Why The Cast Of Entergalactic Sounds So Familiar
Netflix's "Entergalactic" hails from Kenya Barris and Grammy-winning artist Kid Cudi as part of the rapper's eighth studio album's highly-anticipated launch. Ahead of its premiere, Kid Cudi revealed on Twitter that the special is dedicated to the legacy of his friend, late fashion designer Virgil Abloh whose birthday falls on September 30 — the same date as its Netflix debut.
The animated special is set in New York City and centers around the blossoming romance between two young Black artists, Jabari and Meadow, who are both on the cusp of achieving success. While both of them have decided to swear off love in the meantime, fate has other plans as a spark ignites between them the first moment they meet. Critics have praised the animated romantic dramedy for its beautiful visuals, stylish animation, complimentary music, charming characters, and engaging modern story. Paste Magazine even described the special as the lovechild between "When Harry Met Sally" and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," while commending it for being a great addition to Black rom-com representation.
Kid Cudi and co-creator Kenya Barris have assembled quite an incredible and colorful voice cast led by Kid Cudi himself and Jessica Williams. If you're wondering where you've heard the cast members' voices before, don't fret as we've got you covered. Here, we've curated a list of the actors who've lent their voices to the main characters so you can find out where you might know them from.
Scott Mescudi as Jabari
Leading the cast is Scott Mescudi — aka Kid Cudi — as he portrays Jabari, a talented artist who moves into his dream apartment after signing a deal to turn his signature graffiti art character, Mr. Rager, into a comic book series. Kid Cudi is a two-time Grammy-winning rapper who's best known for his hit multi-platinum singles "Day 'n' Nite," "Pursuit of Happiness," "Erase Me," "Just What I Am," and more.
During the early years of his music career, Kid Cudi also decided to venture into acting. To separate his music persona from his acting career, Cudi uses his real name whenever he makes film and TV appearances. He made his onscreen acting debut in 2010 when he got cast as one of the leading characters on HBO's comedy-drama "How to Make It in America," in which he played Domingo Brown. After that show got canceled, he scored appearances on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and "Scorpion." In 2020, he returned to HBO to star in the sci-fi thriller "Westworld" and Luca Guadagnino's coming-of-drama "We Are Who We Are." Still, Netflix's adult-animated special "Entergalactic" marks his first major TV project as a lead.
Mescudi is also building his film career with early appearances in short films like Shia LaBeouf's short slasher "Maniac" (which he also co-wrote) and in the short film "Cruel Summer." In 2014, Mescudi scored supporting roles in three back-to-back films including the action thriller "Need for Speed," the drama "The Ever After," and the romantic comedy "Two Night Stand." He followed that up with roles in the "Entourage" movie, "Meadowland," "James White," "Vincent N Roxxy," "Crisis," and "Don't Look Up."
Jessica Williams as Meadow
Jessica Williams stars in "Entergalactic" as Meadow, a photographer who's preparing for her first exhibit at a museum. She is Jabari's vibrant and chill next-door neighbor who forms an instant connection with him. Williams began her acting career in 2006, when she became part of Nickelodeon's teen comedy series "Just for Kicks," centering around an all-girls soccer team. She played series regular Vida Atwood, the best player on the team.
In 2012 Williams became the youngest correspondent for Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" (via NPR). Following her late-night debut, Williams returned to acting in 2013 after landing a supporting role in the comedy-drama film "Delivery Man." She followed that up with a recurring appearance in the third season of the HBO dramedy "Girls," as well as minor roles in comedy films like "People Places Things" and "Hot Tub Time Machine 2."
Williams secured her first-ever major film project as the titular lead in Netflix's 2017 romantic comedy "The Incredible Jessica James." After that, she landed her first high-profile project in the form of the fantasy sequel "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," in which she briefly appeared as American charms professor Lally Hicks. She recently reprised the character in a much bigger capacity in "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore." She also appeared as a cool teacher in Olivia Wilde's feature directorial debut "Booksmart."
In addition, Williams also scored appearances in an episode of Jordan Peele's "The Twilight Zone" and in the second season of HBO's "Love Life," where she played Mia Hines, the love interest of William Jackson Harper's Marcus Watkins.
Laura Harrier as Carmen
Voicing Jabari's beautiful ex-girlfriend Carmen is Laura Harrier, who tries to reignite her relationship with Jabari after meeting him again in New York. Before venturing into acting, Harrier first gained recognition through modeling after she was discovered by a location scout (via Interview Magazine). She was eventually able to become the face of the French cosmetics brand Garnier.
