The new Apple TV+ series Mr. Corman is about the complicated life of a 5th-grade teacher living in the San Fernando Valley. He's played by acclaimed actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who also created the series and writes and directs the episodes. While Gordon-Levitt is definitely the star of his own show in every way possible, it's not a solitary endeavor, as his character's life is dotted with friends, family and exes, who are played by at least one Oscar nominee and one Grammy nominee. It's a fun and interesting cast full of people we don't usually expect to be thrown into the same blender together. Who's playing who, and where have you seen them before? You've come to the right place.
At the age of ten, Joseph Gordon-Levitt played the young version of Brad Pitt's brother in the Robert Redford-directed film A River Runs Through It. Three years later, he starred in the Disney film Angels in the Outfield as a kid who sees angels help his favorite baseball team win. The success of that film helped Gordon-Levitt land the role of Tommy Solomon on the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, which he starred in for six seasons. He managed to transition from child stardom to teen stardom with roles in movies like 10 Things I Hate About You and Halloween: H20, before leveling up to more daring roles in movies like Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin and Rian Johnson's Brick. He's appeared in movies directed by the likes of Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg, and both Inception and The Dark Knight Rises for Christopher Nolan. He also wrote, directed, and starred in the Sundance hit Don Jon in 2013. In Mr. Corman, he plays the titular 5th-grade teacher whose life is strained by panic attacks, dating disasters and difficult family relationships.
Comedian and actor Arturo Castro is probably best known for playing Ilana's roommate Jamie on the Comedy Central series Broad City. He also co-starred in the Ang Lee-directed Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk as a member of the title character's army platoon, played David Rodríguez in the third season of Narcos, and starred in the Comedy Central sketch comedy series Alternatino with Arturo Castro. As Victor on Mr. Corman, Castro plays Josh Corman's roommate, who has his life marginally more together and who attempts to be very helpful to Josh even when he's not actually all that helpful.
Academy Award-nominated actress Debra Winger plays Josh's mother, Ruth, in Mr. Corman. Josh and Ruth have a relationship that feels both close and strained, as she struggles with her inability to help him with his life, while he resents her for his less than ideal childhood. Winger is one of the greatest actresses of her generation, getting an early break as the younger sister to Wonder Woman on the ABC series of the same name, before starring in films like Thank God It's Friday and Urban Cowboy. She was Oscar nominated for for Best Actress in An Officer and a Gentleman and again for Terms of Endearment. After stepping away from acting for a time, she played Anne Hathaway's mother in Rachel Getting Married and starred in the Netflix series The Ranch.
Rapper, producer, and streaming media star Logic — who's going by his birth name Bobby Hall in Mr. Corman — plays Dax, Josh's friend who's a big deal in the social/party scene around L.A., even if he's more of a wannabe than he lets on. Regardless, he's more plugged in than Josh is, and he's usually around to help Josh try to hook up with girls. Logic has been making music professionally for over a decade. He won an MTV Video Music Award in 2017 for his song "Black Spiderman," and in 2018, he received a Song of the Year Grammy nomination for "1-800-273-8255," his collaboration with Alessia Cara and Khalid.
Juno Temple is already one of Apple TV+'s standout performers for her role as Keeley Jones on Ted Lasso, for which she was recently Emmy nominated. She's been acting since before she was a teenager, playing Cate Blanchett's daughter in Notes on a Scandal, sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl, and the pivotal role of Lola Quincey in the Oscar-nominated film Atonement. She co-starred with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (though they shared no scenes) in The Dark Knight Rises, and she played one of the three fairy godmothers to Princess Aurora in the Disney live-action Maleficent movies. She's also had roles on the HBO series Vinyl and the Bravo series Dirty John. On Mr. Corman, she plays Josh's ex-girlfriend Megan.
Shannon Woodward plays Beth, Josh's sister who got her life together and married a devoutly religious man, much to Josh's barely-concealed displeasure. Woodward's breakout role came in the FX series The Riches, where she played the daughter of Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver in a family of grifting travelers. She later co-starred in the FOX sitcom Raising Hope and most recently played Elsie Hughes on the HBO series Westworld.
Mr. Corman premieres Friday August 6th on Apple TV+, with new episodes dropping Fridays through October 1st.
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Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.
TOPICS: Mr. Corman, Apple TV+, Arturo Castro, Debra Winger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Juno Temple, Logic, Shannon Woodward