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Ronald Emmerich’s portfolio perhaps boasts more end-of-the-world movies than any other filmmaker in the industry, at least in his generation. While all of those disaster stories are very different from each other, there are a couple of signature elements that make these films unique. One – each story explores the most mind-blowing, out-of-the-world apocalypse scenario that you can ever imagine. And two – there’s always one person who believes in it and is about to put everything at stake, including their lives, to save the world. Moonfall also follows suit. Not to say that Moonfall is anything similar (not even remotely) to what you have seen in either Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, or 2012, but it does feature an ensemble of talented and well-known actors, who end up saving the world, much like Ronald Emmerich’s other movies.
If you have already watched, then you already know, but if you haven’t and you're still planning to watch Moonfall, then this handy guide will catch you up to speed on who plays who in the movie. But before that, a quick look at what Moonfall is all about.
The sci-fi thriller follows a mysterious event on the moon that throws it off its orbit and is about to come crashing down on earth, which will obviously mean, the total annihilation of our planet. A former astronaut, the Deputy Director of NASA, and a conspiracy theorist form a team to find out what’s wrong with our natural satellite and save the world. With time running out and the planet already in a state of disaster, the trio must do whatever it takes, to save both the moon and Earth.
For Moonfall, Ronald Emmerich has put together a great cast list, in both major and supporting roles. So, read on to find out all the most important characters and the actors who play them, with more details on the major ones.
Halle Berry as Jocinda Fowler
Jocinda “Jo” Fowler is a former astronaut and presently works as the Deputy Director at NASA. When some recent readings from space show that the moon is moving out of its orbit and is on a collision course with Earth, she hunts down her former colleague, Brian Harper to join her again and save the earth. Working on the mission, Jo finds out that there have been a lot of coverups within NASA and there are a lot of secrets the moon holds. So, she becomes determined to do everything that she can to save her loved ones and the planet, even if it means suiting up once more and heading to the moon, something she hasn’t done in years.
Jo Fowler is played by award-winning actor, Halle Berry, who needs no introduction. A former model and an accomplished actor, she was most recently seen in the Netflix original movie, Bruised, which was her directorial debut as well. Halle Berry is most known for her roles in Monster’s Ball, for which she won an Academy Award, Catwoman, and in the X-Men franchise as Ororo Munroe / Storm. She has previously played an astronaut in the television series Extant.
Patrick Wilson as Brian Harper
Brian is a former NASA astronaut who has been disgraced since his last mission failed. He and Jo worked together on the same mission. Years after staying low profile, Brian is contacted by a paranoid conspiracy theorist who believes that the moon is about to hit the Earth. Though skeptical at first, Brian soon realizes that the theory might be true and that this is more than some naturally occurring disaster. He is also contacted by his former colleague, Jo, who plans a mission led by Brian, to stop this catastrophe.
Patrick Wilson, who plays Brian Harper, is an actor, director, and singer with a background in Broadway musicals. Moonfall is his second project with Ronald Emmerich, the previous one being Midway, released in 2019. Patrick Wilson is best known for his role as Ed Warren in The Conjuring movie series, among a host of popular horror movies of this millennium. He has also appeared in Insidious (including the sequel), Aquaman, Watchmen, Prometheus, In the Tall Grass, and the television series Fargo, among many other titles.
John Bradley as K.C. Houseman
K.C. Houseman, or K.C., is a conspiracy theorist who spent his entire life theorizing that the moon is more than what it seems. He also calls himself a “megastructurist” and believes that our natural satellite is one such structure, artificially created, and so on. K.C. is the first person to discover that the moon has gotten knocked out of its orbit and tries to reach out to NASA. Though no one believes him at first, when disasters hit the planet, Brian realizes that there might be merit in K.C.’s theories. Though not an astronaut, K.C. still joins Jo and Brian on their mission to save the moon and prevent the imminent destruction of everything.
K.C. Houseman is played by John Bradley, who replaced Josh Gad for the same role. John Bradley shot to fame with his portrayal of Samwell Tarly (Jon Snow’s best friend) in HBO’s hit drama series, Game of Thrones. He has also recently appeared in the romantic comedy-drama, Marry Me, alongside Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson, besides movies like Grimsby, American Satan, and Patient Zero, among others. He was also in a couple of episodes of the show Shameless.
Besides these three leading characters, Moonfall also features a host of supporting characters.
Carolina Bartczak as Brenda Harper
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Brenda is Brian Harper’s ex-wife and mother of their only son. She is now remarried and lives with her new husband and their two daughters. Carolina Bartczak plays Brenda. She has appeared in popular movies like the X-Men: Apocalypse, The Smurfs 2, and in television series like Covert Affairs and The Bold Type.
Michael Peña as Tom Lopez
Tom Lopez is a wealthy man and a luxury car dealer, who is married to Brian’s ex-wife, Brenda. He is played by Michael Peña who replaced Stanley Tucci for the role. He is best known for his role as Luis in the Ant-Man franchise and as Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in the streaming series Narcos: Mexico. Among other sci-fi movies, Michael Peña has appeared in The Martian, A Wrinkle in Time, and Extinction.
Charlie Plummer as Sonny Harper
Sonny Harper is Brian and Brenda’s estranged and rebellious son. He is played by Charlie Plummer, who is best known for his role in the television drama series, Boardwalk Empire, Granite Flats, and Looking for Alaska. He shot to fame for his supporting role in Ridley Scott’s 2017 crime thriller, All the Money in the World.
Donald Sutherland as Holdenfield
Holdenfield is a NASA archivist, who happens to know some secrets about the moon that came out during the Apollo 11 mission, which he shares with Jo Fowler. Donald Sutherland plays Holdenfield. He is best known for his role as President Snow in The Hunger Games movie series, among other popular titles like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Ad Astra, Space Cowboys, and television shows like Dirty Sexy Money and Crossing Lines, among others.
Kelly Yu as Michelle
Michelle is a foreign exchange student who stays with Jo and also takes care of Jo’s son Jimmy. Kelly Yu, also known as Kelly Yu Wenwen, is an actor and also a C-Pop singer, who has previously appeared in Chinese movies like So Young, The Ex-File 3: The Return of the Exes, Twenty, and Back to Earth.
Eme Ikwuakor as General Doug Davidson
Four-Star General of the United States Air Force, Doug is Jo’s ex-husband and Jimmy’s father. He is played by actor Eme Ikwuakor, who has previously worked with Halle Berry in the sci-fi television series Extant. He has also appeared in other shows like Inhumans and On My Block.
Zayn Maloney as Jimmy
Jimmy is Jo and Doug’s son. He is played by Zayn Maloney, and Moonfall is the child actor’s first feature film. He has also appeared in the television series The Boys and Station Eleven.