The Stand: 10 Movies & TV Shows Where You’ve Seen The Cast

Stephen King’s epic and extremely long post-apocalyptic novel, The Stand, is an intricate story with a plethora of character types. Because of the depth throughout the story, taking on the challenge of adapting it to film was likely a very intimidating task.

The CBS All Access original show (now Paramount+) premiered at the end of 2020 and garnered good reviews from critical fans who will take nothing short of perfection and loyalty to the King of Horror’s stories. One key element of the good reception of The Stand was the actors who were cast in the pivotal roles and have previous work to back up their talent.

True Blood – Alexander Skarsgard

Alexander Skarsgard plays the ultimate bad guy, Randall Flagg. He is the devil incarnate and the puppet master of the entire pandemic that causes the superflu, known as Captain Trips, and the subsequent apocalypse.

Skarsgard is no stranger to portraying a dark, ominous character and is best known for his vampiric villain fans loved to hate, Eric Northman, on HBO’s True Blood. His snide remarks and long blond hair helped pave the way for Skarsgard’s successful career along with his siblings and father, Stellan Skarsgard (Thor).

X-Men – James Marsden

Stu Redman is the central protagonist of The Stand and is played by the talented James Marsden. While some viewers may not realize it at first because of the ability to actually see his whole face, Marsden is best known for his role as Scott Summers aka Cyclops in the X-Men franchise films.

With four X-Men movies under his belt, it’s no surprise that Marsden has been a part of many other successful films and television shows. More recently, he played Teddy Flood on HBO’s Westworld and was Tom in the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog adaptation.

The Lion King – Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg has a long and prestigious acting resumé, but one of the most prolific is her role as Shenzi the hyena in 1994’s The Lion King. Her distinctive voice is difficult to miss and its raspy quality adds perfectly to the mischief of Scar’s minions.

In The Stand, Goldberg takes on the role of Mother Abigail Freemantle, who is essentially a prophetic vessel whom God uses to guide the group to defeat Flagg and one of the most powerful characters that can Shine. Golberg’s qualifications as an Academy Award Winner only help bring King’s vision to life.

Death Note – Nat Wolff

Nat Wolff plays Lloyd Henreid in The Stand, a life-long criminal who is incarcerated when the superflu strikes. He faces starvation and it’s insinuated that he resorts to cannibalism until Flagg comes to give him an offer he can’t refuse, freedom for being his right-hand man.

Netflix’s adaptation of one of the best anti-hero animes, Death Note (2017), stars Nat Wolff as the protagonist, Light Turner, alongside Willem Dafoe. Who doesn’t like a story about a magic journal that kills anyone whose name is written in it?

Aquaman – Amber Heard

Although these days, the headlines Amber Heard is making may be mostly negative, she has many impressive roles on her resumé including her role of Nadine Cross in The Stand, a character who is predominately unlikeable throughout The Stand.

The biggest box-office hit Heard was a part of was 2018’s Aquaman, where she played Mera, Jason Momoa’s sidekick. She will reprise this role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will be in theaters later this year.

Assassination Nation – Odessa Young

Odessa Young is one of the lesser-known actors to appear in The Stand, but she played one of the main protagonists, Frannie Goldsmith. Young takes on the role of the timid but strong woman who is pregnant throughout the story.

Young’s most notable role outside of the miniseries is Assassination Nation (2018), a dark comedy centering around a data hack that leads to violent chaos in an American town. The film also stars Suki Waterhouse, Bella Thorne, Bill Skarsgard, Maude Apatow, and Joel McHale. Young will make further waves in the highly anticipated miniseries The Staircase coming out later this year.

IT: Chapter One – Owen Teague

Another adaptation from an epic Stephen King novel, Owen Teague portrayed Patrick Hockstetter, a minion of Henry Bowers – one of the scariest human Stephen King villains, in the 2017 reboot. Teague’s character in IT: Chapter One as a vicious bully was perfect practice for his role as Harold Lauder in The Stand.

Even though his Hockstetter may have flown under the radar for viewers of each feature, Teague’s ability to embody sadistic characters is impossible to miss. Other roles that reflect these traits Teague embraces are in I See You (2019) and as Sam Lesser in the TV movie adaptation of Locke & Key (2017), a graphic novel by King’s son, Joe Hill.

Orange Is The New Black – Brad William Henke

Brad William Henke accepted the challenge of portraying Tom Cullen in The Stand, a simple man whose heart is enormous and who steals the love of anyone around him. While his role seems to be insignificant to the story as a whole, he actually plays a pivotal part in the climax and conclusion.

Henke impressively has almost 100 acting credits to his name, but some viewers still may not realize where they’ve seen him. The most popular role he’s played lately is the villainous Desi Piscatella on the Netflix original, Orange is the New Black. The polar opposites of these two roles exhibit Henke’s acting range.

Little Miss Sunshine – Greg Kinnear

Greg Kinnear is no stranger to big-budget movies and television shows. His credits include Friends, House of Cards, and As Good As It Gets (1997). However, many viewers may recognize him from the hit indie film Little Miss Sunshine (2006) alongside Steve Carell, Toni Collette (Hereditary), Alan Arkin, and Paul Dano (The Batman).

In The Stand, Kinnear plays Glen Bateman, the lovable sociologist who always has a controversial yet logical opinion on everything. Because of Kinnear’s track record that encompasses both drama and comedy, his role as Glen is perfect for the comedic relief that comes with the character.

Justice League – Ezra Miller

Even though he’s only in three episodes, Ezra Miller plays Trashcan Man, who ultimately has a crucial role in the conclusion of the story. Trashcan Man is a pyromaniac that has a unique affinity for weaponry, explosives in particular.

Miller’s biggest role as of late is as Barry Allen aka The Flash in DC’s Justice League, with his own stand-alone movie coming out later this year. Along with that highly anticipated release, he’ll also reprise his role as Credence Barebone in the third installment of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them this April.