Who is in the Yellowjackets cast? Ever since Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson’s controversial and twisty drama series arrived on TV screens in 2021, its tale of survival and cannibalism among a group of teens in desperate peril has been a source of fascination for viewers.
The thriller series on Paramount Plus follows multiple timelines. First, a group of teens from a high school football team – not soccer, sorry – must fight for survival in the wilderness after a plane crash in the ‘90s. In the second timeline of the TV series, we follow the surviving characters in the present day as they adjust to adult lives in the wake of their horror movie experience.
In the wake of the Yellowjackets season 1 ending and as we tick off the days until the Yellowjackets season 2 release date, we have you covered on the Yellowjackets cast. So dive in and find out all about the faces behind the best Yellowjackets characters.
Who is in the Yellowjackets cast?
- Melanie Lynskey/Sophie Nélisse as Shauna Shipman
- Tawny Cypress/Jasmin Savoy Brown as Taissa Turner
- Christina Ricci/Sammi Hanratty as Misty Quigley
- Juliette Lewis/Sophie Thatcher as Nat Scatorccio
- Ella Purnell as Jackie Taylor
- Steven Krueger as Ben Scott
- Warren Kole as Jeff Sadecki
- Kevin Alves as Travis Martinez
- Lauren Ambrose/Liv Hewson as Van Palmer
- Simone Kessell/Courtney Eaton as Lottie Matthews
- Elijah Wood as Walter
Melanie Lynskey/Sophie Nélisse – Shauna Shipman
Shauna is one of the crash survivors in Yellowjackets season 1 who adapts best to life in the wilderness. Her past friendship with football team captain Jackie is called into question, especially given her affair with Jackie’s boyfriend Jeff. In the present day, Shauna is still with Jeff and is a stay-at-home mother.
Sophie Nélisse, best known as the young lead of The Book Thief, plays the young Shauna. Meanwhile, the adult version of the character is played by the terrific Melanie Lynskey, who recently wowed us all with her work as Kathleen in The Last of Us.
Tawny Cypress/Jasmin Savoy Brown – Taissa Turner
During their fight for survival, Shauna forms a bond with Taissa, who deliberately injured a classmate in order to get a spot on the football team. She starts a romance with Van in the ’90s timeline and, in the present day, she harbours political ambitions and is running to be a senator in New Jersey.
Scream 5 and Scream 6 actor Jasmin Savoy Brown, who TV fans will also recognise from The Leftovers, plays the young Taissa. Her adult counterpart is played by Tawny Cypress, who is perhaps best known as Simone in Heroes and for playing Carly Heath in Netflix series House of Cards.
Christina Ricci/Sammi Hanratty – Misty Quigley
In the ’90s timeline of Yellowjackets, Sammi Hanratty plays Misty as the often bullied equipment manager of the central football team. Her role changes as the crisis progresses and she shows a more manipulative side, which continues into her adulthood. Christina Ricci plays her as a nurse for the elderly with a dark side and a role as a citizen detective. She’s complex to say the least.
Before Yellowjackets, Hanratty was best known for noughties roles in teen series like The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and iCarly. Ricci, meanwhile, is a ’90s family movie icon thanks to her memorable performance as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and its sequel Addams Family Values.
Juliette Lewis/Sophie Thatcher – Nat Scatorccio
Nat is a character struggling with drug and alcohol issues in both halves of the Yellowjackets timeline, which causes tension between her and other members of the group. She does have serious rifle skills, though. In the present day, Taissa sends her to rehab, but this does not solve her problems definitively.
The teen version of Nat is played by Sophie Thatcher, who had a role as street gang member Drash in Star Wars series The Book of Boba Fett. Her adult opposite number, meanwhile, is arthouse darling Juliette Lewis, who was Oscar-nominated for starring in Martin Scorsese thriller movie Cape Fear. She has also appeared in the likes of Natural Born Killers and From Dusk Till Dawn.
