Hulu's Nine Perfect Strangers cast features many Hollywood heavy-hitters playing an eclectic group of characters, and the show has been greenlit for season 2. The series based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty was created by David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, The Undoing) and John Henry Butterworth. The eight-episode series follows nine guests at a wellness center who turn to an enigmatic spiritual guru in hopes of alleviating their emotional turmoil. Nine Perfect Strangers is set at Tranquillum House, a California resort with a purpose: to heal the internal suffering of its guests through unconventional methods.
Nine guests aren't just carrying around pain but also secrets, but nobody is more of a mystery than the woman who is the reason they've all come together for the remote retreat. Of course, the smoothies, meditation, and breathtaking scenery are just distractions, and a larger mystery begins to unfold. Nine Perfect Strangers was one of 2021's best drama shows, thanks in large part to its ensemble cast, comprised of Hollywood A-listers and gifted character actors. While it was supposed to be a miniseries, season 2 is on the way with one notable character returning and a slew of new faces. Here's a look at the Nine Perfect Strangers cast.
Season 2 Casting News
The Nine Perfect Strangers cast will be expanding, as what was supposed to be a miniseries is now turning into a full-blown TV show. Hulu confirmed in June 2023 that Nine Perfect Strangers season 2 was on the way, with Nicole Kidman reprising the role of the mysterious Masha Dmitrichenko. The second season will see a new group of strangers surrounding Masha, and the location will be changing from California to the Swiss Alps. Not much is known as of yet who these new strangers will be, but five new characters have been added to the Nine Perfect Strangers cast for season 2, with more to be added soon.
The first new face added to the Nine Perfect Strangers cast will be Murray Bartlett. Bartlett rose to fame after appearing in the White Lotus season 1 cast as Armond and has also had a role in The Last of Us as Frank. Liv Ullman also joins, who is best known for her prolific work with Ingmar Bergman, appearing in classics like Persona and The Passion of Anna. Dolly de Leon from works like Triangle of Sadness is a part of the season 2 cast, as is Maisie Richardson-Sellers from The Kissing Booth franchise. Finally, Aras Aydin from the series Cherry Season also joins the Nine Perfect Strangers cast.
Nicole Kidman As Masha Dmitrichenko
Nicole Kidman plays the founder of Tranquillum House Masha in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast, who is acting as a spiritual guide to each of her hand-picked guests. While she introduces herself as a spiritual guru who died and then was saved by Yao, as the series goes on, Masha's secrets are revealed. Cunning and enigmatic, Masha spikes her guests smoothies with psychotropic drugs and isn't necessarily a stranger to Carmel. She also tries to bring back memories of her deceased daughter Tatiana, who died in a car crash when she was seven years old. She will reprise the role of Masha for season 2.
Nine Perfect Strangers is Kidman's third time collaborating with Kelley and the Academy Award-winning actress who also served as an executive producer on the series. Kidman's first outing with Kelley was HBO's Big Little Lies, in which Kidman played abused wife Celeste Wright, and the Australian actress won an Emmy for the role. In 2020 she reteamed with the writer for HBO Max's The Undoing about a woman whose life is turned upside down after a mother at her son's elite private school is brutally murdered.
Melissa McCarthy As Frances Welty
Melissa McCarthy plays Frances Welty in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast, a romance novelist whose personal and professional life is in upheaval. Heading to the resort to clear her head after being catfished and robbed by Paul, Frances gets a call informing her that her publisher is considering dropping her, sending her into an emotional tailspin. That being said, she's one of the few Nine Perfect Strangers cast members that gets a happier ending. McCarthy told Newsweek Frances is a woman who believes she's at a point in her life where she should be "peaking at every level," and her failure to do so is taking its toll.
Melissa McCarthy served as an executive producer on the series alongside Kidman. McCarthy is best known for her big-screen comedic roles in the films Bridesmaids and The Heat. She's also appeared in two successful, long-running television series, Mike & Molly and Gilmore Girls. Prior to Nine Perfect Strangers, her most recent role was Lydia Berman in Netflix's Thunder Force, a comedic take on the superhero genre. She stars in The Little Mermaid live-action remake as Ursula and also appeared in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Bobby Cannavale As Tony Hogburn
Bobby Cannavale plays retired football player and recovering drug addict Tony Hogburn in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast. Although Tony voluntarily seeks Masha's help, he is suspicious of her methods and reluctant to participate. He also forges a strong connection with Frances over the course of the 10-day stay. Cannavale told Slash Film Tony is a man "at the bottom of the rope," and he's "just looking for any reason to end it all." Tony's relationship with Frances inspires her to begin writing again, and he manages to leave Tranquillim a clean man, with the ending implying that the two eventually get married.
