Summary
- Apples Never Fall on Peacock brings Liane Moriarty's family drama to life with a star-studded cast and captivating storytelling.
- Sam Neill shines as patriarch Stan Delaney, portraying a complex character with depth and vulnerability in the series.
- Annette Bening stars opposite of Neill, and the rest of the cast brings the Delaneys to the small screen with an impressive amount of talent.
Apples Never Fall is the latest TV adaptation of Liane Moriarty's best-selling novels, and the Peacock series has an all-star cast bringing the book's story to life. Like the novel it's based on, Apples Never Fall follows the tennis-loving Delaney family in two timelines: before and after their mother vanishes. Joy Delaney's sudden disappearance dredges up the secrets and trauma within the seemingly perfect family, forcing the Delaney siblings to question everything they believe about their own parents.
The cast of Apples Never Fall brings the drama of the book to life masterfully, and big names like Sam Neill and Annette Bening are sure to interest viewers when the show drops on Peacock. They aren't the only standouts among the Delaney family, either. Viewers will likely recognize their on-screen children from other popular projects, including The White Lotus and Mad Men.
Sam Neill As Stan Delaney
Actor: Sam Neill, 76, was born in Omagh, United Kingdom in 1947. He's best known for his role as Alan Grant in 1993's Jurassic Park, which catapulted him to worldwide fame. Neill returned as Alan Grant in Jurassic Park III and Jurassic Park Dominion, and he's also appeared in many other projects since his time fleeing from T-Rexes and raptors. He's also known for movies like The Piano and Hunt for the Wildlerpeople, as well as shows like The Tudors, Alcatraz, and Peaky Blinders. Neill's role in Apples Never Fall serves as a reminder of his range, as he captures the many sides of Stan Delaney perfectly.
Notable Movies & TV Shows: Dead Calm (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Jurassic Park (1993), The Piano (1993), The Jungle Book (1994), In the Mouth of Madness (1995), Jurassic World III (2001), Doctor Zhivago (2002), Perfect Strangers (2003), The Tudors (2007), Daybreakers (2009), Crusoe (2008-2010), Happy Town (2010), Alcatraz (2012), The Vow (2012), Old School (2014), Peaky Blinders (2013-2014), And Then There Were None (2015), Tutankhamun (2016), Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Palm Beach (2019), Jurassic World Dominion (2022), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), The Twelve (2022), Bring Him to Me (2023).
Character: Neill plays Stan Delaney, the patriarch of the Delaney family. Stan is a difficult man to read, and that's very much intentional in Apples Never Fall. While he shows moments of vulnerability with his wife and children, Stan can be a hard man whose ambitions get the best of him. He holds his children to the same high standards as himself, which becomes a point of contention throughout the show. Stan once ran a tennis academy with his wife and trained athletes, and retirement has left him restless by the time Apples Never Fall opens.
Annette Bening as Joy Delaney
Actor: Annette Bening, 65, was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1958. Her breakout role was in the 1990 film The Grifters, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for playing Myra Langtry. She's since been nominated for Best Actress four more times for her roles in American Beauty, Being Julia, The Kids Are All Right, and Nyad. In terms of star power, Bening is likely to draw viewers to Apples Never Fall just as much as Neill. And she puts on a stunning performance throughout the series, reminding viewers why she's such a critically acclaimed star.
Notable Movies & TV Shows: Valmont (1989), The Grifters (1990), Postcards From the Edge (1990), Guilty by Suspicion (1991), Bugsy (1991), Love Affair (1994), The American President (1995), Richard III (1995), Mars Attacks! (1996), American Beauty (1999), Being Julia (2004), Running With Scissors (2006), Mother and Child (2009), The Kids Are All Right (2010), Girl Most Likely (2012), Ruby Sparks (2012), The Face of Love (2013), The Search (2014), 20th Century Women (2016), Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017), Life Itself (2018), The Seagull (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Hope Gap (2019), Jerry and Marge Go Large (2022), Death on the Nile (2022), Nyad (2023), Poolman (2023).
Character: Joy is the matriarch of the Delaney family and the character Apples Never Fall revolves around. Retirement is hitting her as hard as her husband, especially since her children have all left the nest — and none of them keep in touch as much as she'd like. Joy is feeling lost when Apples Never Fall opens, but when a young woman named Savannah arrives on her doorstep, she finds a newfound sense of purpose. Despite warnings from her children, Joy becomes close to Savannah. Savannah is out of the picture by the time Joy disappears, but the suspicious circumstances leave the Delaneys wondering.