Twisted Metal's Vermin Actor Is Unrecognizable In Real Life

It initially seemed like an odd choice for a video game-to-television adaptation, particularly because the show was announced at a time when the game series hadn't seen a new entry in seven years — and with no plans revealed to change that fact. But "Twisted Metal," debuting on Peacock in July 2023, ended up being a surprise hit with both fans and critics alike. Looper's review of "Twisted Metal" called the show a "high-octane adaptation" and had high praise for the show's top notch cast. 

A second season was ordered almost immediately, which followed in July 2025 and brought along a number of new characters — including a rather unsettling driver known as Vermin. Played by an unrecognizable Lisa Gilroy, Vermin is a bug-obsessed contestant with terrible skin, rotting yellow teeth, and to hear the other characters tell it, an odor most foul. Her apparent grossness is matched only by her insistence on getting as close to other people as possible, ensuring they take in her full Vermin essence. 

Audiences often wonder what TV villains look like without makeup, and that is especially true for characters that a show's makeup department are seemingly tasked with making as unpleasant to look at as possible. So just what does Lisa Gilroy, who plays Vermin in "Twisted Metal" Season 2, actually look like? 

Those whose social media algorithms are geared toward clips of stand-up comedians are likely already well aware of what Lisa Gilroy looks like, as a number of clips from her various stage routines first began going viral around 2022. And those people already know that the gorgeous, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Gilroy — and her bright smile of very much not yellow teeth — couldn't look any more different than Vermin.

If stand-up comedy isn't your orbit, then you may have seen Gilroy in some of her other acting roles, where she's not covered in grotesque makeup. She played the recurring character Alyssasays on the 2023 Netflix series "Glamorous," which couldn't be more different than her "Twisted Metal" role, and she's also detective Sarah Green on the Hulu action-comedy series "Interior Chinatown." She's also appeared in "The Studio," "Black Mirror," "Jury Duty," and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," while also voicing multiple characters on the animated series "Solar Opposites."

As for video game TV shows you should check out next after "Twisted Metal," another one starring Gilroy herself might be on that list soon enough. In April 2024, she was among the voice cast announced for the upcoming animated adaptation of classic Sega beat-em-up franchise "Golden Axe." Gilroy will be playing Tyris Flare, the longtime main female protagonist of the franchise. "Golden Axe" will air on Comedy Central, though no release window has been announced as of yet.