Interstellar Cast & Character Guide

The Interstellar cast brings together Oscar winners, future stars, and some true acting legends to tell Christopher Nolan's epic sci-fi adventure. Interstellar is set in a future in which Earth’s natural resources have been drained to the point that it’s uninhabitable. Interstellar charts a space mission to find a new planet for the human race to live on, and the film's hugely talented actors brought the story’s complex themes and speculation to life.

Christopher Nolan's movie is filled with bold sci-fi ideas and some wonderful visuals that can be expected from the acclaimed filmmaker. However, at the center of Interstellar is a very human story about love and the future of humanity. In bringing these layered and thought-provoking characters to life, Nolan assembled one of his most star-studded ensembles that included some of his past collaborators and others who he would work with again in the future.

Matthew McConaughey As Joseph Cooper

Character: Interstellar’s lead protagonist, Joseph Cooper is a widowed NASA pilot who became a farmer when the U.S. government shut down the agency. While caring for his children in the bleak new reality of Earth, he is invited onto a space mission to find a new planet with the hopes of saving humanity's future. While he knows he must take on the mission, he is torn apart by having to leave his children behind, potentially for decades.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Title Role Dazed and Confused (1993) Wooderson How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) Benjamin Barry Mud (2012) Mud Dallas Buyers Club (2013) Ron Woodroof True Detective (2014) Rustin "Rust" Cohle

Actor: Matthew McConaughey broke out in Hollywood with his scene-stealing role as Wooderson in Dazed and Confused. He became a go-to rom-com lead thanks to movies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Failure to Launch. However, his career found a renaissance that peaked with his Oscar-winning role as Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club. McConaughey also starred in The Wolf of Wall Street, Mud, Magic Mike, and the first season of True Detective.

Anne Hathaway As Dr. Amelia Brand

Character: Dr. Amelia Brand is a devoted NASA scientist and astronaut who joins Cooper’s intergalactic mission to find humanity a new home. She is the daughter of the mission's founder, Professor John Brand, and it is revealed that she had previously had a relationship with one of the astronauts on the first mission into space. While she is an intelligent and logical scientist, she also attempts to make Cooper embrace something more intuitive than facts.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Title Role The Princess Diaries (2001) Mia Thermopolis The Devil Wears Prada (2006) Andrea "Andy" Sachs Les Misérables (2012) Fantine The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Selina Kyle / Catwoman

Actor: Anne Hathaway found her breakout role in Hollywood in the teen comedy The Princess Diaries. This was followed by comedies like The Devil Wears Prada and Valentine's Day, as well as critically acclaimed dramas, like Brokeback Mountain. Hathaway won an Academy Award for her turn as Fantine in the movie adaptation of Les Misérables and received an Oscar nomination for her performance in Rachel Getting Married. She previously worked with Christopher Nolan on The Dark Knight Rises as Catwoman and will reteam with him on the upcoming The Odyssey.

Mackenzie Foy As Young Murphy “Murph” Cooper

Active Since: 2009

Character: Interstellar introduces Cooper's daughter Murph at three different times in her life. When the movie begins, Murph is the precocious young child who shares her father's passion for discovery and a general curiosity about the world. While they have a stronger bond than the one Cooper has with Tom, that bond is broken when Cooper goes on the space mission with Murph devastated to see him leave.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Title Role The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011) Renesmee Cullen The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012) Renesmee Cullen The Conjuring (2012) Cindy Perron The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018) Clara Stahlbaum

Actor: Young Murph is played by Mackenzie Foy who made her movie debut in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, playing Renesmee Cullen, the daughter of Edward and Bella. She also starred in The Conjuring, The Little Prince, and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.

Jessica Chastain As Adult Murph

Active Since: 1998

Character: The version of Murph that the movie spends the most time with is the adult version, played by Jessica Chastain. Despite the fact that she has grown increasingly bitter over the years towards the perceived betrayal and abandonment by her father, she continues in Cooper's footsteps by joining the Earth-bound NASA operations. She is mentored by Professor Brand while also putting the pieces together that would save humanity.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Title Role The Help (2011) Celia Foote Zero Dark Thirty (2012) Maya Harris Molly's Game (2017) Molly Bloom It: Chapter Two (2019) Beverly Marsh The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) Tammy Faye

Actor: Jessica Chastain won an Oscar for her turn in The Eyes of Tammy Faye and also received nominations for The Help and Zero Dark Thirty. She has also starred in high-profile roles in movies like It: Chapter Two, The Tree of Life, and Molly's Game. She also appeared on television in the miniseries Scenes from a Marriage as well as George & Tammy.

Ellen Burstyn As Older Murph

Active Since: 1955

Character: When Cooper is finally brought back from his mission, he is able to reunite with his daughter, only to find that Murph is an older woman nearing the end of her life. However, while she was resentful of her father leaving her when she was younger, the father and daughter are able to reunite with love and understanding after Murph figured out Cooper's way of connecting with her from the cosmos.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Title Role The Last Picture Show (1971) Lois Farrow The Exorcist (1973) Chris MacNeil Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) Alice Hyatt Requiem for a Dream (2000) Sara Goldfarb

Actor: Ellen Burstyn is an acting legend and one of the few actors who has achieved the "Triple Crown of Acting," with an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. She is best known for her acclaimed work in The Exorcist and Requiem for a Dream, but she has starred in so many classic movies, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and The Last Picture Show.

