The latest Stephen King adaptation to arrive in the world of streaming is Lisey’s Story, a horror drama miniseries coming to Apple TV+ – but who’s in Lisey’s Story's cast? The horror genre has been going through a great run in recent years with adaptations of popular works (as is the case of Andy Muschietti’s IT duology, another Stephen King adaptation), new franchises (like The Conjuring one), and original stories, such as Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us. The horror genre’s success hasn’t been limited to the big screen, and titles like American Horror Story have dominated television as well.
However, there seems to be a newfound interest in the works of Stephen King, with various adaptations in development for both TV/streaming and the big screen. Next in line is Lisey’s Story, published in 2006 and now coming to Apple TV+. Lisey’s Story follows the title character, Lisey Landon, who while dealing with the death of her husband, author Scott Landon, comes across a dangerous stalker obsessed with Scott’s work, and this experience will lead her to face unsettling memories of her marriage that she had blocked. After King expressed interest in seeing an adaptation of this particular novel, Apple bought the rights to it in 2019 and gave it a straight-to-series order to air on its streaming platform. Fans of King’s work and this specific novel will be happy to learn that it counted on the involvement of King, who wrote the script for every episode.
Lisey’s Story was one of many projects affected by the coronavirus pandemic as filming had to be put on hold for a while, with only “a few weeks” left in production. The crew resumed filming a couple of months later, and in April 2021, it was announced that the first two episodes will be released on June 4, with new episodes each Friday. With Lisey’s Story now ready for the world to watch, a question arises: who plays who in this Stephen King story? Here’s the Lisey’s Story cast and character guide.
Julianne Moore as Lisey Landon
Julianne Moore plays the title character, Lisey Landon, the widow of acclaimed novelist Scott Landon. In the novel, the story is told through her perspective but in different contexts: Lisey's story in the present, and the story of Scott's life, as remembered by her. Julianne Moore has a long list of acting credits to her name and covering a variety of genres, with the notable titles being The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Hannibal, The Hours, Children of Men, Still Alice, and The Woman in the Window. Claire Keane plays young Lisey, and she has previously appeared in the TV series Homeland.
Clive Owen as Scott Landon
Clive Owen plays Scott Landon, Lisey’s husband and a very successful novelist whose death triggers the events of the story. Although by the time Lisey’s Story begins Scott is already dead, the novel explores his life and relationship with his wife through her perspective, revealing some truly dark secrets about him. Clive Owen is best known for his roles in the movies King Arthur, Closer, Sin City, Children of Men (Lisey’s Story serving as a reunion with his co-star Julianne Moore), Gemini Man, and the TV series The Knick. Sebastian Eugene Hansen plays young Scott, and this is his first big role (he had previously played toddler Mozart in two episodes of Mozart in the Jungle).
Dane DeHaan as Jim Dooley
Dane DeHaan is part of the Lisey’s Story cast as Jim Dooley, Scott’s stalkerish superfan and thus one of the story’s antagonists. Dane DeHaan might be best known for playing Harry Osborn/Green Goblin in Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but he has also appeared in various projects outside the superhero genre – from neo-noir crime like The Place Beyond the Pines to biographical drama with Kill Your Darlings, going through psychological horror with A Cure for Wellness, and even space opera with Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, where he shared the screen with Clive Owen
Joan Allen as Amanda Debusher
Joan Allen plays Amanda Debusher, Lisey’s mentally fragile sister. Joan Allen has a long list of projects to her name, such as the 1995 movie Nixon (for which she won numerous awards), The Crucible, The Contender, Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, The Bourne Legacy, and Room, where she played Nancy Newsome, Joy’s (Brie Larson) mother.
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Darla
Jennifer Jason Leigh joined the cast of Lisey’s Story as Darla Debusher, one of Lisey’s sisters. Jennifer Jason Leigh is best known for her appearances in the movies Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Kill your Darlings, The Hateful Eight, Annihilation, and The Woman in the Window, as well as the TV shows Weeds and Atypical. Lisey’s Story marks yet another reunion with Jennifer Jason Leigh sharing the screen again with Dane DeHaan and Julianne Moore.
Ron Cephas Jones as Professor Dashmiel
Ron Cephas Jones plays Dashmiel, a university professor who keeps pushing Lisey to grant him access to Scott’s papers, manuscripts, and other documents insisting that his unpublished works should see the light – and he’s working closely with Jim Dooley to get them. Among Ron Cephas Jones’ acting credits are Half Nelson, Dolemite Is My Name, Mr. Robot, Luke Cage (where he played Bobby Fish), This Is Us, Looking for Alaska, and Truth Be Told.
Lisey’s Story Supporting Cast
Sung Kang as Dan Beckman: Sung Kang plays Han in the Fast & Furious franchise, played John Mark in Power, voiced Dang Hai in Raya and the Last Dragon, and will appear in the upcoming series Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Clark Furlong as Paul Landon: Clark Furlong played young Jules in Euphoria, Malcom Tucker in The Rookie, Kevin Bannister in High Fidelity, and young Xander in Bad Witch.
Jonathan Rayson as Matt: Jonathan Rayson’s acting credits include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Chicago Fire, After Forever, Little America, and The Blacklist.
Andrea Abello as Officer Barbara Danton: Lisey’s Story is Andrea Abello’s first acting role.
Brian Hutchison as Chief Craig Richards: Brian Hutchinson has appeared in the TV series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, Person of Interest, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Jessica Jones, and he played Alan in the movie adaptation of The Boys in the Band.
Ryan Jordan McCarthy as Officer Roddy Boynton: Ryan Jordan McCarthy has appeared in minor roles in TV shows like Jessica Jones, Godfather of Harlem, City on a Hill, and Pose.