The high school comedy and the noir thriller are two genres that could not be more different, but have crossed paths on a surprising number of occasions — such as in the the ‘80s with Heathers and with the deliciously demented Thoroughbreds in 2018. The latest edition of this “Hughes-meets-Hitchcock” genre splicing is the new Netflix original movie, Do Revenge.
Speaking of Alfred Hitchcock, co-writer and director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s follow-up to Someone Great, essentially, takes the plot of Strangers on a Train and lightens it up a bit by doing away with any murderous activity and, instead, focuses on a pair of prepatory high school students helping each other get back at the people who wronged them. The two main leads of the Do Revenge cast are already well-versed in coming-of-age stories and mysterious thrillers alike. See for yourself by looking at what else they and the rest of the film’s ensemble are also known for.
Camila Mendes (Drea)
As Drea — a popular student who wants to ruin her ex-boyfriend’s life — we have Camila Mendes, who made her screen acting debut in the Riverdale cast as Veronica Lodge in 2017, before making her feature film debut the following year with The New Romantic and her Netflix original debut the next year with The Perfect Date.
After also leading crime thriller Coyote Lake in 2019, she was cast as the lead of her next Netflix movie — the 2020 thriller, Dangerous Lies — and, that same year, and played Cristin Milioti’s sister in Hulu’s hilarious romantic fantasy, Palm Springs. Also in 2020, Mendes leant her voice to an episode of The Simpsons and, the following year, joined the cast of Amazon’s Fairfax as the voice of melody and other characters.
Maya Hawke (Eleanor)
As Eleanor — an awkward new student who wants to “burn [her childhood bully] to the ground” — we have Maya Hawke, who is also a talented musician, but inherited acting chops from parents Ethan Hawke (whom she worked with on Showtime’s Western miniseries, The Good Lord Bird) and Uma Thurman.
She made her screen acting debut in 2017 with PBS’ miniseries adaptation of Little Women, and made her feature-length debut with Ladyworld the next year before really breaking out as (the ever popular) Robin Buckley in the Stranger Things cast and as the Manson Family’s “Flowerchild” on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast in 2019. That same year, Hawke worked with Fred Hechinger in Human Capital before reuniting with him as a member of Netflix’s Fear Street Trilogy cast, starred alongside Andrew Garfield in Gia Coppola’s 2020 dramedy, Mainstream, and, in 2021, appeared opposite Vanessa Kirby in the strange thriller, Italian Studies.
Austin Abrams (Max)
Playing Drea’s ex-boyfriend, Max, is Austin Abrams, who has played many other unlikable teens in the past — such as Ron Anderson on The Walking Dead, Tommy Milner in 2019’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Marc McKeon in the This is Us cast.
However, he has also played a few goodhearted young men, too — like Ben in 2015’s Paper Towns, Ben Stiller’s onscreen son in Brad’s Status from 2017, and in HBO’s Euphoria cast as Ethan Lewis. Abrams also had small roles in Gangster Squad and The Kings of Summer from 2013 and, coincidentally, shared an onscreen romance with Camilia Mendes’ Riverdale co-star, Lili Reinhart, in 2020’s somber teen drama Chemical Hearts.
Ava Capri (Carissa)
Playing Elenor’s childhood bully, Carissa, is Ava Capri, who is also no stranger to coming-of-age stories, having played Lucy in Hulu’s Love, Victor cast, Olive on the web series T@gged, and being in the Blast Beat cast in 2021. She made her acting debut on the final season of Parks and Recreation in 2015, made her film debut with 2018’s Write When You Get Work, and later appeared in the 2020 sports drama, Embattled. Also in 2022, Capri starred in yet another teen movie (but darker) called When Time Got Louder.
Talia Ryder (Gabbi)
As Gabbi — one of Eleanor’s first new friends at her brand new prep school — we have Talia Ryder, who first broke into the industry in the role of Hortensia in a Broadway production of Matilda in 2015. Five years later, she made her film debut in the acclaimed teen drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always, sort of returned to her theatre roots the following year as Tessa in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story cast, and, that same year, appeared in Olivia Rodrigo’s music video for “deja vu.” Also in 2022, Ryder starred in the Amazon Prime original horror film, Master, and played the female lead of Netflix’s adaptation of the literary romance, Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between.
