Zack Snyder's new film "Army of the Dead" follows an elite team hired to steal millions
of dollars from a vault beneath a Las Vegas casino during a zombie outbreak.
Unsurprisingly, Snyder's assembled a talented group of actors to play this group of thieves.
Here's where you've seen them before.
Dave Bautista seems to be following in Dwayne Johnson's footsteps, as the former WWE star
has shown talent in both action and comedy roles.
Bautista has rapidly become quite the in-demand commodity, and he appears to be the central
star in "Army of the Dead", where he plays Scott Ward, the leader of the heist group.
Bautista is probably most recognizable as Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, and he will reprise the role in the upcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.
3."
Some of his other major starring roles also blend action and comedy, such as "My Spy"
and "Stuber."
You may also have caught Bautista in an supporting role in "Blade Runner 2049," and he's part
of another big budget sci-fi flick — 2021's "Dune."
Like many former WWE stars, Bautista also occasionally returns to the ring for big ticket
events like Wrestlemania and Royal Rumble, although he recently claimed to be retired
from the world of wrestling.
Even though she was born in 1996, Ella Purnell has already been in Hollywood for over a decade.
Her first credited role came in 2010, where she played young Ruth in "Never Let Me Go,"
and she's gradually been building her portfolio ever since.
In "Army of the Dead," she's playing the role of Kate Ward, the estranged daughter of Bautista's
lead character.
Some of Purnell's early work came in big-budget blockbusters.
She played the young version of Angelina Jolie's title character in "Maleficent" and she also
popped up as Dolce in "Kick-Ass 2."
Purnell was also part of the supporting ensemble as Emma in "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar
Children," and she played a substantial role in "Churchill" as Helen Garrett, secretary
to the iconic prime minister.
Purnell's star continues to shine, as she recently wrapped a starring role on the television
series "Sweetbitter."
Omari Hardwick's first plan didn't involve Hollywood.
In fact, he was actually a starting defensive back for the Georgia Bulldogs football team
during the 1995 season.
Hardwick was teammates with NFL greats like Champ Bailey and Hines Ward and even declared
for the draft, but he wasn't selected.
He played during a rough stretch for the Bulldogs, as this was when the Southeastern Conference
was still completely dominated by the likes of Florida and Tennessee.
Hardwick pivoted to acting after the draft, and he's part of the central cast of "Army
of the Dead," playing Vanderohe, a mercenary packing an intimidating rescue saw.
Hardwick's acting career has showcased him in a wide variety of roles.
He plays the lead on the Starz series "Power," and has also starred in several major films.
He played Marcus Williams in "Kick-Ass," Chopshop Jay in "The A-Team," and Mr. Blank in the
absolutely wild "Sorry to Bother You."
He's got a lot of range, so it will be interesting to see what route his character takes in "Army
of the Dead."
One of the biggest stars in "Army of the Dead" is Ana de la Reguera, who plays Cruz, Scott
Ward's old buddy and a fantastic mechanic.
She may not be a household name, but de la Roguera is involved in all facets of media.
She first started making some waves in Spanish-language telenovelas, and she continues to work in
major films and series as a bilingual actress.
Her first major role in a Hollywood production came in 2006's "Nacho Libre", where she played
Sister Encarnación [eng-kahr-nah-SYAWN].
She had minor roles in a few major films in the following years, including the buddy comedy
"Cop Out" and the bizarre sci-fi mashup "Cowboys & Aliens."
However, she's made more of a mark in television.
In addition to guest roles and her telenovela work, de la Reguera has appeared in series
like "Narcos," "Eastbound & Down," "Power," and "Goliath."
De la Reguera has also branched out a bit into writing and producing.
She's the creator of the Spanish-language Comedy Central series "Ana," in which she
also stars.
She's hosted events, acted on stage, and done some serious modeling work.
In other words, she's everywhere.
German actor Matthias Schweighöfer hasn't been a part of too many Hollywood productions,
but he's been pretty successful in German-language film and television.
He appears in "Army of the Dead" as Ludwig Dieter [DEE-ter], an expert safecracker.
Though most of Schweighöfer's work is German, there are still a few places you may have
caught him on the other side of the Atlantic.
He had a small role as another character named Dieter in 2002's "Feardotcom," and he had
a very brief appearance in the Tom Cruise-led "Valkyrie".
A few of his German works have also gotten some international attention.
