Where You've Seen The Ms. Marvel Cast Before
Ms. Marvel, aka Kamala Khan, is a Marvel newbie in many sense of the word. Most big-name superheroes have existed for decades in the comics: Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, and Thor were famous in the world of ink and paper long before they made the leap to the big screen. Kamala, on the other hand, first appeared in the pages of 2013's "Captain Marvel" #14. Less than one year later, she got her own ongoing comic series in "Ms. Marvel." Moreover, she's a newcomer to the MCU — and poised to make a seriously big splash.
A fan of superheroes herself (particularly Captain Marvel), this Jersey City teen was such a hit with readers that in 2019, it was announced she would be getting her own TV series on Disney+. The cast of "Ms. Marvel" includes a healthy mix of fresh faces and veteran actors, whose work encompasses nearly every genre. As a result, you're bound to recognize a few of them — but from where, exactly? Join us as we take a look at where you've seen the cast of "Ms. Marvel" before.
Iman Vellani
Kamala Khan starts out as a teenager with big dreams. Her starry-eyed nature manifests in her tendency to speak her mind, the Avengers fanfiction she writes, and her love of fantasy gaming (especially "World of Battlecraft"). Her idol is Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel. When Kamala gets powers from a mysterious mist cascading through Jersey City, she calls herself Ms. Marvel — Carol's old codename.
One of the most wonderful things about Kamala is her ability to act as an access point for new audiences. Fans identify with her love of the larger-than-life heroes they've been adoring for years, which means seeing her get powers and craft her own super-identity is a uniquely potent kind of wish-fulfillment. Casting this part was crucial to the success of the "Ms. Marvel" series — and luckily for fans, the perfect choice was made.
While other Disney+ shows rely on recognizable names like Oscar Isaac and Tatiana Maslany to help sell lesser-known IPs like Moon Knight and She-Hulk, Marvel Studios went with a complete unknown for Kamala Khan: Iman Vellani. According to her IMDB page, this is her very first acting credit. Telling the story of a cape-and-cowl newbie joining the world of heroes through an all-new star allows audiences to fully commit to the premise and become totally absorbed in Kamala's journey.
Aramis Knight
Aramis Knight plays Kareem, aka Red Dagger. In the comics, he's a knife-throwing, parkour-ing Pakistani hero who protects Karachi with skills and smarts. He crosses paths with Ms. Marvel when she tries to stop a gaggle of bad guys, and knows Kamala out of costume as the son of a family friend. They meet again when Kareem comes to Jersey City for educational opportunities. Their deep friendship has frequently teetered on the edge of becoming something more.
Knight is no stranger to the kind of genre television that Marvel fans love. Back in 2010, he made an appearance on "Lost." That role arrived after five years of appearances on other juggernaut shows like "Dexter," "Boston Legal," "Cold Case," "Ghost Whisperer," and even "Hannah Montana." Knight is probably best known as the mysterious M.K. from "Into the Badlands." As far as films go, he's enjoyed small roles in 2007's "Rendition," 2012's "The Dark Knight Rises," and 2013's "Ender's Game," in which he played Bean.
Saagar Shaikh
Being a high schooler, Kamala lives with her family. This includes her older brother Aamir, who doesn't always get his goofy little sister. Aamir is the more devout of the two siblings: He's gone a long time without a job out of religious scruples, much to the chagrin of his father. But Aamir is also fiercely loyal, deeply kind, and would do anything to keep his family safe. So much of the fun in Kamala's adventures comes from seeing how she balances being a young Pakistani-American woman, an excitable teenager, and a stalwart superhero. Aamir is a key part of that winning formula.
On "Ms. Marvel," Aamir is played by Saagar Shaikh. His intriguing resume includes a number of short films and TV appearances. Before joining the cast of "Ms. Marvel," he played Haaris Shaikh on the comedy-drama series "Unfair and Ugly." He also portrayed various characters on the web series "Just Giggle It." In 2014, he appeared as Bruce in the film cabin-bound comedy "Welcome to Forever." Funnily enough, his first feature film role was decidedly non-Aamir-ish: He played a bar patron in the 2013 sports film, "Chavez Cage of Glory."
