Idris Elba's latest movie Beast has recently dropped on the big screen and the blockbuster spectacle finds the actor going against a lion! Elba's character is joined by District 9's Sharlto Copley and rising stars such as Iyana Halley and Leah Jeffries.
At the same time, there are some talented character actors in the cast who might not be household names, but their body of work includes several popular TV and cinematic titles including the martial arts drama Warrior, the action-thriller Dredd, and a lot more. While the titular beast forms a crucial part of the narrative, it is these actors who add depth.
Idris Elba - Beasts Of No Nation (2015)
Stream On Netflix
The survival thriller is led by Idris Elba who plays Dr. Nate Samuels, a widowed father who takes his two daughters to a nature reserve in South Africa only to encounter a human-eating lion.
Elba is one of those stars who can helm both action blockbusters and more critically-acclaimed dramas rooted in reality. Beasts of No Nation falls in the latter category as it finds Elba playing the antagonistic mercenary who trains child soldiers in an unspecified West African nation. The horrors of war and abuse from one such child's perspective add to the rest of the emotionally-powerful narrative. Considered one of the best Idris Elba roles, the British actor earned himself Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.
Iyana Halley - Abbott Elementary (2022-)
Stream On ABC
Iyana Halley plays Meredith Samuels, the eldest daughter of the protagonist who must survive despite all odds as the beast wreaks havoc.
Samuels was recently spotted playing the daughter of another main character, this time in the Emmy-nominated sitcom Abbott Elementary. Shot in mockumentary fashion, the comedy series is set in a dysfunctional school, and the teachers' best attempts to be good role models. Halley plays the daughter of Barbara Howard, one of the oldest and most mature teachers of the titular kindergarten.
Leah Jefferies - Empire (2015-2020)
Stream On Hulu
Playing the other Samuels sibling is Leah Jeffries whose earliest roles included that of Lola Lyon in the musical drama Empire.
Starring Terrence Howard and Taraji P Henson as a dysfunctional couple embroiled in a power struggle over a record company's ownership, Empire is filled with some melodramatic monologues and energetic rap covers of popular hits as well as some original numbers. The character Lola serves as a recurring character in the debut season as the estranged daughter of Jamal Lyon, one of the main characters on Empire.
Sharlto Copley - Hardcore Henry (2015)
Stream On Netflix
The other high-profile star in Beast is South African actor Sharlto Copley who plays one of Samuels' close friends and also happens to manage the game reserve housing the lions.
Copley, who broke out with the dystopian alien flick District 9, has gone on to appear in several genres including a predominant share of action movies of the 2010s. Hardcore Henry is quite innovative in this sense as it is shot entirely from a first-person perspective, reimagining the look and feel of a modern shooting game. Copley stars as the villain who abducts the titular cyborg hero's wife. What follows is an endless cycle of some creatively-executed and over-the-top violence.
Martin Munro - Warrior (2019-)
Stream On Cinemax
Joining the ensemble of Beast is Martin Munro who plays a character called Kees. Munro was earlier seen in shows like Black Sails, Warrior, and even the Black Mirror episode "Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too."
Based on a concept by the martial arts legend Bruce Lee, Warrior is set in 1870s-era San Francisco when rival Chinese criminal factions known as the Tongs were indulging in criminal clashes against each other. Caught up in the middle of this conflict is Andrew Koji's protagonist, a martial arts prodigy who has come to the States to rescue his sister. Munro appeared in the sophomore season as a corrupt journalist who serves as an assistant to the town's equally-corrupt Deputy Mayor.
Thapelo Sebogodi - Outlander (2014-)
Stream On Starz
Camo, one of the reserve's local staff members, is played by Thapelo Sebogodi, a South African actor who has appeared in English-language productions such as the historical drama series Outlander.
The show focuses on a military nurse from World War II who gets transported to the 1700s only to fall in love with a Scottish highland warrior. As depicted in the original novels, Sebogodi's character is that of Temeraire, a slave from the Guinea coast who encounters the lead characters Claire and Jamie Fraser both of whom are quite benevolent as compared to his captors. But instead of staying with the Frasers, Temeraire later escapes under mysterious circumstances.
Daniel Hadebe - Dredd (2012)
Stream On Tubi TV
Appearing as Abduya in Beast, Daniel Hadebe has previously appeared in some critically-acclaimed movies such as District 9, Invictus, and Dredd.
A hyperviolent adaptation of the Judge Dredd comics, Dredd is set in a dystopian, crime-ridden future where law-enforcers called "Judges" are granted the powers to act as judge, jury, and executioner. The movie follows a Die Hard-like approach as it takes place in one building with Dredd and his trainee waging war on the building's criminal elements. Hadebe has a brief role as Judge Volt, a Street Judge who responds to Dredd's distress calls and tries to help him out.
Mduduzi Mavimbela - District 9 (2009)
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Beast marks Mduduzi Mavimbela's acting debut as he plays a poacher named Mizozi. However, Mavimbela has pursued a cinematic career for a long time as a stunt artist providing stuntwork for blockbusters like Avengers: Age of Ultron and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.
Like many other cast members on Beast, Mavimbela has also been a part of the South-African sci-fi thriller District 9 (credited under 'Stunts'). Referencing the Apartheid system of racism that once prevailed in the country, Neill Blomkamp's stunning directorial debut focuses on the arrival of aliens and how they are segregated and racially abused by the human population.
Chris Gxalaba - The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019)
Stream On Netflix
Chris Gxalaba a minor character called Chipo in Beast. Attentive viewers might also remember him in another brief role in the Netflix original drama The Red Sea Diving Resort which also had one of Michael K William's last roles.
Also starring Chris Evans in the lead, the movie dramatizes the real-life rescue mission of 1979 in which Israeli Mossad agents saved Ethiopian Jews from Sudan. Credited as "Curious Neighbor," Chris Gxalba's role is that of a local informer to the spy agency.
Tafara Nyatsanza - Spell (2020)
Stream On Prime Video
Spotted in a brief role as Banji in Beast, Tafara Nyatsanza has had a few minor roles starting with the 2020 horror Spell in which he was credited as "Young Man at Gas Station."
Starring Omari Hardwick in the lead role, Spell is a "hex" horror as it finds the protagonist trapped in a house of a dark magic practitioner. The movie then plays out as a survival thriller as he must fight not just the owner but her twisted spells as a blood moon is on the rise.