The Union Cast & Character Guide

Warning: Spoilers for Netflix’s The Union below!

The Union is Netflix’s latest action-comedy and its cast is littered with movie stars and acclaimed character actors. The Union is the latest in the ever-expanding Mark Wahlberg action movie library, with the story involving a construction worker recruited by his high school sweetheart into a spy organization. The philosophy behind this group is that instead of selecting the so-called elite of Yale or Harvard, they recruit people from blue-collar backgrounds who know how to “get s*** done.”

The Union is part spy movie – complete with the requisite gunfights and car chases – and part romantic comedy. The movie is being billed as a blue-collar James Bond movie, though the focus is still on the romance between the two leads. The film also has franchise potential, since The Union’s ending suggests further adventures await Wahlberg’s Mike. Whether the Netflix original scores a big enough audience to net a sequel is another question.

Mark Wahlberg as Mike McKenna

Date of Birth: June 5, 1971

Actor: Mark Wahlberg was best known as rapper Marky Mark before his acting debut in the Penny Marshall comedy Renaissance Man. To the shock of many, he soon became one of Hollywood’s rising young stars. Wahlberg soon proved his acting chops with challenging roles in films like Boogie Nights and Three Kings. In the decades since, he has tackled a wide variety of roles, from comedies (Ted) to hit action flicks (Shooter, Uncharted).

Notable Mark Wahlberg Movies & TV Shows

Character: Wahlberg’s Union character Mike McKenna is an underachieving construction worker planning his friend’s bachelor party when his Roxanne walks back into his life. Mike is soon whisked away to London and recruited into the spy group “Union,” and undergoes two weeks of training to take part in a special mission. Roxanne believes in his potential, but whether Mike himself does is key to his character arc.

Halle Berry as Roxanne Hall

Date of Birth: August 14, 1966

Actor: After making numerous guest appearances on sitcoms and TV dramas, Halle Berry made a real impression with her film debut in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever. After a solid decade of stealing films like The Flintstones, the acclaim that greeted her work in 2001’s Monster’s Ball made Berry a movie star. Since then, Halle Berry movies have been a blend of blockbusters (Die Another Day) with more intense projects like her directorial debut, Bruised.

Notable Halle Berry Movies & TV Shows

Character: Berry plays Roxanne, who after leaving New Jersey at a young age, found herself recruited by The Union. Roxanne is one of the spy organization’s top members, but needing a fresh recruit she can trust, she turns to Mike. While she trains her ex, the old sparks between them start to fly again. Their blossoming romance becomes complicated, however, when Roxanne’s estranged husband returns from the dead.

J.K. Simmons as Tom Brennan

Date of Birth: January 9, 1955

Actor: For decades, J.K. Simmons has been one of the most reliable character actors in the business. After appearing in small roles in films like The Ref, Simmons came to everyone’s attention for his terrifying turn as Vern Schillinger in HBO prison drama Oz. He has rarely stopped working since, with his most acclaimed performance coming with 2014’s Whiplash as a vicious music teacher who demands perfection. Arguably Simmons’ most popular role is that of J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man movie franchise.

Notable J.K. Simmons Movies & TV Shows

Character: Simmons gives the cast of The Union some gruff gravitas as Tom Brennan, the head of the organization. Brennan fails to see the potential in Mike that Roxanne does, but having few options, he decides to trust her instincts. Brennan’s is essentially the film’s take on M, but one who is considerably less patient and prone to dry quips as events spiral downhill during missions.

Mike Colter as Nick Faraday

Date of Birth: August 26, 1976

Actor: Mike Colter made his movie debut with Clint Eastwood boxing drama Million Dollar Baby, and went on to a run of great roles in movies and shows like Men in Black 3. Colter’s career rose to the next level due to playing the lead in Netflix’s Luke Cage, and he made guest appearances on the streamer’s other superhero shows. In recent years, Colter has fronted horror series Evil and Gerard Butler action movie Plane; Colter is signed on to a sequel dubbed Ship.

Notable Mike Colter Movies & TV Shows

Character: Faraday is another top Union agent, and Roxanne’s estranged husband. Faraday is seemingly killed in the opening mission, only to reemerge later in the film, accusing another member of being a traitor to the team. His resurrection also poses a challenge to Mike and Roxanne’s relationship.

The Union Supporting Cast & Characters

Jackie Earle Haley as Foreman: Haley has been acting since the early 1970s when he appeared as a child star in The Bad News Bears movies. As an adult, Haley was acclaimed for his role in Little Children and went on to play Rorschach in Zack Snyder’s Watchmen and Freddy Krueger in 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street remake.

Jessica De Gouw as Juliet Quinn: Australian actress Jessica De Gouw first broke through playing Mina Harker on NBC’s Dracula series. Since then, she made a guest appearance on The Crown and fronted steamy miniseries The Couple Next Door.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Pfeiffer: Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a familiar face on the big and small screens, ranging from his work on shows like Oz and Lost to movies such as The Bourne Identity or Suicide Squad. Some of his most recent work includes a guest role on His Dark Materials.

Alice Lee as Athena Kim: In The Union, Lee plays tech support agent Athena, a close friend of Berry’s Roxanne. Lee will be known to viewers for Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, in addition to Brittany Runs a Marathon and voicing Lois Lane in animated show My Adventures with Superman.

Lorraine Bracco as Lorraine McKenna: Lorraine Bracco makes a cameo in The Union as the forceful mother of Wahlberg’s Mike. Bracco has an impressive body of work, including 1990’s Goodfellas and The Sopranos.

The Union (2024)

The Union is an upcoming film that explores the intersecting lives of multiple characters as they navigate complex relationships, personal struggles, and social issues.

Director

Julian Farino

Release Date

August 16, 2024

Writers

David Guggenheim , Joe Barton

Runtime

109 Minutes