The Emmy-winning actor has appeared on Boardwalk Empire as Gyp Rosetti, Nurse Jackie as Dr. Mike Cruz, and Vinyl as Richie Finestra. His film credits include Ant-Man and the Wasp as Paxton and The Irishman as Skinny Razor. One of the most sought-after faces in the industry today, he also voiced Mr. Crystal in Sing 2 and appeared in the Ana de Armas-led Marylin Monroe movie Blonde. As of now, he has seven upcoming projects in various states of development and production, including the Ti West film MaXXXine, Old Dads, and Inappropriate Behavior.
Michael Shannon As Napoleon Marconi
Michael Shannon plays high school teacher Napoleon Marconi in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast. Napoleon and his wife and daughter are less financially well-off than the other guests, but Masha gives the family a discount. Although he's suffered a great loss, Napoleon tries to keep his grief in check to hold his family together. Throughout the series, Napoleon is reeling over the suicide of his son Zach, which is made worse with Masha's successive attempts through treatments and psychotropic drugs to bring up his memory. By the end of the series, everyone can see Zach, who urges his father to let go.
Prolific actor Michael Shannon has appeared in The Shape of Water as Richard Strickland and Knives Out as Walt Thrombey. His previous television work includes Boardwalk Empire, the miniseries Waco, and At Home with Amy Sedaris. After starring in Nine Perfect Strangers, Shannon went on to star in the David O. Russell movie Amsterdam alongside the likes of Margot Robbie and Christian Bale. He also plays the controversial country music star George Jones in the musical biopic series George & Tammy opposite Jessica Chastain's Tammy Wynette.
Asher Keddie As Heather Marconi
Asher Keddie plays Napoleon's wife Heather in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast, a bereaved mother mourning the loss of her son. Keddie spoke to Marie Claire about where the Marconi's are emotionally when they arrive at Tranquillum. "They feel alone in their grief. There are there is a lot of pain, a lot of sadness, they're stuck, and they're really very much alone," Keddie stated. Heather struggles far more openly than her husband Napoleon does over Zach's death, even contemplating her own suicide at a certain point. However, she does hold a shred of belief that Tranquillum is working, as when Napoleon wants to leave she convinces him to stay.
The Australian actress earned rave reviews for her performance as Clare Kowitz in Stateless, currently streaming on Netflix. American audiences will most likely recognize Keddie as Dr. Carol Frost in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Keddie has two upcoming television projects. The first is The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart in which she will be playing the character Sally Morgan. She will also soon appear in the series Strife, where she plays Evelyn Jones.
Samara Weaving As Jessica Chandler
Samara Weaving plays Jessica Chandler in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast, a social media influencer who attends the health and wellness retreat with her husband, Ben. Everything about Jessica appears very surface-level, reinforced by her obsession with the trappings of fame and fortune (she and her husband are lottery winners), and it's caused a disconnect between herself and her spouse. However, the unusual treatments at Tranquillum end up working surprisingly well for her, as she and Ben take over Tranquillum by the end of the series.
Weaving has appeared in Snake Eyes as Scarlett, Ready or Not as Grace, and The Babysitter: Killer Queen, and its sequel, as Bee. Her television credits include Ryan Murphy's Hollywood, in which she portrayed Claire Wood. Since playing Jessica in Nine Perfect Strangers, Weaving starred as the first Ghostface kill of Scream VI, a film teacher named Laura Crane. She has six upcoming projects in different states of production, including Azrael, Down the Rabbit Hole, and Borderline.
Melvin Gregg As Ben Chandler
Former Vine sensation Melvin Gregg plays Jessica's husband, Ben, in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast. Jessica and Ben turn to Masha to help them work through the problems in their marriage. Gregg told Digital Spy that Ben is a departure from the types of characters he usually plays. "A lot of my characters have a lot of bravado, and Ben, he doesn't. He has insecurities. He's carrying a lot of weight on his shoulders, and that translates into his demeanor," Gregg said. However, the ending sees Jessica and Ben in a much better place, taking over Tranquillum as the new proprietors.
