Summary

  • The Crowded Room is a psychological miniseries on Apple TV Plus that tells the story of a young man with Dissociative Identity Disorder who is arrested for a crime he may not have committed.
  • The series features a talented cast, including Tom Holland, Amanda Seyfried, and Emmy Rossum, who bring the characters to life with their impressive performances.
  • With intense and sensitive content, The Crowded Room cast and crew had access to real psychologists on set to ensure accurate portrayal and handling of mental health issues.

Warning! Contains spoilers for The Crowded Room!Apple TV Plus' psychological miniseries The Crowded Room features an impressive young cast of recognizable names. The Crowded Room season 1 tells the story of a young man arrested in 1979 for a New York City shooting — Tom Holland's Danny Sullivan. When Danny meets with a psychologist, he begins to uncover secrets from his past. The plot takes inspiration from Daniel Keyes' non-fiction novel The Minds of Billy Milligan. Due to the series' sensitive content, The Crowded Room cast and crew had access to real psychologists on set (via Awsmone)

The Crowded Room released 10 episodes, with the first three dropping on June 9, 2023, and the finale coming at the end of July. The series was created by Akiva Goldsman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of A Beautiful Mind, and he wrote all 10 episodes. The Crowded Room's talented cast seems more than up to the challenge of bringing the characters to life. Between the three lead actors alone, they've won a Golden Globe, Saturn Award, and a BAFTA. Meanwhile, The Crowded Room's supporting cast is a blend of established actors and newcomers.

Tom Holland as Danny Sullivan

The Crowded Room: Is Tom Holland a serial killer

In The Crowded Room cast, Tom Holland plays protagonist Danny Sullivan, who gets arrested for a crime the police aren't convinced he committed. Throughout the series, Danny turned out to have Dissociative Identity Disorder, and he ended up found not guilty of the murder, the first person in history to be found not guilty based on this disorder. Holland is from London, England, and got his start as a child actor. His breakout came when he was 14 and appeared in The Impossible​​​​​​.

Tom Holland is most famous for his role as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2017, Holland won the BAFTA Rising Star Award. Since 2020, Holland has taken on more dramatic roles than his lighthearted MCU character, including Todd Hewitt in Chaos Walking, Arvin Russell in The Devil All The Time, and Cherry in Cherry. The Crowded Room will be Tom Holland's first leading role on television. He previously played Gregory Cromwell in the Wolf Hall miniseries.

Amanda Seyfried As Rya Goodwin

The Crowded Room: What are Rya's intentions with Danny 

Amanda Seyfried plays Rya Goodwin in The Crowded Room, a clinical psychologist who interviews Danny Sullivan about his past and helps him discover missing pieces in his memory. It is Rya who helps Danny switch to one of his alters during the trial, which helped get him mental help rather than prison time. Seyfried was born in Pennsylvania and got her start as a child actor on the soap opera All My Children.

Seyfried broke out playing Karen Smith in the hit comedy Mean Girls. Since then, she became known for her roles in romantic films like Savannah Lynn Curtis in Dear John and Sophie Hall in Letters to Juliet. Seyfried has also gained awards attention for her dramatic roles and was nominated for an Oscar for playing Marion Davies in Mank. Meanwhile, her performance as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout won an Emmy, Critics Choice Award, and a Golden Globe.

Emmy Rossum As Candy Sullivan

The Crowded Room: Emmy Rossum as Tom Holland's mom 

In The Crowded Room cast, actress Emmy Rossum plays Candy Sullivan, Danny's hard-working mom who falls for a harmful man. In the post-humous episode, Candy testified against her son and lied about everything that happened to him when he was young. In the end, Danny put his mother in his past and moved on to get better in the future. Rossum is an actor from New York who got her start as a child performing with the Metropolitan Opera.

Rossum famously portrayed Christine Daaé in the film version of Phantom of the Opera, a role which won her the Critics Choice Award for Best Young Actress. However, her most famous role is likely Fiona Gallagher in the series Shameless. Rossum has also had a successful music career and released two full-length albums, Inside Out and Sentimental Journey, plus an EP titled Carol of the Bells.

Will Chase As Marlin Reid

Marlin Reid glares at Danny Sullivan in The Crowded Room.

