Why The Cast Of Desperados Looks So Familiar
We can all use a little levity right now, and Netflix has got you covered with Desperados, its new original comedy featuring an all-star cast roaming around sunny Mexico in the interest of heading off a major embarrassment. The flick centers on a woman named Wesley whose new boyfriend, Jared, is just tops; unfortunately, she may not get the chance to take their relationship to the next level. This is because Wesley, after suspecting that Jared has ghosted her, has introduced into their relationship a ticking time bomb: an ill-advised, over-the-top rant of an email that would send any reasonable person running for the hills.
Unfortunately, it turns out that Jared has not ghosted Wesley; he's actually been in the hospital in Mexico recuperating from a car accident. The only way for Wesley to delete the offending missive and potentially salvage the relationship is for her to head south of the border to locate his phone. She drags her two loyal but reluctant friends, Brooke and Kaylie, along for the covert operation.
Things take a turn for the weird, when the intrepid trio somehow manages to cross paths with Wesley's ex, Sean, who allows himself to be roped into their zany scheme. Hilarious hijinks ensue, during which Wesley finds herself presented with an unexpected dilemma: Should she follow through with her plot to keep her new beau, or should she give Sean another shot?
Desperados is fleet, heartfelt, and very funny, owing largely to the skill of its incredibly talented cast. We're pretty sure there's not a performer among them that doesn't look naggingly familiar — and we're here to help you put your finger on just where you've seen them before. Here's why the cast of Desperados look so familiar.
Nasim Pedrad starred on SNL and in one of 2019's biggest hit movies
In the role of Wesley is Nasim Pedrad, who has been one of the funniest women on TV for years. Oddly, her first major television role was as Nurse Suri on the venerable drama E.R.. She appeared on several episodes between 2007 and 2009, a gig that she quickly followed with one that made her a star.
In 2009, Pedrad joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, and quickly established herself as a hilarious and versatile performer — not to mention a talented impressionist. During her tenure on the show, she performed uncanny impressions of a wide variety of celebrities, including (but not limited to) Kim Kardashian, Barbara Walters, Nicki Minaj, Bruno Mars, Kelly Ripa, Alicia Keys, Edie Falco, Sharon Osbourne, and Ariana Huffington.
Pedrad left SNL in 2014, going on to guest on a number of popular series including The Mindy Project, People of Earth, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Between 2015 and 2018, she popped up often in a recurring role on the hit Fox sitcom New Girl, where she portrayed Aly, the co-worker, buddy, and eventual romantic interest of Winston (Lamorne Morris). Most recently, though, you might have caught her in one of 2019's biggest films: Disney's live-action remake of Aladdin, in which she played Dalia, the loyal handmaiden and friend of Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). Desperados represents her first lead role in a feature film — which, if you ask us, is long overdue.
Anna Camp starred in the Pitch Perfect series and on several popular TV shows
Wesley's sardonic, blonde buddy Brooke is portrayed by Anna Camp, whose face is probably quite familiar if you watched television at all in the late aughts. Between 2008 and 2010, Camp scored guest roles on The Office, Glee, Numb3rs, and Mad Men — but if you happen to be a fan of HBO's southern gothic vampire drama True Blood, then you are now slowly nodding in recognition.
Beginning with the first episode of the series' second season, Camp portrayed Sarah Newlin, the conflicted ex-wife of televangelist Steve Newlin (Michael McMillian). A budding politician and enemy of all vampires, Sarah was a major antagonist on True Blood's sixth and seventh seasons. She even went so far as to attempt to establish a network of vampire concentration camps. Unfortunately for her, it turned out that her blood is a cure for Hep-V, the virus which causes vampirism — and when we last saw her, she was locked in the basement of vamp nightclub Fangtasia as an unwilling supplier of said cure.
Camp also starred as Aubrey in all three Pitch Perfect movies, and most recently, she starred as Ginny on the NBC musical comedy series Perfect Harmony. Clearly, a woman of many talents.
Sarah Burns has been all over the small screen for years
You'd be forgiven for failing to recognize Sarah Burns, who portrays Wesley's other bud, Kaylie. The actress tends to disappear into her roles, but she's been plying her trade for quite some time; she broke into the business with bit parts on such comedy series as Damage Control and Flight of the Conchords, and in the late aughts, you might have spotted her in small roles in features like Serial, I Love You, Man, and Monogamy.
