Viewers who tuned in to The CW on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, know that there is a new hero in the Arrowverse with the premiere of one of the most exciting new DC TV shows of the year. From executive producer Ava Duvernay and based on the comic book series by Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker, Naomi is the story of a Black high school student and superhero fan who discovers some new and bewildering things about herself in the midst of a strange event that occur in her hometown of Port Oswego, Oregon.
In addition to its intriguing supernatural plot line similar to some of best origin story superhero movies, the series is especially exciting for how it features a refreshing display of diversity among its central characters. Let’s talk about the Naomi cast even further by breaking down where else you might know each actor from, starting with the talented young lead.
Kaci Walfall (Naomi McDuffie)
Starring as the title character of Naomi is Kaci Walfall, who made her acting debut on the final season of the hit Lifetime original drama Army Wives as Nyah (the daughter of Ashanti’s character, Latasha Durant) when she was 7 years old. She followed that recurring role with a guest spot on Season 4 of Person of Interest on CBS as a young girl who, along with her older brother (Girl Meets World’s Amir Mitchell-Townes), becomes the target of a criminal gang.
Walfall would land further guest spots on the Starz original show, Power, in 2017 and the Amazon Prime anthology series, Modern Love, as a younger version of future The Sex Lives of College Girls cast member Renika Williams in 2021. That same year, she would also appear on two episodes of CBS’s The Equalizer with Queen Latifah before she was cast in her first starring role on Naomi.
Mouzam Makkar (Jennifer McDuffie)
As Naomi’s adoptive mother, linguist Jennifer McDuffie, we have Mouzam Makkar, who is actually best known for her work on various horror TV shows. For instance, she played a Nurse on American Horror Story Season 5, had a recurring role as Alexandria St. John in The CW’s The Vampire Diaries cast, and starred on Fox’s short-lived series continuation of The Exorcist in 2015.
In between those appearances, she has also guest starred on procedurals like Bones, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and two installments of NBC’s One Chicago franchise - namely as pharmaceutical rep (and Sev’s ex-girlfriend) Anna on Season 1 of Chicago Fire and an entirely different character on Chicago Justice in 2017. She has also starred in films like the horror-comedy Halloweed, had a starring role on ABC’s short-lived drama, The Fix, in 2019, and her upcoming rom-com Freudian Slip is now in post-production.
Barry Watson (Greg McDuffie)
Playing Naomi’s adoptive father, U.S. military veteran Greg McDuffie, is Barry Watson - a CW veteran who broke out in the 7th Heaven cast in the mid-1990s when the network was still called The WB. After leaving that hit in 2006, his next major TV role was the title character of ABC’s short-lived drama, What About Brian, which he followed up with a starring role on the channel’s more successful, Emmy-winning comedy, Samantha Who? as the on-and-off lover of Christina Applegate’s titular amnesiac.
After leading the sitcom Date My Dad, Watson played Rupert Murdoch’s son, Lachlan, on the acclaimed Showtime miniseries, The Loudest Voices, in 2019 and dabbled in political commentary again the following year in The Current Occupant - a Hulu original horror film that was part of Blumhouse’s Into the Dark anthology series. The actor’s notable big screen credits include the comedy Sorority Boys from 2002, the 2005 horror movie, Boogeyman, and most recently, A Dog’s Way Home from 2019.
Alexander Wraith (Dee)
Naomi learns more about her connection to the strange events surrounding her town through a mysterious tattoo shop owner named Dee, who is played by actor, filmmaker, and stunt coordinator Alexander Wraith. In addition to his recurring role in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black cast, the Naomi cast is not his first time starring on a superhero TV show (nor a sci-fi series), having appeared on Season 1 of HBO’s Westworld, on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Agent Anderson, and on an episode of The Mandalorian Season 2.
Some of his most notable film credits include Olive Stone’s Savages, a brief appearance in Taken 3, and the 2021 thriller The Gateway alongside Olivia Munn and Frank Grillo. Wraith is currently working on a sci-fi thriller called Tweed - his third feature-length effort as the star, writer, and director.
Cranston Johnson (Zumbado)
A car lot owner with some secrets of his own named Zumbado is played by Cranston Johnson, who has already garnered an impressively eclectic career before joining the Naomi cast. He already has a TV comic book adaptation under his belt (NBC’s Constantine series), guest starred on two episodes of Atlanta, appeared on an episode of HBO’s Euphoria, and has starred on numerous crime dramas, including the Neo-Western series, Hap and Leonard, for which he is best known.
