The Dropout: Cast And Real Life Character Comparison Guide

Hulu’s The Dropout features a star-studded cast portraying everyone involved in the infamous Theranos scandal – here’s the comprehensive guide showing who plays who. Based on the ABC podcast of the same name, The Dropout joins a growing list of media regarding Elizabeth Holmes’ Silicon Valley company Theranos. Promising to revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry, Theranos – a name combining “therapy” and “diagnosis” – marketed a machine called “The Edison,” which was made to test for a litany of diseases and conditions from a single drop of blood. Such a machine could allow patients to test for health issues from the comfort and convenience of their own home, and would make modern venipuncture obsolete. Through “hustle culture” and the Silicon Valley mantra “fake it till you make it,” Holmes lied to investors about Theranos’ success and, in doing so, managed to reach the company’s value to $10 billion.

The Dropout’s Elizabeth Holmes actress was originally SNL’s Kate McKinnon, who instead plays Carole Baskins in Peacock’s Joe vs. Carole. McKinnon would have captured Holmes’ distinct eccentricities well, from her unblinking stare to her iconic deep voice. Yet as The Dropout captures, Holmes was more complicated than a quirky, ambitious CEO scam artist. She was someone trying to defend her place in a male-dominated environment, and always struggled to fit in amongst her peers. Holmes was both adored and scrutinized – people recognized her talent but questioned her aggressive ambition.

Having been found guilty on four out of eleven counts in January 2022, Elizabeth Holmes is gaining further attention. The Dropout has been in development since April 2019, shortly after the podcast’s release and one month after the release of Alex Gibney’s HBO Theranos documentary The Inventor. With a story involving so many prominent players like economist and government official George Shultz, Stanford Professor of Medicine Dr. Phyllis Gardner, and the notorious Holmes herself, it’s only appropriate that several high-profile actors would be involved in the project.

Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes

The Dropout is just as much a retelling of the Theranos scandal as it is a character study of Elizabeth Holmes. In fact, Holmes is so intertwined with Theranos that retelling the scandal without observing the background, psyche, and motives of its founder would be impossible. Holmes is to Theranos as her idol Steve Jobs is to Apple – their respective companies are an extension of themselves.

Amanda Seyfried is known for her roles in Mamma Mia!, Mean Girls, and Twin Peaks as Becky. While mimicking the mannerisms of Holmes in The Dropout, her interpretation still offers a modicum of respect and sympathy. For a character that easily runs the risk of being caricatured, Seyfried understands that the story of Holmes in The Dropout is not one of mockery or condemnation. Rather, it is a deeper critique of gender, Silicon Valley culture, and the American Dream.

Naveen Andrews as Sunny Balwani

Sunny Balwani was Holmes’ secret lover, who was 19 years her senior. His eventual involvement with Theranos as Holmes’ right-hand man, despite having no background in engineering or medical science, contributed to Theranos’ downfall. Balwani faces trial for fraud in the Theranos scandal, having pleaded not guilty on all charges. Playing Balwani is Naveen Andrews, whose roles include Sayid Jarrah in Lost, Kip in the 1996 Best Picture The English Patient, and Jonas Maliki in Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s sci-fi Netflix show Sense8.

Laurie Metcalf as Dr. Phyllis Gardner

Metcalf played Jackie in Roseanne and The Conners, Sheldon Cooper’s mom Mary in The Big Bang Theory, and Marion MacPherson in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird. In The Dropout, Metcalf plays the eminent Dr. Phyllis Gardner, who is considered to be one of Holmes’ first critics. She advised a young Holmes on the issues regarding her original plan to use a patch that would diagnose and administer necessary medication to a patient. Dr. Gardner found continuing unethical practices in Holmes’ approach to healthcare, and her outspokenness helped lead to Theranos’ dissolution.

Stephen Fry as Ian Gibbons

Respected British biochemist Ian Gibbons had a 30-year reputation in the medical sciences preceding him upon his 2005 arrival at Theranos. Having a PhD from Cambridge, he was hired as Theranos’ chief scientist. He uncovered faulty science and fraudulent operations at Theranos and received excruciating hardship for this. This all led to Gibbons tragically taking his own life in 2013. Playing Gibbons is Stephen Fry, who appeared as The Hobbit’s Master of Laketown as one of his hundreds of other credits spanning over four decades. Fry is given legendary status for his contributions to film, theater, broadcasting, political discourse, and mental health advocacy.

Sam Waterson as George Shultz

One of Holmes’ most fervent supporters and prominent investors was George Shultz. Shultz served under Nixon as his director of the Office of Management and Budget, his Secretary of Labor and eventually, his Secretary of Treasury. Under the Reagan administration, he was the Secretary of State. He was one of only two people to serve in four different US Cabinet positions. His trust in Theranos and Holmes is a true testament to Holmes’ manipulation and Theranos’ lofty promises.  Playing Shultz is Sam Waterson, who is also reprising his famous role as District Attorney Jack McCoy in the Law And Order revival, joining other returning characters.

Dylan Minnette as Tyler Shultz

The dynamic between George Shultz and his grandson Tyler shows how the Theranos scandal affected people not only on a financial and ethical level but on an interpersonal level too. Seeing his grandfather’s enthusiasm towards the company, Tyler joined Theranos as an intern during his junior year at Stanford before becoming a full-time employee after graduating. He eventually became one of Theranos’ most outspoken whistleblowers, being a key source for reporter John Carreyrou’s 2015 WSJ exposé on the company and speaking in the aforementioned documentary The Inventor.

However, his outspokenness against the company caused tensions between him and his grandfather. Thankfully, they reconciled before George Shultz’s 2021 death. Playing Tyler is Dylan Minnette, known best for his role as Clay in 13 Reasons Why. Minnette also starred in Scandal, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the final season of Lost. 

Camryn Mi-young Kim as Erika Cheung

Erika Cheung was another crucial whistleblower alongside Tyler Shultz. Also contributing to The Inventor and the John Carreyrou piece, Cheung spoke about Theranos during a TED talk in 2020 and testified in Elizabeth Holmes’ trial in 2021. With Shultz as one of its advisors, Cheung launched the Ethics in Entrepreneurship nonprofit as a resource to recognize and call out unethical practices in new companies. Playing Cheung is Cameryn Mi-young Kim, whose only credit to date besides The Dropout is the 2019 short film It Was Nice.

William H. Macy as Richard Fuisz

Richard Fuisz was Elizabeth Holmes’ childhood neighbor who later went to great lengths slighting Holmes for not consulting with him about Theranos. William H. Macy, whose extensive resume includes the films Fargo and Boogie Nights, brings the same curmudgeonly element he expressed in the eleven-season long show Shameless as patriarch Frank Gallagher to his role in The Dropout. Fuisz is both a businessman and an inventor with hundreds of patents to his name and is shown in The Dropout for filing a patent that Holmes sued him for in 2011 on the grounds of misappropriation. Fuisz contributed to smearing Holmes and Theranos, helping Carreyrou with his 2018 Theranos book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup. 

The Dropout releases new episodes every Thursday on Hulu.

About The Author

Allison Wonchoba
(80 Articles Published)

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Allison Wonchoba is a Features writer on Screen Rant. She holds a degree in Cinema and English, and she knows (probably) all things film and TV. Working at Hot Topic for a couple years also helped her know all things pop culture-y. Once upon a time, she also interned at a radio station in Dublin, Ireland where she got more media training – and built up her Sudoku skills on the side. She likes Pina Coladas and gettin’ caught in the rain – and she knows that’s NOT a Jimmy Buffet song.

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