Will Chase portrays Marlin Reid, Danny's cruel stepfather in The Crowded Room cast. Marlin was the reason that Danny ended up developing his first alter, who came to life to help protect Danny from the sexual abuse Marlin put him through as a child. Chase was born in Kentucky and started his career working in theaters, making his way to Broadway in 1998 for a role in Rent.

While a prominent Broadway actor, Chase is best known in the mainstream for his television roles, including Michael Swift in Smash, Luke Wheeler in Nashville, Griffin in Time After Time, and Michael Friedman in Dopesick. Chase's role in The Crowded Room isn't the first time the actor has portrayed an abusive authority figure, as he also played Billy's father, Neil Hargrove, in Stranger Things.

Sasha Lane As Ariana

The Crowded Room: Ariana and Danny on the train 

A main character in The Crowded Room cast, Sasha Lane is Danny's best friend Ariana. However, by the end of the season, it is revealed that Ariana was not a real person at all but was one of Danny's alters. This is also where Danny received his taste of intimacy in the series. Lane is an actor from Houston who made her film debut in American Honey, where she played Star.

Since then, her notable film roles include Jane Fonda in The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Alice Monaghan in Hellboy, and Theo in How to Blow Up a Pipeline. On TV, she has played Jessica Hyde in Utopia, Bobbi in Conversations with Friends, and most famously, Hunter C-20 in Loki. Podcast listeners will recognize Lane from Marvel's Wastelanders: Hawkeye, in which she voices Ash.

Christopher Abbott As Stan Camisa

Stan talks to Rya while sitting on a bench in The Crowded Room.

In The Crowded Room cast, Christopher Abbott plays Danny's lawyer Stan Camisa. Stan worked with Rya throughout the series to try to bring out the alters of Danny to help him get off the criminal charges. Abbott is an actor from Connecticut who started his acting career in theater and picked up some off-Broadway roles while in school. However, he made his movie debut in the indie hit, Martha Marcy May Marlene.

Abbott's best-known movie roles include Louis Servidio in A Most Violent Year, James White in James White, Fahim Ahmadzai in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, and Will in It Comes at Night. On TV, Abbott notably portrayed Charlie Dattolo in Girls and John Yossarian in Catch-22.

The Crowded Room Supporting Cast & Characters

The Crowded Room: Danny's friends and people he has pained in his book

Lior Raz as Yitzak Safdie: Raz plays Yitzak Safdie, Danny's landlord and friend. In addition to The Crowded Room, Lior Raz is known for playing Doron Kabilio in Fauda and Segev Azulai in Hit & Run.

Emma Laird as Isabel: In The Crowded Room cast, Emma Laird plays Danny's school friend Isabel. Laird is best known for playing Iris in Mayor of Kingstown.

Jason Isaacs as Jack Lamb: Jason Isaacs plays Jack Lamb, a friend of Danny's biological dad in The Crowded Room. Isaacs is best known for playing villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series.

Zachary Golinger as Young Danny Sullivan: Zachary Golinger portrays the young version of Danny in the Crowded Roomcast. The young actor also played John Berkman Jr. in Barry.

Thomas Sadoski as Matty Dunne: Thomas Sadoski plays Matty Dunne, a police officer investigating Danny's criminal case. Sadoski notably played Don Keefer in The Newsroom and Matt Short in Life in Pieces.

Sam Vartholomeos as Mike: Danny's friend Mike is played by Sam Vartholomeos in the Crowded Room Cast. Vartholomeos' other TV credits include Danby Connor in Star Trek: Discovery and Jimmy Farrell in Bridge and Tunnel.

Levon Hawke as Jonny: Levon Hawke plays Jonny, Danny's schoolmate. This is Hawke's first major acting credit, though he will appear in the upcoming Zoë Kravitz-directed thriller Pussy Island opposite Channing Tatum.

Laila Robins as Susie: Laila Robins plays Susie, Rya's mother. Robins has an extensive filmography and is best known for her roles as Susan Page in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Pamela Milton in The Walking Dead.

Henry Eikenberry as Doug: Henry Eikenberry plays Doug, Danny's enemy since childhood. Eikenberry previously layed Derek in Euphoria.

Henry Zaga as Philip: In The Crowded Room, Henry Zaga acts as a prosecutor named Philip who works on Danny's case. Zaga is best known for playing Josh Diaz in Teen Wolf and Roberto da Costa/Sunspot in The New Mutants.