The new miniseries The Dropout explores the true story of disgraced biotech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes. The series is a riveting character study of this ambitious young woman whose ideas spiral out of control in some wild ways. It is no surprise that the intriguing story attracted a very talented cast.
Led by Amanda Seyfried in the lead role as Holmes, the cast features plenty of well-known and acclaimed actors playing the roles of the various people involved in Holmes's strange journey. And fans will likely recognize many of these actors from some of their other terrific roles.
Laurie Metcalf - Roseanne (1988-2018)
Elizabeth is someone so consumed with the idea of doing something huge and important that she is perplexed to meet people who don't share her enthusiasm for her ideas. Laurie Metcalf plays one of Elizabeth's early doubters, Phyllis Gardner, the Dean of Medicine at Stanford University.
Metcalf is an award-winning actor of movies, television, and theater with too many notable roles to name. however, most fans will her best from the sitcom its reboot series The Conners. Metcalf plays Jackie, Roseanne's tightly wound sister.
Michel Gill - Mr. Robot (2015-2019)
A big part of Elizabeth's journey as a professional comes from her relationship with her father, played by Michael Gill. He is a very encouraging and ive parent, but he is constantly pushing her to achieve more and focus on work which feeds into her mentality of success by any means necessary.
Gill is someone fans will have seen in a number of ing roles on television shows. Likely his biggest role to date was in Mr. Robot. The series stars Rami Malek as an expert hacker who is lured into a giant conspiracy. For the first two seasons, Gill played Gideon Goddard, Malek's sympathetic boss.
Elizabeth Marvel - House Of Cards (2013-2018)
Another interesting relationship in Elizabeth's life is with her mother, played by Elizabeth Marvel. She is a much colder parent compared to Elizabeth's father and can be harsh with her honest opinions. However, she is also very protective and ive of her daughter's ambitions.
Marvel is a hugely accomplished character actor with endless impressive roles fans might have seen. One of her biggest television roles was on House of Cards. For two seasons of the political drama, Marvel played Heather Dunbar, a political opponent to Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood.
Bill Irwin - How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Despite her many faults in the business world, Elizabeth is a very knowledgeable person and does seem like someone destined for success. Early on in the story, she forms a connection with the chemical engineering professor at Stanford, Channing Robertson (Bill Irwin) who later s her company, Theranos.
Irwin is another highly accomplished character actor with a long and impressive career on the stage and screen. But he is perhaps best known How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Irwin plays Lou Who, the father of Cindy Lou Who, the little girl who befriends The Grinch (Jim Carrey).
Stephen Fry - V For Vendetta (2005)
One of the most interesting aspects of Elizabeth's journey is that, despite the poor execution, she had an idea that inspired many people to want to be involved. One of these people was biochemist Ian Gibbons (Stephen Fry) who believed Theranos would help countless people.
Fry is a celebrated British comedian, but he also has many notable movie and television appearances. Fry appeared V for Vendetta about a masked vigilante exposing the secrets of the totalitarian government. Fry played a talk show host who befriends Natalie Portman's Evie.
Michael Ironside - Starship Troopers (1997)
The series also shows that Elizabeth has a talent for persuasion which can best be seen in her relationship with Don Lucas (Michael Ironside). Don is initially a very skeptical and stern businessman, but he soon takes a liking to Elizabeth and wants to believe she can run the company despite mounting evidence that she is unable.
Ironside has had standout roles in a number of thrilling and hit movies over the years. One of his most memorable turns was as the stern military commander Rasczak in the wild sci-fi action movie Starship Troopers.
Utkarsh Ambudkar - Free Guy (2021)
Theranos starts out as a very small company with a team of very dedicated workers, including Rakesh Madhava (Utkarsh Ambudkar). He often serves as comedic relief in the story, making jokes and quips within the office but gradually grows uncomfortable with Elizabeth's dealing with the company.
Ambudkar is a successful comedian who has steadily been building a stellar acting career. Recently, he was seen in the hit comedy Free Guy as one of the developers behind the video game in which Ryan Reynolds's hero is a character.
William H. Macy - Fargo (1996)
Though it could be said that Elizabeth is her own worst enemy in the story, Richard Fuisz (William H. Macy) establishes himself as something of a villain early on. Fuisz is shown to be a friend of Elizabeth's family who feels slighted by her and files a patent of her blood-testing device, kicking off a legal battle.
Macy is a critically acclaimed actor with decades of unforgettable performances throughout his career. His breakthrough role was in the Coen Brothers' crime masterpiece Fargo. Macy plays Jerry Lundegaard, a mild-mannered family man who has his wife kidnapped to get out of financial troubles.
Naveen Andrews - Lost (2004-2010)
While Elizabeth has trouble connecting with a lot of people her own age, she does strike up a deep connection with Sunny Balwani (Naveen Andrews). The former businessman becomes one of the few people Elizabeth can turn to, even as their romantic relationship grows more troubled and his involvement in her company complicates things further.
As Sayid on one of the fan-favorite characters on the popular series and one of its main heroes. Following the survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island, Sayid became one of the leaders in dealing with the many threats they faced.
Amanda Seyfried - Mean Girls (2004)
Amanda Seyfried gives a compelling and complex performance as Elizabeth Holmes in the series. She presents the protagonist as a human with real qualities that make the audience invested in her journey yet she also doesn't shy away from showing Elizabeth's flaws.
Seyfried's exciting career was launched with her scene-stealing role in the teen comedy Mean Girls. As one of the of the titular popular girls, Seyfried was hilarious as the very dim-witted Karen.