Rish Shah
Mr. and Mrs. Khan would love for their daughter to meet a nice Pakistani boy from a good family. They think they've struck gold when Kamran shows up. He's not only everything they could want in a suitor as a kindly, MIT-bound young man — Kamala is bananas for him. He's good looking, they have common interests, and as it turns out, he's an Inhuman like her! She falls for him fast. Unfortunately, he's also a secret bad guy who thinks that the average Joe should be ruled by Inhumans, because they're (in his opinion) better in every conceivable way.
Kamran is portrayed by Rish Shah on "Ms. Marvel." Shah's first credit came from the thriller series "PrankMe," where he played Asif. Shortly after that, he landed a role on the bleak Russell T. Davies series "Years and Years." He then went on to small roles on "Doctors" and "Casualty." More recently, he played the role of Kirin Kotecha on the long-running series "Emmerdale Farm." 2021 saw him gain new prominence as Ravi in "To All the Boys: Always and Forever" and Varun Dutta in "India Sweets and Spices."
Zenobia Shroff
Two of the most important people in Kamala's life are her parents. Both her mother and father initially come off as overbearing authoritarians, much to Kamala's displeasure. But of course, like most parents, they only want to keep her safe and make sure she succeeds — a pretty tall order for an immigrant family in Marvel's crazy version of America, where the Avengers exist and aliens attack all the time. Her mother, Muneeba, can seem especially tough on Kamala. But in fact, Muneeba knows more than she's letting on, and is very proud of her daughter's bravery, compassion, and moxie.
Zenobia Shroff plays this intimidating, caring, and complicated woman. Shroff definitely has the chops to pull it off: She's been performing for decades, and made a big splash in the United States (via Variety) when she played Kumail Nanjiani's mother in his 2017 romantic comedy "The Big Sick." Since then, she's made appearances on shows like "Madam Secretary" and "The Resident," making particular waves as Priya Ullah on "The Affair." She also lent her voice (along with many others) to the role of Counselor Jerry in the 2020 animated film "Soul."
Mohan Kapur
Yusuf Khan is Kamala's father. A steadfast and warm-hearted man, his desire to protect Kamala (and encourage his son into autonomy) can make him seem a bit aloof. However, all Yusuf truly wants is for his children to be happy, healthy, and safe. Though getting there might be a rocky road, he never loses faith that the journey will be worth it.
Yusuf is played by veteran actor Mohan Kapur. His career is a long one, compared to many of his young "Ms. Marvel" co-stars: It stretches all the way back to 1979's "Lakshmi Pooja." Unsurprisingly, he's a well-known name in the Indian entertainment industry. In 2014, he appeared in the smash-hit Farah Khan action-comedy "Happy New Year." That same year, he starred as Major Sameer Khanna in "Everest." Funnily enough, "Ms. Marvel" will not be Mohan Kapur's first time in the MCU: He's the official Hindi dub actor for Doctor Strange!
Matt Lintz
Bruno Carrelli is a boy genius who works at the Circle Q convenience store. He's also Kamala's best friend, and has had a massive crush on her for about as long as he can remember. Though Kamala's own feelings for him lean towards romance, he can't quite bring himself to tell her how he really feels. There's also the fact that he thinks her family wouldn't approve (though they know and love him already), and his own complex background to contend with. So, he suffers in silence. His devotion to Kamala manifests in him helping her with science and research relevant to superhero stuff. He's also right by her side whenever she gets hurt, and doggedly tries to keep her from overextending herself.
In the world of live-action, Bruno is played by Matt Lintz. He's been acting since he first appeared as Mark in 2009's "Halloween II." He proceeded to carve a path for himself by appearing in several small films and TV productions. You may have seen him in the 2015 Adam Sandler-led video game comedy "Pixels," in which he played Matty Van Patten. You might also remember him as Stevie Taggert on "The Alienist." Just before he was brought on board "Ms. Marvel," he popped up on AMC's long-running zombie drama "The Walking Dead" as Henry.