In 2020, he landed recurring roles on P-Valley for Starz and Fox’s Kim-Cattrall led primetime soap, Filthy Rich, and 2021 saw him appear in the horror film Son, the Amazon Prime horror TV show, Them, and the Apple TV+ crime drama, Truth Be Told. He will next star as the lead of an upcoming short boxing film called Imposter.
Mary-Charles Jones (Annabelle)
Naomi’s best friend, Annabelle, is played Mary-Charles Jones, who has been acting since she was 6, making her screen debut in the pilot for ABC’s short-lived drama October Road in 2007, before playing a young girl born with Tay-Sachs on a tear-jerking Grey’s Anatomy episode two years later. The following year, she began appearing on Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana as Miley Cyrus’ younger self before starring in the 2011 Footloose remake as Ren’s young cousin, and playing one of Jason Bateman’s daughters in Identity Thief in 2013.
Also in 2013, Jones played the younger version of another sitcom character - Valerie Bertinelli’s Melanie Moretti on Hot in Cleveland - and starred in a made-for-TV adaptation of Jim Benton’s Dear Dumb Diary book series. Two years after a guest spot on New Girl in 2014, Jones became a TV series regular for the first time as Kevin James’ onscreen daughter on Kevin Can Wait, which is also her most recent credit before joining the Naomi cast.
Aidan Gemme (Jacob)
Naomi’s boyfriend, Jacob, is played by Aidan Gemme - an experienced theater prodigy known for stage productions of Finding Neverland and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, to name a few. He made his screen acting debut as the voice of a young Capuchin monkey named Babu in the Air Bud spin-off, Treasure Buddies, in 2012. That same year, he lent his voice to another installment of an endurable, straight-to-video franchise, Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups, as Noble - the self-appointed leader of the titular group of holiday hounds.
He finally finally showed up in a feature film when he starred in director Scott Derrickson’s cop drama/possession thriller hybrid Deliver Us from Evil in 2014, which he followed with 2015’s Tomorrowland - director Brad Bird’s cinematic adaptation of the eponymous Walt Disney World attraction. The actor has also lent his voice to multiple characters on Dora the Explorer for Nickelodeon prior to joining the Naomi cast.
Daniel Puig (Nathan)
Naomi’s former boyfriend, a high school jock named Nathan, is played by Daniel Puig. At the moment, the young model and actor has garnered only two other screen acting credits to his name prior to joining the Naomi cast.
He made his official debut in 2019 as one of the main, younger stars of The System - a 28-minute movie that analyzes how the war on drugs affects both teens and adult authority figures. He followed that the next year with an even shorter drama called Eden: The Only One Left To Us, which is a documentary that aims to explore concepts like intimacy and materialism as they exist in the modern day sex worker industry, through a more dramatic, narrative style.
Camila Moreno (Lourdes)
A fellow comic book reader who also works at a local shop for vintage collectible items in Naomi’s hometown is named Lourdes and is played by Camila Moreno. Not to be confused with a Chilean folk-rock singer of the same name, this young Puerto Rican native has garnered only one other screen acting credit to her name prior to joining the Naomi cast. In 2021, Moreno played the lead of the experimental sci-fi short film, Lost Beyond the Stars, from writer and director Kayla Arend.
Will Meyers (Anthony)
A fellow Port Oswego native named Anthony is played by Will Meyers, who can call his role in the Naomi cast his third in a TV series based on a comic book, having previously appeared with the Gotham cast for a Season 5 episode and landing a recurring stint on Season 2 of Walking Dead: World Beyond in 2021. Coincidentally, one of his earliest credits was Nickelodeon’s Bella and the Bulldogs, starring fellow future Arrowverse actor Brec Bassinger of Stargirl fame.
More of Meyers’ earliest appearances include the 2015 Disney Channel original movie, Invisible Sister, guest spots on both Blue Bloods and Fresh Off the Boat in 2017, an episode of Orange is the New Black’s final season, and the Emmy-winning HBO movie, Bad Education in 2020. That same year, he appeared on Netflix’s quarantine inspired anthology series, Social Distance, and, in 2021, starred in the coming-of-age fantasy-comedy Supercool.
If Naomi is not remembered as one of best superhero TV show of the 2022 TV schedule, it should at least be remembered as having one of the best casts of the year.