Michael Caine As Professor John Brand

Character: Professor John Brand is the NASA genius and a former mentor of Cooper who masterminds the Endurance mission in Interstellar. When Cooper heads out into the cosmos, Professor Brand also becomes a mentor to Murph, bringing her aboard the Earth-based side of the mission. However, Professor Brand is also concealing a secret about the mission which he did not even reveal to Cooper before he left.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Title Role Alfie (1966) Alfie Elkins The Italian Job (1969) Charlie Croker Get Carter (1971) Jack Carter The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) Ebenezer Scrooge The Cider House Rules (1999) Dr. Wilbur Larch

Actor: Michael Caine is one of Christopher Nolan's most frequent collaborators, having starred as Alfred Pennyworth in all three Batman movies as well as appearing in The Prestige, Inception, Dunkirk, and Tenet. Caine's legendary career also includes two Oscar-winning roles in Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules as well as four other nominations. He has starred in legendary movies like Alfie, Get Carter, The Italian Job, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and Harry Brown.

John Lithgow As Donald

Active Since: 1972

Character: While Cooper's wife passed away before the events of the movie, his father-in-law, Donald, remains a big part of their lives, living on the farm with Cooper and the kids. He often complains about the state of the world but is a constant source of strength in the family. When Cooper goes on the space mission, Donald takes over as the caregiver of Murph and Tom.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Title Role The World According to Garp (1982) Roberta Muldoon Terms of Endearment (1983) Sam Burns 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001) Dick Solomon Dexter (2009) Arthur Mitchell Conclave (2024) Cardinal Tremblay

Actor: John Lithgow is an acclaimed actor in theater, television, and movies. He is likely best known for playing Dick Solomon on the sci-fi sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, for which he won three Emmy Awards. Lithgow received further Emmys for playing serial killer Arthur Mitchell in Dexter and Winston Churchill in The Crown. He earned Oscar nominations for his performances in Terms of Endearment and The World According to Garp. He has also appeared in Footloose, Cliffhanger, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Conclave.

Matt Damon As Mann

Active Since: 1987

Character: Mann was the leader of the original Endurance crew who went up into space in search of a new planet for humanity to survive on. While he is talked about throughout the movie, it is not until the third act that he finally appears. Having lived alone on the planet for years, Mann is woken from his cryosleep by Cooper and the others, but he fails to live up to the heroic reputation he had all along.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Title Role Good Will Hunting (1996) Will Hunting Saving Private Ryan (1998) Private James Francis Ryan Ocean's Eleven (2001) Linus Caldwell The Bourne Identity (2002) Jason Bourne The Martian (2015) Mark Watney

Actor: Though a supporting role, Matt Damon was probably the biggest star in Interstellar. Damon broke into Hollywood with his titular role in Good Will Hunting for which he also won an Oscar for Best Screenplay alongside Ben Affleck. Damon went on to star in Saving Private Ryan, The Talented Mr. Ripley, the Ocean's trilogy, and the Jason Bourne movies. Damon has been nominated for Oscars in Invictus and The Martian as well. He went on to collaborate with Christopher Nolan again in Oppenheimer and will reteam with the director on The Odyssey.

Interstellar Supporting Cast & Characters

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Casey Affleck / Timothée Chalamet as Tom Cooper: Cooper’s son, Tom, is played by Timothée Chalamet as a kid and Casey Affleck as an adult. Chalamet went on to star in such acclaimed films as Dune, Lady Bird, and Call Me by Your Name, while Affleck won an Academy Award for his performance in Manchester by the Sea.

Wes Bentley as Doyle: Doyle, one of Cooper and Amelia’s colleagues on the Endurance mission, is played by Wes Bentley. Bentley got his breakout with the role of plastic-bag-filming Ricky Fitts in American Beauty and went on to appear in The Hunger Games, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and Yellowstone.

Topher Grace as Getty: Getty, Murph’s co-worker and romantic interest, is played by Topher Grace. Grace is best known for playing Eric Forman in That ‘70s Show and That ‘90s Show, Eddie Brock, aka Venom, in Spider-Man 3, and KKK leader David Duke in BlacKkKlansman.

Bill Irwin as TARS: The Endurance’s resident dry-humored robot, TARS, is voiced and puppeteered by Bill Irwin. Irwin also did the puppetry for CASE, but Josh Stewart provided the voice. Irwin and Stewart are rare examples of unseen Interstellar actors. Irwin also played Cary Loudermilk in the X-Men series Legion and won a Tony Award for his role in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? on Broadway.

David Gyasi as Romilly: Romilly, a member of the Endurance crew who dies in an explosion in Interstellar, is played by David Gyasi. Gyasi is best known for his TV roles as Achilles in BBC’s Troy: Fall of a City and Agreus in the Amazon series Carnival Row.

David Oyelowo as The School Principal: The principal of Murph’s school is played by David Oyelowo. In the same year that he appeared in Interstellar, Oyelowo played Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma. He has appeared in such films as Lincoln, Red Tails, See How They Run, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Oyelowo also starred in the series Lawmen: Bass Reeves as the titular Western icon.