After finally saving up enough money, Harrier left modeling to pursue her dreams of becoming an actress (via Elle). In 2013, Harrier finally made her onscreen acting debut on ABC's short-lived "One Life to Live" reboot, in which she took on the series regular role of Destiny Evans. The following year, she landed a minor role in the musical romantic dramedy "The Last Five Years." Her big break came in 2017 when she got cast in her first high-profile project, "Spider-Man: Homecoming." There, Harrier played Liz Allan, Peter Parker's first crush and the Vulture's daughter. Afterward, she scored a major role in Spike Lee's biographical crime film "BlacKkKlansman," starring opposite John David Washington and Adam Driver. In that Oscar-winning film she portrayed Patrice Dumas, the president of Colorado College's Black Student Union.
Harrier has only appeared on a few TV shows, including one-episode appearances on the crime drama "Unforgettable" and the Apple TV+ drama "Calls." In 2020, she got cast as one of the leading roles in Ryan Murphy's limited drama for Netflix "Hollywood." Besides "Entergalactic," Harrier recently played actress Robin Givens in Hulu's Mike Tyson miniseries "Mike."
Vanessa Hudgens as Karina
In "Entergalactic," Vanessa Hudgens voices the role of Karina, Meadow's supportive best friend. For millennial viewers who grew up watching Disney, Hudgens is a very familiar figure in their childhoods as she's best known for her breakout leading performance as Gabriella Montez in the popular "High School Musical" film trilogy.
Hudgens started acting in 2003 when she landed one-episode roles on two CBS shows, the "Still Standing" sitcom and the crime drama "Robbery Homicide Division." She followed that up with a minor role in Catherine Hardwicke's teen drama film "Thirteen," which marked her feature acting debut. The same year as the premiere of "High School Musical" she also appeared on the popular sitcoms "Drake & Josh" and "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." Following "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," Hudgens went on to score major roles in a few high-profile films including the romantic drama "Beastly," the psychological fantasy film "Sucker Punch," the action-adventure "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," and the dark comedy "Spring Breakers."
Hudgens also found success in leading Netflix's holiday romantic comedy films, starting with "The Princess Switch" in 2018, where she played the dual roles of Stacy De Novo and Lady Margaret. The following year, she led and produced the Christmas fantasy film "The Knight Before Christmas." After that, she starred in two more "The Princess Switch" sequels. Apart from working on Christmas-themed movies, Hudgens also appeared as the supporting character of Karessa Johnson in Netflix's acclaimed film adaptation of "Tick, Tick... BOOM!"
Ty Dolla $ign as Ky
Tyrone William Griffin Jr., aka Ty Dolla $ign, takes on the role of Ky, one of Jabari's best friends. Ty Dolla $ign is a chart-topping rapper who first gained recognition through his first collaboration with fellow rapper YG through the song "Toot It and Boot It," which entered the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2010.
In 2016, Ty Dolla $ign received mainstream attention when became a featured rapper in Fifth Harmony's popular song "Work From Home," which earned the number 4 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. During the same year, he was one of the many artists who worked on the "Sucker for Pain" single for the official soundtrack of David Ayer's DC film "Suicide Squad." He teamed up with Post Malone for his 2018 single "Psycho," which peaked at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Besides his successful collaborations with famous music icons like Christina Aguilera, Kanye West, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Drake, he has already released three studio albums so far including "Free TC," "Beach House 3," and "Featuring Ty Dolla Sign."
Up until 2016, Ty Dolla $ign had only starred in music videos — two of which he directed, which are his "By Yourself" and "Blasé" videos. His first appearance on a TV series was in the HBO dramedy "Insecure." In addition, he appeared as a special guest star on Fox's musical drama "Empire" starring Taraji P. Henson in 2019.
Timothée Chalamet as Jimmy
Timothée Chalamet portrays the role of Jimmy, Jabari's best friend and marijuana dealer. Kid Cudi's Netflix TV special marks Chalamet's first voice acting role. During his 2018 interview with GQ Chalamet cited Kid Cudi as an inspiration. He revealed that Kid Cudi was the one who saved his acting career after the award-winning rapper gave his 17-year-old self some life-changing advice at the time when he was struggling to land roles. Since then, they've become equal admirers of one another, with Chalamet even immediately agreeing to join "Entergalactic" even before reading the script (via BuzzFeed).
