Here's a cast and character guide for 1985 western Pale Rider. Clint Eastwood has had a career-long association with the western genre and it's offered him some of his best roles. One of his first notable parts came with western series Rawhide, but it was his turn in 1964's A Fistful Of Dollars that made him a movie star. He returned for two sequels and more westerns like Hang 'Em High, Two Mules For Sister Sara and The Outlaw Josey Wales followed. His last foray into the genre was 1992's acclaimed Unforgiven, playing an aging gunfighter brought out of retirement for one last job.
While Clint Eastwood has never made an outright horror film, he's made a couple of movies that have dipped into the genre a little. One was 1973's High Plains Drifter, where he plays an unnamed stranger who wanders into a mining town where the sheriff was lynched. While the original script made it clear The Stranger was the sheriff's brother, Eastwood - who also directed - instead implied he was sheriff's ghost instead, seeking vengeance on his killers and those who stood by while he was murdered. The second is 1985's Pale Rider, which feels like a spiritual sequel to High Plains Drifter.
Pale Rider is probably one of Eastwood's most underrated as director and here's a guide to the film's characters.
Clint Eastwood - Preacher
Clint Eastwood plays another Man With No Name character in Pale Rider, who is dubbed "Preacher" because he wears a clerical collar. He rides into a small town to deal with a corrupt mining company, though the presence of six bullet wounds on his back - and the fact villain Stockburn says he killed him - suggests he's not quite what he seems.
Michael Moriarty - Hull
Michael Moriarty (Law & Order) plays Hull in Pale Rider, a miner prospector. He takes in Sarah and her daughter Megan and while far from being an action hero, he's portrayed through as a decent, brave man who stands up to corrupt villain LaHood.
Carrie Snodgress - Sarah Wheeler
Carrie Snodgress is Sarah in Pale Rider, whose husband walked out on her and daughter Megan. She enters into a relationship with Hull while trying to keep Megan safe from LaHood's men.
Sydney Penny - Megan Wheeler
Sydney Penny (Pretty Little Liars) plays teenager Megan Wheeler in Pale Rider, who - in a sense - kicks off the story. When her dog is shot by LaHood's men, she buries her pet and prays for help, which is when Preacher rides into town. She forms a bond with this stranger, who later saves her from an attack by LaHood's men, and their final scene recalls the ending of Shane.
Richard Dysart - Coy LaHood
The Thing's Richard Dysart is Pale Rider's main villain Coy LaHood, the greedy owner of a mine looking to run the other prospectors out of town by any means necessary.
John Russell - Marshal Stockburn
John Russell (Lawman) is Pale Rider's secondary antagonist, a corrupt Marshal who is hired to kill the Preacher by LaHood; it turns out they may have already met.