Where You've Seen The Cast Of Disney+'s Willow Before

It's been years since viewers first watched Willow Ufgood embark on his fantasy quest. Warwick Davis played the titular farmer and sorcerer in the 1988 film, a hero determined to safely deliver Elora Danan to her family while being pursued by evil Queen Bavmorda and her dark forces. First developed by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard, "Willow" features a star-studded cast including Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, and Billy Barty.

Despite the fact that the movie was greeted with mixed reviews from critics and was only a modest financial success, it's developed a cult following (via The Nerd Stash) that's convinced Ron Howard and Jonathan Kasdan to revive the franchise as a television series on Disney+. While we still don't know a lot about the show ahead of its launch, the actors who'll be part of the show have been revealed, even if the characters they're playing are still something of a mystery.

Along with a few notable returns, "Willow" features a fresh cast of relatively young actors. Some of them will no doubt be familiar to avid moviegoers and television watchers, although you may not realize exactly where you've seen them before.

Ruby Cruz was one of the first names to be confirmed for "Willow," with Deadline reporting that she'd been cast in a lead role early in 2021. The site also confirmed that she had replaced Cailee Spaeny, who was originally intended to play Kit, the princess who sets the quest to save her twin brother in motion. Cruz has spoken about her excitement for the project and the thrill of working with Warwick Davis.

A young actor, Cruz doesn't have all that many screen credits, so it's likely that many viewers watching the Disney+ series may not recognize her at all. However, she will be familiar to anyone who's watched the Kate Winslet series "Mare of Easttown" on HBO through her portrayal of the character Jess Riley. Prior to that, Cruz made guest appearances in both "Blue Bloods" and "Castle Rock." The rest of her credits involve a number of short films, such as "The Jump" and "God Is a Lobster."

Erin Kellyman is part of the main cast of "Willow" as a protagonist who works with Willow Ufgood. A report from Deadline indicated that Kellyman will play a character known as Jade, a close friend of Kit who acts as the group's conscience. A knight-in-training, she'll be part of the group that sets out to rescue the kidnapped prince.

The actor, who made her television debut in 2015 in the British sitcom "Raised by Wolves," is probably best known for her role in "Solo: A Star Wars Story." She portrayed the character Enfys Nest, a pirate gang leader who aids the Rebel Alliance. Kellyman also had a prominent part in the Disney+ MCU series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" as Karli Morgenthau, the leader of the Flag Smashers.

Despite her relatively young age, the actor has also had roles in "Les Misérables" with Olivia Colman and Dominic West, as well as David Lowery's fantasy film "The Green Knight" and the BBC drama series "Life" in 2020.

According to the same Deadline report above, Ellie Bamber is due to play the character Dove in "Willow," a kitchen maid who joins the other heroes as they attempt to bring back the prince who has been forcibly taken away. Like many members of the cast, she's a relative newcomer to the world of acting, having joined the Players' Theatre Club before she was a teenager. She subsequently landed a role in the 2010 production of "Aspects of Love" and has appeared in numerous theatrical shows over the last decade (via Musical Theatre Review).

Like her castmate Erin Kellyman, Bamber had a role in the BBC adaptation of "Les Misérables," appearing with actors such as Derek Jacobi, David Oyelowo, and David Bradley. In 2016, she played Lydia Bennet in "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and was part of the cast for "Nocturnal Animals." On television, she has largely been involved in British series, including the 2021 crime drama "The Serpent" and period drama "The Musketeers."

Joanne Whalley is one of the few actors from the original 1988 movie, once again taking on the role of Sorsha. An expert horse rider and highly skilled in archery, Sorsha began the story as a villain but transformed into one of the three main heroes by the end of the film. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the actor revealed that her character is just as capable as she was all those years ago, saying "she's not laying down ... you just have to deal with what's in front of you, and she is very practical at heart."

Outside of her work in "Willow," Whalley has had an extensive career in both television and film through roles in "Dance with a Stranger," "Scandal," and "The Secret Rapture" in addition to the more recent Eleanor Coppola-directed "Love Is Love Is Love" where she played one of the lead characters. On television, she came to prominence in the BBC drama series "Edge of Darkness" and has also appeared in "The Singing Detective" and "A.D. The Bible Continues." For Netflix, she portrayed the character Sister Maggie in the Marvel television show "Daredevil."

Forbes revealed that Tony Revolori will play Graydon in the Disney+ series, a scholarly character who the actor described as a "kind of bookworm who's a little socially awkward" (via Games Radar). He joins Kit, Jade, and Dove on their quest to save the prince. According to The Daily Beast, the actor started his career at an incredibly young age, appearing in commercials while still a toddler.

