Who's in Marriage Story, and where have you seen them before? Written and directed by Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story examines the dissolution of a marriage between a theatre director and a well-known movie actress.
Since Marriage Story's August 2019 theatrical premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, the drama has received steady Oscar buzz for its direction and collective performances. The storyline takes place in both Los Angeles and New York City as Nicole and Charlie Barber discover the complexities of a divorce procedure.
Marriage Story's focal couple is headlined by two screen legends-in-the-making, while the supporting cast is full of movie and TV veterans. Here's a cast and character guide for Noah Baumbach's highly-anticipated Netflix film.
Marriage Story's Main Cast
Scarlett Johansson as Nicole Barber: An actress who decides to divorce her husband. Scarlett Johansson has been acting in feature films since 1994. She's best known for portraying Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and for her Golden Globe-nominated performances in Lost in Translation, Girl with a Pearl Earring, A Love Song for Bobby Long, and Match Point. Johansson recently starred as Rosie Betzler in Jojo Rabbit.
Adam Driver as Charlie Barber: Nicole's husband, a New York City theatre director. Adam Driver rose to fame as Adam Sackler in HBO's Girls. He later delivered an Oscar-nominated performance in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman. In pop culture, Driver is best know for starring as Kylo Ren in the Star Wars franchise.
Marriage Story's Supporting Cast
Laura Dern as Nora Fanshaw: Nicole's lawyer in Marriage Story. The daughter of actor Bruce Dern and actress Diane Ladd, Laura Dern has frequently collaborated with filmmaker David Lynch over the years, starring in Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Inland Empire, and Twin Peaks. She portrays Renata Klein in HBO’s Big Little Lies, and recently appeared in Little Women.
Alan Alda as Bert Spitz: A former entertainment lawyer who switches to family law. Alan Alda is best known for portraying Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H. On the big screen, he's appeared in numerous films since the early '60s, most notably Paper Lion, Crimes and Misdemeanors, and The Aviator.
Ray Liotta as Jay Marotta: Charlie's lawyer. Ray Liotta starred as Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. He also portrayed "Shoeless" Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams and Lieutenant Matt Wozniak in NBC's Shades of Blue.
Julie Hagerty as Sandra: Nicole's mother. Julie Hagerty portrayed Elaine in Airplane! and Airplane II: The Sequel. She recently appeared in the Disney+ launch film Noelle.
Merritt Wever as Cassie: Nicole's sister who serves Charlie with divorce papers. Wever has won Primetime Emmy Awards for both Nurse Jackie and the 2017 Netflix limited series Godless. She portrayed Dr. Denise Cloyd on The Walking Dead, and co-starred with Kaitlyn Dever and Toni Collette in the 2019 Netflix series Unbelievable.
Kyle Bornheimer as Ted: Jay's law firm partner. Kyle Bornheimer portrayed Jack Briggs in Hulu's Casual.
Azhy Robertson as Henry Barber: Nicole and Charlie's eight-year-old son. Azhy Robertson portrayed Ilia in The Americans season 6.
Mark O'Brien as Carter: A environmental consultant for Nicole's TV pilot. Mark O'Brien portrayed Tom Rendon in AMC's Halt and Catch Fire. In 2019, he appeared as Alex Le Domas in Ready or Not.
Brooke Bloom as Mary Ann: Charlie's colleague and past romantic interest. Brooke Bloom portrayed Julie Carrell in Amazon's Alpha House and Rebecca Rogers in Netflix's Gypsy.
Wallace Shawn as Frank: One of Charlie's chatty actors. Wallace Shawn is best known for starring in the '80s films My Dinner with Andre and The Princess Bride. He also voiced Gilbert Huph in The Incredibles and Rex in the Toy Story franchise.
Martha Kelly as Nancy Katz: An evaluator who questions Charlie at his California residence. Martha Kelly portrayed Martha in FX's Baskets.
Robert Smigel as Mediator: early in Marriage Story, he urges Nicole and Charlie to remember why they were first attracted to each other. Robert Smigel wrote for Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 2013 and created the "TV Funhouse" short films. He also voices Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a character that originated on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.