He starred in "The Red Baron" and "The Most Beautiful Day," and he played in Amazon's
first German-language original series, "You Are Wanted."
He's also lent his voice to a few different productions.
For example, he voices the Fox in the German dub of Netflix's "The Little Prince."
Schweighöfer is also directing and starring in a prequel to "Army of the Dead," called
"Army of Thieves," which will release on Netflix sometime after Zack Snyder's film.
Actor Theo Rossi is one of the more recognizable faces in the "Army of the Dead" cast, where
he plays Burt Cummings, a security guard who isn't exactly the most upstanding or trustworthy
guy.
Rossi has had large roles on a few different popular television series and guest appearances
on dozens of others.
Most of his film work to this point has been minor, but he's shown up in a handful of recognizable
movies too.
If Rossi looks familiar, it's probably from one or two series where he played a big role.
His breakout performance came on the FX series "Sons of Anarchy," where he played Juan Carlos
Ortiz, aka Juice, in more than 80 episodes.
His other major television role was of the streaming variety, where he played the villainous
Shades Alvarez on Netflix's "Luke Cage."
He's also had guest spots on series like "Veronica Mars," "Lost," and "Grey's Anatomy," and he's
appeared in films like "Cloverfield" and "Lowriders."
Beyond his impressive acting, Rossi just seems like a good dude.
He supports several different nonprofit organizations, including helping animals through the Humane
Society, disaster victims through StatenStrong, and veterans through Boot Campaign.
Paris-born actress Nora Arnezeder plays Lilly, also known as the Coyote, in "Army of the
Dead," part of the mercenary crew involved with the heist.
Arnezeder only has a couple dozen roles to her credit at this point in her career, but
there are a few different films you may have caught her in.
Her first major exposure to American audiences probably came in 2012's "Safe House," where
she played the girlfriend of Ryan Reynolds' character.
That same year, she appeared alongside Elijah Wood in the horror remake "Maniac" and starred
with the likes of Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, and Olivia Wilde in "The Words."
Recently, Arnezeder's more recognizable work comes from a few TV series.
She played Chloe in the first few seasons of "Zoo" and Anna Maria on "Mozart in the
Jungle."
Veteran actor Hiroyuki Sanada has seamlessly transitioned between Japanese and American
cinema over his impressive career.
His first credit came in 1965 at just five years old!
Judging from what we've seen of "Army of the Dead," his character, Bly Tanaka, looks to
play a major part in the events that occur.
After all, he's the casino boss who decides to take advantage of the zombie mayhem and
hire Dave Bautista to pull off an undead robbery.
Fans of Japanese films might recognize Sanada from "The Twilight Samurai," considered one
of Japan's best movies of the last few decades.
The film won 12 awards from the Japanese Academy, including all the big ones — Best Screenplay,
Director, Film, and Actor for Sanada's role.
And horror fans know that he also starred in the original "Ringu".
Sanada has made appearances in films like "Speed Racer," "The Wolverine," and "The Last
Samurai."
But he's also started to show up in major blockbuster projects as of late.
For example, he appeared in HBO's "Westworld," and had a small but memorable role as the
mob boss killed by Hawkeye in "Avengers: Endgame."
And in 2021, he told us all to "get over here" when he played Hanzo Hasashi, aka Scorpion,
in "Mortal Kombat."
Actress Tig Notaro is most famous as a stand-up comedian, but she's had more than her fair
share of recognizable roles in film and television.
Interestingly, she was actually brought into her role as Marianne Peters, the cigar-smoking
helicopter pilot, in "Army of the Dead" after the film had already wrapped.
She filmed her scenes after the fact and was digitally inserted into the movie, replacing
actor Chris D'Elia after numerous disturbing allegations emerged about him.
Notaro's work as a stand-up comedian helped her break into the mainstream, and the audio
of her incredible set "Live," in which she discusses her cancer diagnosis, is the stuff
of stand-up legend.
There's even a Netflix documentary about the set called "Tig."
She's worked with a number of other comedians on projects like "Inside Amy Schumer," "Lady
Dynamite," and "The Jim Gaffigan Show."
Plus, she created and starred in the semi-autobiographical "One Mississippi," and more recently, she
appeared as Jett Reno on "Star Trek: Discovery."
"Where the hell have you been?"
"Realizing my lifelong dream of taking us from plasma to fully polaric warp conduits."