However, he didn't rise to prominence until 2014, when he was cast as Zero Moustafa in the Wes Anderson comedy-drama film "The Grand Budapest Hotel." His performance led to him being named one of the best young actors by IndieWire and drew praise from publications such as The Guardian. Fans of the MCU may well recognize him as the bully and overconfident Peter Parker enemy Flash Thompson in several "Spider-Man" films, including the 2021 release "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

In recent years he's also voiced Deuce Gorgon in the Nickelodeon animated series "Monster High" and appeared in "Royalties" and the film "Run," starring with Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen.

One of the later additions to the series, Rosabell Laurenti Sellers was only reported to be part of the cast of "Willow" in April of 2022 (via Deadline). However, there's been no word on exactly which character the actor will be playing in the Disney+ show, although Deadline did suggest her personality will be forthright and quick-witted. The daughter of Mary Sellers and Fabrizio Laurenti, filmmaking clearly runs in Rosabell's veins.

Sellers will almost certainly be best remembered for her role in the hit HBO series "Game of Thrones." She played Tyene Sand, one of the Sand Snakes fathered by Oberyn Martell, and a key instigator in the death of Myrcella Baratheon and the leaders of Dorne. Before that, she played the main character in the children's television show "Mia and Me" for three seasons. During her earlier career as a child, she largely appeared in Italian productions such as "Mi ricordo Anna Frank" and "Cenerentola."

Amar Chadha-Patel stands out among the rest of the main cast of "Willow" as being noticeably older than the other heroes with the exception of Willow Ufgood. He plays a mercenary and thief known as Boorman, who is imprisoned at the start of the story but then offered his freedom in exchange for helping to rescue the missing prince (via Deadline).

His career started as a supporting member of the cast in productions such as "Blinded by the Light," "Army of One," and "Aladdin." In 2014, Chadha-Patel appeared in the music video for the George Ezra song "Budapest." The actor's breakthrough role came in the British sitcom "Year of the Rabbit," where he played Detective Sergeant Keith alongside Matt Berry and Keeley Hawes. Since then, he's been cast in projects including "Sex Education" as a DJ and the 2019 film "Doom: Annihilation." He also had a starring role in Rob Savage's 2021 horror film "Dashcam," an experience that saw him double as a camera operator according to an interview with Empire Magazine.

Bleeding Cool announced that Dempsey Bryk had been cast in "Willow" at the end of 2021 but, so far, there hasn't been any indication of who the actor will be bringing to life onscreen. Disney has revealed precious little about the series so far, meaning fans have little to go on as far as the story or the characters outside of a few brief details.

Bryk, who claims to be able to perform a very good Shia LaBeouf impression, is a filmmaker as well as an actor. He's worked on two short films and a theatrical production called "Fail to Prepare." His first onscreen role came in "Mary Kills People" in 2017 and shortly afterward he went on to have several other small roles in "Black Mirror," "Ransom," and "Saving Hope." 

He's probably best known for his performances in the Canadian comedy-drama "Heartland" and the Facebook Watch series "The Birch," which was based on a short film of the same name. More recently, he appeared in the positively reviewed film "The Fight Machine" and docudrama "Marlene."

Like Warwick Davis and Joanne Whalley, Kevin Pollak was part of the 1988 "Willow" movie. In the film, he played the character Rool, a Lesser Faery known as a Brownie. A troublesome and somewhat clumsy individual, he encountered Willow and Elora while out with his friend Franjean. According to Parade, Pollak is reprising his role in the television series, playing an older version of Rool.

Pollak is best known for his comedic roles, having worked in film, television, and on stage since the early 1980s. He hosts his own podcast called "Kevin Pollak's Chat Show" and is an avid poker player, having taken part in the World Series of Poker (via Poker News).

In terms of his film career, he's appeared in everything from "A Few Good Men" to "The Usual Suspects." In more recent years, he's been part of the cast of films such as "The Front Runner" and "The Tiger Hunter," and many will recognize him from playing Marion in "Better Things" or Moishe Maisel in Amazon's period comedy series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

Rick Overton is also returning to the world of "Willow" where he will reprise the character of Franjean. Similar to Rool, he's a member of the Brownies and works under the Maiden of the Forest Cherlindrea. He joined Willow Ufgood and worked with him to return Elora to Tir Asleen while being pursued by the forces of Queen Bavmorda.