Chalamet began his acting career in 2009 when he appeared in an episode of "Law & Order" and on the TV film "Loving Leah." Afterward, he secured recurring roles in the comedy-drama "Royal Pains" and the spy thriller "Homeland." In 2014, he finally made his feature acting debut in Jason Reitman's all-star comedy-drama "Men, Women & Children," where he played Danny Vance. The same year, he scored a supporting role in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic "Interstellar."
Chalamet's acting breakthrough came in 2017 when he got cast in his first movie as the lead star in "Call Me By Your Name." In the acclaimed film, he delivered a career-making performance as Elio, an Italian teenager who falls in love with his father's American student assistant. This role also gave him an Oscar nomination for best actor. He also gained recognition for his performances in films such as "Lady Bird," "Beautiful Boy," "Little Women," "The French Dispatch," and "Dune."
Christopher Abbott as Reed
Christopher Abbott stars in "Entergalactic" as Reed, the charming art dealer helping Meadow promote her first exhibit. Abbott first debuted as a professional stage actor in 2008 after landing roles in off-Broadway productions before making his Broadway debut with "The House of Blue Leaves" revival. There he played a young man who goes AWOL after being drafted to fight in the Vietnam war.
Abbott also gained recognition for his memorable recurring role as Charlie Dattolo in the HBO comedy-drama "Girls," in which he played the on-and-off love interest of Allison Williams' Marnie. After leaving the series in 2012 he scored series regular roles in the police anthology drama "The Sinner" and the dark comedy miniseries "Catch-22." Following "Entergalactic," Abbott's next television project is the Apple TV+ series "The Crowded Room" led by Tom Holland.
As for his film career, Abbott's early roles included key parts in independent films like "Martha Marcy May Marlene" with Elizabeth Olsen. In 2014, he landed his first high-profile movie, the crime drama "A Most Violent Year" starring Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac. Afterward, he continued starring in more independent movies like "James White," "Katie Says Goodbye," "It Comes at Night," "Black Bear," and "On the Count of Three." He also appears in Sony Pictures' live-action film "Kraven the Hunter," in which he'll play Marvel villain the Foreigner.
Macaulay Culkin as Downtown Pat
Macaulay Culkin plays the role of Downtown Pat in "Entergalactic." Culkin is no stranger to the animated genre as he led NBC's children's animated series "Wish Kid" during the early 1990s, in which he voiced Nick McClary, a kid who acquires a magical baseball glove that grants wishes. From 2005 to 2010, he also voiced multiple characters on the stop-motion sketch comedy series "Robot Chicken."
Culkin is one of the most memorable faces of the '90s, thanks to his star-making performance in the iconic Christmas comedy film "Home Alone." Thanks to the film's unexpected success, Culkin reprised his role as Kevin McCallister in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." The role also earned him a Golden Globe Award for best actor. He also gained recognition for his dramatic role in the coming-of-age film "My Girl," in which he played Thomas J. Sennett, the childhood best friend of Anna Chlumsky's Vada.
After starring in back-to-back films with poor box office turnouts and critical failures including "Richie Rich," Culkin ultimately decided to go on an acting hiatus. Following his nearly ten-year break, he returned to television for a guest-starring appearance in an episode of "Will & Grace." He has since had a recurring role on the NBC drama "Kings" and a one-episode appearance on the Hulu comedy "Dollface." His most recent TV projects are "American Horror Story: Double Feature" and a recurring role in "The Righteous Gemstones." He has also appeared in a few independent films such as "Party Monster," "Saved!," and "Changeland," taking on more mature roles far different from his image during his '90s stardom.
Keith David as Mr. Rager
Keith David voices Mr. Rager, the main character of Jabari's street artworks which is based on Kid Cudi's 2010 single of the same name. David is a veteran in the animated genre thanks to his distinct voice work in various films and shows that span from the early '90s up to the present.
Audiences may have heard David in Disney films like "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Hercules," and "The Princess and the Frog." He also appeared on shows like the classic "Gargoyles" series, Disney's "House of Mouse," and "Amphibia." Outside of Disney, David appeared in the English dubbed version of Studio Ghibli's epic fantasy "Princess Mononoke" as Okkoto and in the stop-motion dark fantasy "Coraline" as the cat. David also lent his voice to Cartoon Network's popular fantasy comedy "Adventure Time" as Flame King and the hit adult-animated sci-fi adventure "Rick and Morty" as the President.