Raúl Castillo is an actor of stage and screen who appears in "Army of the Dead" as Mikey
Guzman, a character who's being described as a "go-for-broke influencer."
Castillo is also a well-regarded playwright alongside his body of acting work.
In fact, Castillo has long been involved with several theater companies and has appeared
on stage several times, mainly with LAByrinth.
Most of Castillo's acting roles have been relatively small, though he's occasionally
broken into something a bit bigger.
He's probably best known for the HBO series "Looking," where he played Richie Ventura.
He's also had recurring roles on a few Netflix series, playing Nick on "Atypical" and Felix
on "Seven Seconds."
He's appeared in guest roles on several other television series, including "Riverdale" and
"Gotham," where he showed up as the Flamingo during the "Rise of the Villains" season.
Castillo has seen a bit of film work over his career, but it's typically been small
roles and indie features.
Keep a sharp eye during "Knives Out" –- Castillo plays a police officer in the background.
Actor Garret Dillahunt plays Martin in "Army of the Dead," the head of casino security,
and he's had a long career in both film and television.
He's one of those classic "I know that guy!" actors.
You've almost certainly seen him in something over the last several decades, even if you
can't quite put a finger on where you recognize him from.
Television is where Dillahunt has had the most success, and he's proven himself extremely
versatile.
He played Burt Chance on the comedy "Raising Hope," Jody Kimball-Kennedy on "The Mindy
Project," Ty Walker on "Justified" and both Jack McCall and Frances Wolcott on "Deadwood."
That's just the tip of the iceberg for his television work too.
On the film side of things, Dillahunt often plays supporting roles in major movies, memorably
showing up as a corrupt sheriff in "Winter's Bone" and Tommy Lee Jones' young deputy in
"No Country for Old Men."
Michael Cassidy is one of those actors who will probably always be known for his first
role.
He played Zach Stevens, the sometimes-boyfriend to Summer Roberts on "The O.C."
Even though he's appeared in dozens of other roles since, that's the role that seems to
be attached to him.
Maybe his appearance as Sergeant Cassidy in "Army of the Dead" will help him break free
from his TV origins.
Besides "The O.C.," Cassidy has appeared in a number of other television roles.
He played Tyler Mitchell on the TBS series "Men at Work," and he's had recurring roles
on series like "The Magicians," "Smallville," and "Privileged."
Speaking of "Smallville," that wasn't his only dip into the DC swimming pool.
Remember when it was revealed that Zack Snyder killed off Jimmy Olsen in "Batman v. Superman"
without even naming him and said that was his way of having "fun with him?"
Jimmy Olsen was played by Michael Cassidy!
Samantha Win got started in Hollywood doing stunt work, but she had her first traditional
role in 2013 and has started to appear more as an actress and less in her former occupation.
In "Army of the Dead," she plays Chambers, a character described as the "ride-or-die"
to Raúl Castillo's influencer, and it's seemingly her most high-profile role yet.
Win has worked a lot with Zack Snyder in the past, performing stunts on films like "Sucker
Punch" and "Man of Steel."
Win also appeared in "Man of Steel" in her debut role as Car-Vex.
She would make several more appearances in the DC cinematic universe as one of the Amazonians.
Considering the success DC has had with "Wonder Woman," it seems likely that Win will make
another appearance in the Amazon spinoff that's headed our way, even though she was killed
during the events of "Justice League."
She's also utilized her martial arts talents doing motion capture work for video games
like "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" and appearing as Kitana in the web series "Mortal
Kombat: Legacy."
"Army of the Dead" has a pretty impressive collection of multinational actors, and Huma
Qureshi is one that might not ring a lot of bells to Western audiences.
She plays Geeta in the film, a mom who's gone missing in the zombie-infested danger zone
that is Las Vegas.
Qureshi was born in India, and she's found a ton of success in Hindi-language films.
Her first major role drew a lot of attention.
Her portrayal of Mohsina in "Gangs of Wasseypur" saw her nominated for several awards, as did
her role in "Dedh Ishqiya" a few years later.
On the English-language side of things, Qureshi has only had a few notable appearances, such
as her role alongside Hugh Bonneville and Gillian Anderson in the historical drama "Viceroy's
House."
Qureshi also starred on a Hindi-language Netflix series entitled "Leila."
With the exposure she'll get from "Army of the Dead," it seems likely we'll see more
of her in future Hollywood projects.
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