Ella Purnell – Jackie Taylor
Like any classic teen movie Queen Bee, football team captain Jackie doesn’t like it when her high school hierarchy comes crashing down in the wake of the crash. Suddenly, her relationship with Jeff and friendship with Shauna don’t seem quite as stable, and her acceptance to Rutgers University isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.
Ella Purnell plays Jackie. The young British star had small roles in blockbusters like Kick-Ass 2 and Maleficent before playing the daughter of Dave Bautista’s character in zombie movie Army of the Dead. She also has a major voice role as talented linguist Gwyn in Star Trek series Prodigy.
Steven Krueger – Ben Scott
Ben is the assistant coach of the football team and the only adult to survive the initial crash, albeit with a leg so thoroughly messed up that the girls have to amputate it to keep him alive. As the only adult still around, it’s a tough time for him.
Steven Krueger has a handful of screen credits, including in comedy series like Two and a Half Men and procedurals like NCIS, as well as Pretty Little Liars. However, his role in Yellowjackets is by far his biggest to date.
Warren Kole – Jeff Sadecki
Jeff is an unseen presence in the ’90s storyline of Yellowjackets, but he’s known to be Jackie’s boyfriend and having an affair with Shauna. In the present day portion of the narrative, Jeff and Shauna are married with children. He owns a furniture store.
Warren Kole is a TV veteran, including main roles on crime series Common Law and Shades of Blue. He was most recently seen in the Chris Pratt series The Terminal List. Kole even has a small role in MCU movie The Avengers as the SHIELD technician with a love for Galaga, for those who are very eagle-eyed.
Kevin Alves – Travis Martinez
One of the few male characters in the younger half of the Yellowjackets cast, Travis ended up in the crash as a result of being the son of the team’s coach. He begins a relationship with Nat after the crash and has been promoted from a recurring cast member to a main role for Yellowjackets season 2.
Before he began acting, Alves was a champion figure skater and competed for Brazil at the World Championship in 2009. Now though, he’s a fully-fledged actor with roles in Shadowhunters and Locke and Key, as well as Yellowjackets.
Lauren Ambrose/Liv Hewson – Van Palmer
The team’s goalkeeper, Van begins a romance with Taissa after the crash. She’s a recurring character in Yellowjackets season 1, but has been promoted to the main cast for season 2 and is getting a present day adult counterpart.
Hewson played Drew Barrymore’s daughter in the horror series Santa Clarita Diet and they also appeared in Marvel series Inhumans. For season 2, Lauren Ambrose is joining as the adult Van. Ambrose is known for Six Feet Under and, more recently, for playing one of the lead roles in M Night Shyamalan’s Apple TV show Servant.
Simone Kessell/Courtney Eaton – Lottie Matthews
Much like Van, the character of Lottie is set to play a bigger role in Yellowjackets season 2 and will be a series regular as well as getting a presence in the adult storyline. Lottie has schizophrenia and struggles with traumatic visions after running out of her medication in the wake of the crash.
Courtney Eaton plays the young Lottie, and is best known for playing one of movie villain Immortan Joe’s wives in Mad Max: Fury Road. Her adult counterpart will be Simone Kessell, who has a slew of TV credits including Our Flag Means Death and the role of Breha Organa in the Obi-Wan Kenobi cast.
Elijah Wood – Walter
Elijah Wood joins the cast for Yellowjackets season 2 as a citizen detective with links to Misty. He will be attempting to uncover mysteries alongside her, as a new addition to the series.
Wood is, of course, a household name thanks to the Lord of the Rings movies, in which he played the most famous Lord of the Rings character Frodo Baggins. He has since carved out an interesting career in very weird horror movies like Come to Daddy. We’re here for it.
That’s all we’ve got on the Yellowjackets cast, but we have you covered on all of the new movies coming this year, as well as some of the best TV to watch. So check out our guides to the Succession season 4 release date, The Crown season 6 release date, and the Wednesday season 2 release date.