David began his acting career in 1980 film roles in "The Thing," "Platoon," "They Live," and "Road House." Around the same time, he also had a recurring role on the iconic children's series "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," in which he appeared as Keith the Handyman. He continued getting cast in several films in the '90s, including "Clockers," the disaster film "Armageddon," and the romantic comedy "There's Something About Mary." Aside from appearing in comedy films like "Barbershop," he also secured a role in Darren Aronofsky's acclaimed drama "Requiem for a Dream." He also appeared in Jordan Peele's neo-Western sci-fi horror "Nope."
His extensive television career also includes a recurring appearance on the hit sitcom "Community" as Elroy. In 2016, he also landed a leading role on the mystery soap opera "Greenleaf" before joining the DC teen drama "Stargirl," in which he plays the recurring role of Mister Bones.
Arturo Castro as Len
Arturo Castro plays the role of Len, Jabari's co-worker at Cosmic Comics who tries hard to present himself as a ladies' man. Castro is best known for his series regular role as Jaimé Castro in Comedy Central's "Broad City" sitcom from co-creators and co-leads Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. Afterward, he started landing key roles on shows like the comedy "No Activity," the crime drama "Narcos," and the workplace comedy "Silicon Valley."
Before landing "Broad City," Castro appeared in several short films from 2008 to 2011. He scored his first high-profile feature-length project in the form of Ang Lee's war drama "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk," in which he played Mango. He followed that up with appearances in several independent films such as "Bushwick," "The Informer," "Semper Fi," and "The Broken Hearts Gallery," as well as Netflix features like "Deidra & Laney Rob a Train" and "Yes Day."
Before signing onto "Entergalactic," Castro has previously voiced characters on animated shows like "Elena of Avalor," "American Dad!," and "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder." He also appeared in the recurring role of Jordan Groff on Prime Video's Chris Pratt-led action "The Terminal List."
Jaden Smith as Jordan
Jaden Smith voices Jordan, a side character who appears in one scene "Entergalactic." While Jabari and Jimmy talk about Meadow and Carmen at the park, Jordan appears with his BMX and shares his own love problem involving an ex-girlfriend that he seemingly ghosted.
Smith made his acting debut at a young age when he nabbed a recurring role on the sitcom "All of Us." In 2006, he starred in his first major film role as Christopher Jr. in "The Pursuit of Happyness," which he co-starred with his father, Will Smith. Afterward, Jaden Smith got cast in the sci-fi drama film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" starring Keanu Reeves. He scored his first titular leading role in "The Karate Kid” remake, which also featured Jackie Chan. He also worked with Justin Bieber on the song "Never Say Never," which was featured on the film's soundtrack.
In 2013, Smith reunited with his father on the big screen for the sci-fi drama "After Earth," in which they once again played a father-and-son duo. However, following the film's poor critical reception, he took a break from acting to shift his focus to making his music. He returned to acting in 2016 when he landed a role in the musical drama "The Get Down." Besides "Entergalactic," audiences may have also heard him first on Netflix's adult animated series "Neo Yokio." He also landed roles in independent films like "Skate Kitchen" and the romantic drama "Life in a Year."
Francesca Reale as Sydnie
Francesca Reale voices the minor character of Sydnie, one of Reed's artist friends whom he introduces to Meadow. After appearing in short films, Reale made his television debut in 2016, when she nabbed a one-episode appearance on the police drama "Blue Bloods." During the same year, she got cast in her first series regular role on Netflix's comedy series "Haters Back Off" centering around YouTuber Colleen Ballinger's alter ego Miranda Sings.
In 2019, Reale finally made her feature acting debut with the coming-of-age dramedy "Yes, God, Yes." At the same time, she reunited with Dyer in the Season 3 of Netflix's popular series "Stranger Things," in which she portrayed the recurring role of Heather Holloway, one of the first people who became the Mind Flayer's brainwashed minion. She followed that up with a supporting appearance in Quibi's short-form survival thriller series "Wireless." Afterward, Reale scored a leading role in the independent romantic comedy film "Dating & New York."
Reale's most recent project with Netflix is the teen dark comedy film "Do Revenge" and she reunites with Kid Cudi in the Brittany Snow-directed film "September 17th."