BREAKING: 11.22.63 just landed on Netflix, and the cast is about to own your weekend. Stephen King’s time travel puzzle meets a tender love story, and this ensemble makes every leap feel real. I have the names you will be talking about, the roles that lock you in, and why this eight-episode run still hits like new.
The Leads Who Anchor The Past
James Franco is Jake Epping, a high school teacher who becomes James Amberson in 1960. He discovers a portal, steps back in time, and aims at a history-shifting mission. Stop the JFK assassination. Franco plays Jake with restless charm and haunted eyes. He lets doubt creep in, then burns it off with stubborn hope. You feel his wins and his heartbreak.
Sarah Gadon is Sadie Dunhill, the bold librarian who steals Jake’s plan and his heart. Gadon gives Sadie grace, grit, and fire. Her scenes pulse with risk. The romance matters because she makes it matter. When the clock fights back, you fear for her first.
The Forces That Shape History
Chris Cooper is Al Templeton, the diner owner who opens the door to the past. Cooper delivers truth in a gravelly whisper. He is weary, funny, and urgent. Al sets the stakes, then lets Jake run.
Daniel Webber’s Lee Harvey Oswald is not a blurred villain. He is sharp, twitchy, and chilling. Webber builds a portrait that feels lived in. The show refuses one-note answers. His Oswald keeps you off balance.
George MacKay plays Bill Turcotte, a sweet drifter who becomes Jake’s risky ally. MacKay brings a nervous warmth that turns to ache. Josh Duhamel is Frank Dunning, a small town terror with a smile. His scenes are brutal and unforgettable. T.R. Knight is Johnny Clayton, Sadie’s ex, and he chills with quiet control. Nick Searcy is Deke Simmons, the school principal with a backbone and a conscience.
- Watch Webber’s Oswald in the apartment scenes. The air gets thin.
- See Gadon’s Sadie in the school auditorium. Joy, fear, then resolve.
- Lock in on Duhamel in the butcher shop. Your pulse will jump.
- Follow Franco and Cooper in the diner. The rules of time click into place.
This is a character drama wrapped in a thriller. Every choice has a price, and this cast makes you feel the bill come due.
Where You Know Them From
Franco’s range powers the series. You have seen him lead 127 Hours. You have seen him write and direct The Disaster Artist. He brings that same focus to Jake, a man who thinks he can bend fate, then learns what fate bends.
Gadon has become a go to for layered period roles. She stunned in Alias Grace. She turned heads in Enemy. Here, she gives Sadie a full interior life. She is not a plot device. She is the point.
Cooper is an Oscar winner for Adaptation. He also left a mark in American Beauty and Little Women. He sets the tone here, then lets the younger leads take the field.
Webber broke out as a troubled vet in The Punisher. He uses that intensity to craft an Oswald who snarls, jokes, and threatens. MacKay has led war epic 1917 with raw nerve. You feel that same urgency when Bill starts to understand Jake’s mission. Duhamel brings movie star force from Transformers and Love, Simon. Knight, a fan favorite from Grey’s Anatomy, slips into menace with ease. Searcy, the voice of authority in Justified, brings steady heart to Deke.
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Why These Performances Hit Now
11.22.63 is not dusty history. It is romance, suspense, and the question that never dies. What if we could fix it. The series answers with cost. The past pushes back. It pushes hard. This cast sells that idea with sweat and quiet pain.
The period detail sings, from horn-rim glasses to neon diners. The dances, the cars, the smoke in a Texas bar, it all feels tactile. You are there. The ensemble meets that level. They fit the time, yet still feel alive today. That is the trick. That is why new viewers will lock in, and longtime fans will fall in again.
Plan the binge. Episode 2 and episode 5 are heavy, so pair them with lighter scenes. Let Sadie and Jake give you air.
Final Word
You asked who is in 11.22.63, and I am telling you why they matter. Franco and Gadon give the show a beating heart. Cooper sets the mission. Webber, MacKay, Duhamel, Knight, and Searcy build the world, and then they crack it. Eight episodes, one big question, and a cast that never blinks. Hit play, then let the past fight back.