Gregg has appeared on Snowfall as Drew "Manboy" Miller, Netflix's American Vandal as DeMarcus Tillman, and Lifetime's dark take on The Bachelor, UnREAL as Zach Taylor. Since being a part of the Nine Perfect Strangers cast, he has been in the horror comedy The Blackening as King and the movie House Party as Larry. He will soon appear in the television series The Wood as Shawn.
Regina Hall As Carmel Schneider
Regina Hall plays Carmel Schneider in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast, whose husband leaves her for a younger woman, and she's lost her feelings of self-worth. In an interview with Screen Rant, Hall discussed Carmel's reason for coming to Tranquillum. "She's come for many reasons, but she's come to boost her self-esteem and maybe meet new people. She doesn't have children. I think her children are with their new stepmom, so she's [trying] to cultivate a new beginning for herself," Hall said. One of the biggest bombshells of the series was that her husband had an affair with Masha, and Carmel is there to learn more about her.
Hall's previous work includes recurring roles on Insecure as Ninny and Black-ish as Vivian, and roles in The Hate U Give and Girls Trip. Her big break may have been the Scary Movie franchise, but she has since moved on to more serious and storied roles. Hall appeared as the disgraced wife of a well-known pastor, Trinitie Childs, in Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul, and has also had parts in Me Time and The Best Man: The Final Chapters. She can soon be seen in Odessa and Girl's Trip 2.
Luke Evans As Lars Lee
Luke Evans' character Lars Lee of the Nine Perfect Strangers cast comes to Tranquillum with a very different agenda than the other guests. He's an undercover reporter writing an article about the resort and its enigmatic founder. Lars is skeptical of Masha and her methods upon arrival, but he shares more in common with his fellow guests than he realizes despite his prickly exterior. He does eventually reveal his true plans to the rest of the group, and his happy ending away from Tranquillum sees him having a baby with his partner.
The Welsh actor's credits include Dracula Untold as Vlad, The Alienist as John Moore, the live-action Beauty and The Beast as the incomparable Gaston, and The Fast and the Furious as Shaw. After starring in Nine Perfect Strangers, Luke Evans went on to voice King Merriman in Crossing Swords and played the coachman in the live-action Pinocchio. He voiced Scrooge in the animated Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, and will soon reprise the role of Gaston in the miniseries Beauty & The Beast and star in Our Son.
Grace Van Patten As Zoe Marconi
Grace Van Patten plays Zoe in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast, the 20-year-old daughter of Heather and Napoleon. On the cusp of turning 21, Grace is mourning the suicide of her twin brother, Zach. Her 21st birthday is celebrated at Tranquillum, and she is consistently haunted by "seeing" Zach, when she often doesn't want to. Van Patten's small screen acting credits include The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and Maniac. She most recently headlined as Lucy Albright in the drama series Tell Me Lies.
Manny Jacinto As Yao
Manny Jacinto plays Yao in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast, Masha's right-hand man, whose job is to help keep the guests calm as they deal with their inner turmoil. Even though he's close to Masha, like everything and everyone else at Tranquillum, there's more to their relationship than meets the eye. He also has a relationship with Delilah, much to Masha's chagrin. Jacinto is best known for playing Jason Mendoza on the hit comedy The Good Place, but before landing the role that brought him widespread fame, he appeared on iZombie, Once Upon a Time, and Supernatural.
Tiffany Boone As Delilah
Tiffany Boone plays Masha's other trusted employee, Delilah in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast. Like Yao, it's Delilah's job to keep the guests calm with the added responsibilities of taking care of their day-to-day needs as well as having a small hand in their spiritual journey. Delilah is involved romantically with Yao, something that causes constant tension between her and Masha and she eventually leaves Tranquillum. 2020 was a breakout year for Boone, who appeared in George Clooney's Netflix film The Midnight Sky, and the small screen adaptation of Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere on Hulu.
Nine Perfect Strangers Supporting Cast & Characters
Hal Cumpston as Zach Marconi - Cumpston plays Heather and Napoleon's deceased son Zach in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast, who appears to them at Tranquillum to help them move on from his suicide. The actor appears as Silas Plaskett in The Walking Dead: World Beyond and most recently starred in Safe Home.
Zoe Terakes as Glory - Glory is a follower of Masha's and an employee at Tranquillum in the Nine Perfect Strangers cast. Terakes' other acting credits include Wentworth and The Moth Effect. She will soon appear in the MCU series Ironheart.