There are more iconic, influential and perhaps even more beloved thrillers (namely The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal activity). However, as far as I’m concerned it was the mysterious monster movie Cloverfield it really kicked the subgenre back into the mainstream.
Released in January 2008 – following a murderous marketing campaign – the thrilling creature flick from producer JJ Abrams and director Matt Reeves follows a group of young people in their twenties struggling to survive an attack by a strange creature on New York. Over a decade later, a direct sequel (which 10 Cloverfield Way and Netlfix The Cloverfield Paradox does not count exactly as) is apparently in the works. Without giving too much away, I wouldn’t expect to see much of the original. Cloverfield actors appear, but if you’re curious where you might spot them next, read on.
Michael Stahl-David (Rob Hawkins)
Lead the Cloverfield portrayed as Rob Hawkins – whose surprise departure party before moving to Japan on business took place on the night of Cloverfield attack on the monster – is Michael Stahl-David, who would play Bobby Kennedy in 2016 LBJ alongside Woody Harrelson and star in Netflix original TV shows like Bedrooms and Narcos. He most recently had a recurring role in the drama Fox Almost in family, and will be the next star of CBS’s medical drama Good Sam.
Odette Annable (Beth McIntyre)
As Rob’s best friend and (partially) unrequited love interest Beth, we have Odette Annable (née Yustman), who previously debuted alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in kindergarten cop and almost immediately capitalized on her growing reputation as the Scream Queen by leading The unborn child one year later Cloverfield. After his recurring role in Super girl, Annable joined Fox’s Fantastic island reboot cast in 2021 and, shortly thereafter, was promoted as a series regular for Walker Season 2 on The CW.
Mike Vogel (Jason “Hawk” Hawkins)
Coincidentally, Mike Vogel appeared in the Blumhouse feature film Fantastic island reboot in 2020 and was previously known for thrillers like the 2003 Chainsaw Massacre remake, comedies like The sorority of travel pants, and his recurring role in the Fox sitcom Anchored for life before joining the Cloverfield portrayed as Rob’s brother Jason. His most recent return to horror took place on american horror story Season 10 as John F. Kennedy and he will reprise his lead role on Netflix Gender / Life cast in the Season 2 premiere in 2022.
Jessica Lucas (Lily Ford)
Another one of the Scream Queens of Cloverfield the cast is Jessica Lucas, who later starred in 2013 evil Dead remake and several notable TV series including Gotham and the CW reboots of the two 90210 and Melrose Square. After directing the procedural drama Murders in his native Canada, Lucas recently joined The resident casting and, although there is no word on his chances of appearing in the Cloverfield sequel, she has one of the best chances since we’ve never really seen the fate of her character: Jason Hawkins’ girlfriend, Lily Ford.
TJ Miller (Hudson “Hud” Platt)
Man behind shaking camera capturing the action of Cloverfield is “Hud,” played by TJ Miller making his acting debut years before joining the Silicon Valley throw and play the weasel in dead Pool makes him a household name. The comedian made another well-received creature feature called Submarine and a comedy opposite Drew Barrymore titled Replacing in 2020, although a number of controversies surrounding his personal life may have slowed his acting career in recent years. It doesn’t look like he has any movies or TV shows planned for the future, but he continues to stand-up.
Lizzy Caplan (Marlena Diamond)
Playing Hud’s crush, Marlena, in Cloverfield is Lizzy Caplan, who is probably even better known for having previously played Janis Ian on the Bad girls 2004 casting or Emmy nominated tour as Virginia Johnson on Showtime’s Masters of sex from 2013 to 2016. The stone castle star (she played Misery‘s Annie Wilkes in Season 2) plays another classic movie villain in the Paramount + series remake of Fatal attraction, directs the next horror movie Spider, and will star alongside Jesse Eisenberg in the FX miniseries Fleishmann is in trouble.
Margot Farley (Jenn)
As Jenn, one of the hottest guests at Rob’s departure party, we have Margot Farley, who had previously appeared in the 2004 film. Spartan and the CBS drama Unity in a recurring role. She would find Cloverfield producer JJ Abrams for a brief role in the first of his Star trek movies and played a cop in an ABC episode Revenge starring Emily VanCamp, but hasn’t appeared much since the 2016 film Catfish blues.
Théo Rossi (Antonio)
Jenn’s boyfriend Antonio is played by Theo Rossi, who has joined the Sons of anarchy thrown as “Juice” shortly after Cloverfield came out and later appeared in the Marvel series Luke Cage like “nuances”. In 2021, he had two notable roles in the Netflix originals (Zack Snyder’s Army of the dead and the drama series directed by Kevin Hart True story) and, in 2022, he stars alongside Bruce Willis in the action film Vendetta and in the drama of coming of age Dear Zoe with Strange things‘Sadie sink.
Billy Brown (Staff Sergeant Pryce)
In a brief (but memorably gruesome) Cloverfield scene, our main characters meet Master Sgt. Pryce – played by another Sons of anarchy veterinarian Billy Brown, who also played a small role in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, 2009 Star trek, and a brief passage on the Dexter cast as Det. Mike Anderson. The voice actor (known for the likes of Adventure time and Marine Recruitment Announcements) most recently, completed its stint as a series regular on the How to get away with a murder sunk in 2020.
Ben Feldman (Travis)
Ben Feldman makes another brief (but memorable) appearance as Travis (Beth’s date at Rob’s departure party), which is one of the most recognizable Cloverfield cast members today for another brief but memorable horror film appearance in 2009 Friday 13 and a more prominent role in the favorite of the images found As above so below in 2014. The old Hypermarket the actor now lends his voice to Disney + Monsters at work play as the main protagonist Tylor Tuskmon.
Travis is another character who, given his absence for a final part of the first film, could potentially appear in the Cloverfield sequel, which might be a good idea given the notoriety of Ben Feldman these days. What I would like to see in the sequel, honestly, is a fitting and respectable tribute to these characters, who I really loved to a heartbreaking degree. I could also say the same about the movie itself.