Yasmeen Fletcher
Nakia Bahadir is one of Kamala's closest friends. Like Bruno, Kamala's other bestie, she suffers for being so close to a superhero — albeit, in an entirely different way. Instead of harboring secret feelings for Kamala, she is open about how much their friendship means to her. Kamala is like a sister to her: They go to school together, attend lectures provided by Sheikh Abdullah, and confide in each other. But then, Kamala gets her powers and becomes Ms. Marvel. Their bond begins to crack, because Kamala isn't around — and because she doesn't tell Nakia what she's busy doing. While this doesn't completely end their friendship, it does sour things for a while. Nakia also has her own battles to fight and causes to stand up for: One of them, ironically, puts Ms. Marvel in her crosshairs when she seems to be threatening her beloved city.
Yasmeen Fletcher, who plays Nakia, doesn't have a ton of credits to her name, but she's certainly on track to a solid career. Right before being cast in "Ms. Marvel," she played Carly in the 2021 horror film "Let Us In." Prior to that, she appeared in the 2020 Disney Channel TV movie "Upside-Down Magic" as Chandra, a secretly sinister character. It's this sort of range that makes Fletcher so well-suited to the role of Nakia: She can play a great friend, but also someone you absolutely do not want to make an enemy out of.
Laith Nakli
Laith Nakli is rumored to be playing Sheikh Abdullah. At first, Sheikh Abdullah is a bit of an intimidating figure to Kamala. However, much like her parents, he's actually a far more open and understanding person than she initially thinks. When Kamala gets entangled in romantic drama in 2018's "Ms. Marvel" #29, she turns to Sheikh Abdullah for help. He offers kind, sensible, bracing advice: She must stive for clarity about her feelings and act upon them. His guidance helps her become a more centered, kind-hearted, brave person — qualities every superhero needs.
Nakli is one of those actors who always seems to be working. He's made appearances on a vast variety of TV shows, including "Law and Order: Criminal Intent," "The Sopranos," "Rescue Me," "The Blacklist," "24: Legacy," and "Orange is the New Black." In 2019, he achieved new heights of fame by playing Uncle Naseem on the stand-out comedy-drama series "Ramy." Just before appearing on "Ms. Marvel," he portrayed various characters on the animated HBO Max series "10-Year-Old Tom."
Travina Springer
Travina Springer is likely playing Tyesha Hillman, Kamala's sister-in-law and Aamir's wife. Back in 2018, she and Saagar Shaikh, Aamir's actor, both appeared on the series "Unfair and Ugly." This makes "Ms. Marvel" a nice reunion for the two talents, who have managed to rack up many different roles in the intervening years.
Aamir and Kamala's parents are initially surprised by Tyesha, given how different her background is from their son's. But they're quickly won over by Tyesha's kindness, respect, and intelligence. Kamala warms to her immediately: Tyesha makes "Dune" references, which a fangirl like her just can't resist. The sisters-in-law get along incredibly well.
Beyond "Unfair and Ugly," Springer has portrayed a number of different roles in a wide variety of productions. She played a sign language interpreter in the 2010 film "Valentines Day," Danielle on "The New Shade of Black," and Selena in the 2018 pilot for "Vengeful." 2018 also saw her inhabit the role of Alice on the Paramount+ original series "Strange Angel," and play a young wife in the Clint Eastwood film "Mule."
Nimra Bucha
We don't yet know who Nimra Bucha will be playing on "Ms. Marvel." There are certainly a number of options, however. She might play Kamran's mother, who is briefly glimpsed in 2015's "Ms. Marvel" #13. Perhaps she'll play one of Kamala's relatives: Since Red Dagger is part of the series, it's possible Kamala will visit Pakistan, where she meets him in 2016's "Ms. Marvel #12," and encounter her many aunts, cousins, and close family friends who live there. Jersey City is also a pretty big place — she might play a member of its community we simply haven't met yet.
In 2020, Nimra Bucha enjoyed major success as part of the groundbreaking web series "Churails." She played Batool, a detective who takes down scumbag husbands in power. In an interview with The Indian Express, she discussed the taboo-shattering series and its impact on her career. In addition to "Churails," the seasoned actress has enjoyed parts in dramatic movies like 2015's "Ho Mann Jahaan" and 2014's "Kanebaaz," as well as TV series like "Baandi" and "Aakhri Station."