Between 2011 and 2013, Burns recurred on the award-winning HBO dramedy Enlightened, which starred Jurassic Park's Laura Dern as Amy Jellicoe, a burned-out executive attempting to get her life back together after her career falls apart. Burns portrayed Krista, Amy's former assistant who ended up taking over her job (and who would prefer to keep their relationship cordial, rather than friendly).
Burns has also popped up often on the Comedy Central series Drunk History, and she's scored recurring roles on such wildly varied series as How to Get Away With Murder, Big Little Lies, American Vandal, and the Netflix comedy Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later. Most recently, she appeared as Detective Mae on HBO's excellent dark comedy Barry opposite Pedrad's fellow SNL alum Bill Hader.
Robbie Amell is one of the hardest-working actors in Hollywood
The actor who portrays Wesley's maybe-boyfriend Jacob, Robbie Amell, has been so prolific over the last decade or so that we'd be shocked if you didn't recognize his chiseled mug. He happens to be the brother of Stephen Amell, who played Oliver Queen a.k.a. Green Arrow in the CW's Arrowverse. Robbie has actually visited that universe himself, in the recurring role of Ronnie Raymond a.k.a. Firestorm on the The Flash.
Robbie was all over television screens way before he landed that gig, however. He's popped up on a laundry list of series including Life with Derek, How I Met Your Mother, True Jackson, VP, Alcatraz, Revenge, Pretty Little Liars, The Tomorrow People, The X-Files, and A Series of Unfortunate Events – and that's not even a complete list. You also might have caught him in the excellent Netflix horror-comedy feature The Babysitter, and more recently, he co-executive produced and starred (along with brother Stephen) in the sci-fi thriller Code 8 for the streamer. You can currently catch him in the lead role on the hit Amazon dramedy Upload.
Lamorne Morris starred on one of the most popular TV series of the last decade
In the role of Sean is Lamorne Morris, a heck of a funny guy who flew well under the radar for the first decade or so of his career. He got his start as a personality and presenter on BET, where his genial presence helped him land roles in several short films and direct-to-video features.
His big break, though, came in 2012, when Damon Wayans, Jr. was forced to leave the hit ABC sitcom New Girl after appearing on the pilot episode. Morris was cast as the new character, Winston, in his place, and he remained part of the series' core cast for its entire seven-season run. This also happened to be his first time working with Pedrad, whose character Aly eventually became romantically involved with Winston.
Morris has also appeared as Officer Jameson in the 2018 Netflix holiday flick The Christmas Chronicles, and just recently, he popped up in a pair of major feature films. He appeared as a heater repairman who tinkers with the wrong video game console in the post-credits scene of Jumanji: The Next Level, and as Wilfred Wigans in the Vin Diesel-led comic book adaptation Bloodshot.
Heather Graham has been a Hollywood mainstay for decades
Finally, in the role of Angel — one of the characters that Wesley and her pals cross paths with on their Mexican excursion — is Heather Graham, a stone-cold Hollywood vet. Her career stretches all the way back to the '80s, when she appeared in classic features like License to Drive, Twins, and Drugstore Cowboy. In the '90s, she starred on David Lynch's surrealist TV drama Twin Peaks, and appeared in several minor films (including 1993's Six Degrees of Separation, which featured a very early dramatic turn from some guy by the name of Will Smith).
Graham's star turn came in Paul Thomas Anderson's brilliant 1997 drama Boogie Nights, in which she played adult film actress "Rollergirl" opposite such heavyweights as Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, and the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman. Since then, she's turned up in a ton of hit comedy flicks like Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Miss Conception, and The Hangover, as well as on TV series like Californication, Law & Order: True Crime, and Angie Tribeca. She'll soon appear as Rita on the CBS All Access miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's iconic post-apocalyptic novel The Stand.
Desperados is the feature directorial debut of LP (the pseudonym of filmmaker Lauren Palmigiano), who has helmed episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadeplphia and Mr. Mom, the first original series from streamer Vudu. The flick is available to watch right now on Netflix, and if you're in the market for some lighthearted laughs, we can't recommend it enough.