Alisha Boe (Tara)
Drea’s friend-turned-rival Tara is played by Alisha Boe, who is best known from the 13 Reasons Why cast (a much darker Netflix original teen story), but got her start in horror movies — namely her 2008 debut as Jessica Lucas’ younger self in Amusement and a supporting role in the fourth of the Paranormal Activity movies in 2011. She also had a stint on Days of Our Lives, recurring roles on Hulu’s Casual, Showtime’s Ray Donovan, and in MTV’s Teen Wolf cast, to name a few. In 2019, Boe shared the screen with Maya Hawke’s Stranger Things co-star, Natalia Dyer, in the satirical Yes, God, Yes, played a cheerleader in Poms, and took on demons in Gates of Darkness.
Rish Shah (Russ)
Because he dons blue hair to play Carissa’s friend, Russ, some Do Revenge viewers might not initially recognize Rish Shah, who is best known as Varun Dutta in the third of Netflix’s To All the Boys movies and from Disney+’s Ms. Marvel cast as Kamran. The actor debuted on the psychological limited series, PrankMe, in 2017, two years before appearing on HBO’s dystopian miniseries, Years and Years, and in an episode of the British drama, Doctors. In 2020, after appearing on another BBC medical drama called Casualty, he landed a recurring role on the long-running U.K. soap opera Emmerdale and, the following year, starred in the comedy Indian Sweets and Spices.
Maia Reficco (Montana)
Another former friend of Drea’s named Montana is played by Maia Reficco, who made her acting debut in 2017 in the title role of Kally’s Mashup — a musical teen comedy made for Nickelodeon’s Argentinian audiences — which she would reprise in the series’ feature-lengthen spin-off in 2021. Reficco’s biggest claim to fame right now outside of the Do Revenge cast is HBO Max’s Pretty Little Liars spin-off, Original Sin, on which she plays Noa Olivar.
Paris Berelc (Meghan)
Another rival of Drea’s named Meghan is played by Paris Berelc — a former Disney Channel star known for playing Skylar Storm on both Mighty Med and Lab Rats: Elite Force, and from the title role of Invisible Sister in 2015. She first transitioned into Netflix star status as one-half of the titular duo from teen dramedy series Alexa & Katie before appearing in the 2019 moviem Tall Girl, Adam Sandler’s popular horror-comedy Hubie Halloween in 2020, and reuniting with Kevin James for the short-lived sitcom, The Crew, the next year. Barelc is also known for the Shudder original thriller Confessional and, also in 2022, played the lead of Amazon Prime’s competitive gaming movie, 1UP.
Jonathan Daviss (Elliot)
As Max’s best friend, Elliot, we have Jonathan Daviss, who is also best known for his role on a coming-of-age Netflix series — namely the Outer Banks cast, as Pope Heyward. He debuted in 2013 on the second of season NBC’s Revolution as “Kid” and starred in producer Nicolas Sparks’ Lifetime original historical drama, Deliverance Creek, the following year. He starred in three movies in 2018: the faith-based sports drama Edge of the World, the 1986 summer-set dramedy Age of Summer, and the crime thriller Shattered Memories.
Sophie Turner (Erica)
As Erica — a spoiled, rich young woman with a grudge against Drea — we have Sophie Turner, who is not only one of the biggest stars in the Do Revenge cast, but one of the biggest stars in the world thanks to her Emmy-nominated debut role in HBO’s Game of Thrones cast as Sansa Stark.
The British actor’s other best known role is a young Jean Grey in two of the X-Men movies, but her other notable film credits include the 2015 spy comedy Barely Lethal, the time-travel comedy Time Freak, and one of Ray Liotta’s final credits, Broken Soldier. While Do Revenge is Turner’s first Netflix original, she has starred in a couple of HBO Max originals, such as when she leant her voice the animated satire, The Prince, and joined The Staircase cast as Margaret Ratlff.
With a cast like this, Do Revenge — now available to stream on Netflix as of Friday, September 16 — looks like a dark comedy movie worth siding with and not holding a grudge against. Perhaps it will find itself a spot on the Netflix Top 10 and even hit Number One on the list of Netflix’s Top 10 Movies in the U.S. Either way, what a fun time staying in for movie night it should be.
