Freeform original comedy called While You Were Breeding.
I know what you must be thinking thinking: the Five Nights at Freddy’s cast could have been even better if Nicolas Cage was involved, right? Well, he actually already made his own version of this story with the similarly plotted, funny slice of B-movie heaven Willy’s Wonderland from 2021. That recent under-the-radar horror movie might be worth giving a try after you check out the official adaptation of the horror video game series in theaters or when you stream Five Nights at Freddy’s on Peacock now!
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