Some of Overton's earliest work came when he had brief roles in "Young Doctors in Love" and "Airplane II: The Sequel." A few years later, he appeared in "Million Dollar Mystery" and "Amazing Stories," before having another supporting part in the Robin Williams comedy "Mrs. Doubtfire." On television, he portrayed Pam Beesly's father William on "The Office," and also had recurring roles on "Leverage" and "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman."

As a writer, he contributed to both "The New Adventures of Beans Baxter" and "Dennis Miller Live," the latter of which saw him nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards with the rest of the writing team.

IndieWire confirmed that Talisa Garcia will play a queen in "Willow," although the character's name has yet to be revealed. What is known is that she's the mother of Graydon, one of the young heroes who attempts to rescue the kidnapped prince along with Kit, Jade, and Dove. Her role may be rather small compared to most of the cast, although IMDb lists her as appearing in all eight episodes.

Fans of the British mystery thriller series "Baptiste" — itself a spinoff of another successful show called "The Missing" — may recognize Garcia for her portrayal of Kim Vogel. Before that, she had guest roles on other long-running British shows, including "Silent Witness" and the medical soap opera "Doctors." The actor also appeared in a single episode of the 2019 comedy "Miracle Workers" on TBS, and had a small part in the Spanish police procedural "Servir y proteger."

While there hasn't been any official confirmation from Disney, IMDb suggests that Ralph Ineson will be playing a character known as Commander Ballantine in three episodes of the "Willow" series. Some of his earlier roles include playing characters in hit BBC shows such as "The Office" and "Goodnight Sweetheart." However, he began his career in the early 1990s, appearing in the film "Shopping" and the television series "Spender."

Ineson is another "Willow" actor who was also part of the cast of HBO's "Game of Thrones." He appeared in the second season of the show as the Ironborn soldier Dagmer Cleftjaw, who helped Theon Greyjoy capture Winterfell. Part of another hit fantasy franchise, he played the Dark Wizard Amycus Carrow in several "Harry Potter" films, eventually becoming the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor when Severus Snape served as Hogwarts headmaster. Ineson was also seen in "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."

Annabelle Davis may look familiar even to those who haven't seen her in anything else, as she's the daughter of Willow Ufgood actor Warwick Davis (via BBC). That doesn't mean she earned her role through nepotism, as the younger Davis is an actor in her own right, but "Willow" will see her playing a character that makes sense considering her relationship with the lead protagonist — she'll appear as Willow's daughter Mims (via Just Jared).

Her first screen credit came in 2011 when she joined her father as part of the cast of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2," although this was only a supporting role as an extra. Warwick Davis spoke about how she acted as a creature performer on "The Force Awakens” in an interview with The Mirror in 2015, with Annabelle next appearing in "The Dumping Ground" — a spinoff of "Tracy Beaker" in which she portrayed Sasha Bellman. In 2017, the actor was cast as Dodibin in "The Last Jedi."

It was announced in 2022 that Christian Slater was involved as part of the cast of "Willow," but neither he nor Disney has confirmed exactly who he'll be playing. Rumors suggest that he'll be a friend of the mercenary Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) and will act as an ally of the young group working with Willow Ufgood to save the prince. According to Deadline, he spoke about the role in a D23 appearance, saying that "just getting to be a part of this show was, I will be honest with you, an absolute dream come true."

Slater is a prolific actor, with more than 100 credits to his name. One of his first major roles came in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," where he played Will Scarlet alongside Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Rickman. Before that, he appeared on the soap opera "One Life to Live" and went on to appear in films such as "True Romance," "Broken Arrow," and "Very Bad Things." From 2015-'19, he portrayed the title character of Amazon's "Mr. Robot," a role that won praise from publications such as Rolling Stone.

Warwick Davis returns to the world of "Willow" as the character he played in the original film. Willow Ufgood is now far older than he was in the original movie, where he showed magical promise from a young age and led the quest to return the baby Elora to her family. According to Disney, the new series will see Ufgood set off on a rescue mission to free the kidnapped brother of a princess.

The actor has been a Lucasfilm fixture over the years, appearing in a number of "Star Wars" films. These roles usually involve playing a costumed character so his face may not have been even visible to the audience, including his first role in "Return of the Jedi" as the Ewok known as Wicket and Wollivan in "The Force Awakens" (via Time Out London).

More recognizable were his roles in the "Harry Potter" series, where he portrayed the characters of Professor Filius Flitwick and Griphook. In 2011, he began starring in the HBO and BBC co-production "Life's Too Short," a mockumentary series from "The Office" creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant along with Davis. Viewers in the UK may also know him from presenting the daytime quiz show "Tenable," a role he held for six years between 2015 and 2021.