Where Have You Seen All The Project Hail Mary Crew Members Before?

One of the most-anticipated sci-fi movies of 2026 is upon us. Hailing from directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller ("21 Jump Street," "The LEGO Movie"), "Project Hail Mary" is now in theaters. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Andy Weir, it's arguably the first true blue blockbuster of the year. And thus far, it hasn't disappointed.

Ryan Gosling stars in what /Film's Ethan Anderton has called one of the best sci-fi movies ever. It's that good. "Project Hail Mary" centers on Ryland Grace (Gosling), a science teacher who wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no memory of how he got there. However, he quickly realizes he must use all of his knowledge to save Earth from destruction.

Gosling is an A-list star who needs no introduction, from his Oscar-nominated role in the blockbuster "Barbie" to his work in "La La Land" and everything in between. But what about the crew members (and the actors behind them) supporting Ryland on his quest to save humanity in Gosling's latest cinematic effort? We're going to take a deeper look at the supporting ensemble in "Project Hail Mary," letting you know why they might look familiar and where you've seen them before. Let's get into it.

Milana Vayntrub plays a key member of the crew in "Project Hail Mary," namely Olesya Ilyukhina. She's absolutely going to look familiar to a lot of viewers, in no small part because she's been Lily in AT&T's commercials for years now. But she's also a well known actor and comedian who has been working steadily in Hollywood since the early 2000s.

Some of Vayntrub's earliest roles came in shows like "Days of Our Lives" and "Lizzie McGuire," but those were bit parts that probably wouldn't garner much recognition these days. More modern viewers are far more likely to recognize her for her work as Sloane Sandberg on "This Is Us" or even her brief stint on "Silicon Valley" as Tara.

Alternatively, some might know Vayntrub best for playing Cecily in director Josh Ruben's "Werewolves Within," which remains the best reviewed video game movie ever made, amazingly enough. Some of her other movie credits include "Out of Office" and 2016's "Ghostbusters," although she's done a lot more episodic TV. She even showed up as herself multiple times on the game show "After Midnight."

Meanwhile, Marvel fans may be familiar with her as the voice of Squirrel Girl from the Marvel podcast "The Unbeatable Radio Show." She was originally supposed to portray the character in a live-action "New Warriors" TV show that was scrapped, but Vayntrub has since voiced Squirrel Girl several times, including in the game "Marvel Rivals." Additionally, Vayntrub has done lots of guest spots on popular series, appearing in everything from "The League" to "House of Lies" and even Netflix's "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story."

Those who have seen "Project Hail Mary" will recognize Ken Leung as Yáo Li-Jie, but viewers are also going to have that, "I know I've seen him before" thought. That's because you undoubtedly have. Leung is a very versatile character actor with decades of experience under his belt in movies and television. People who are fans of HBO's "Industry" will recognize him as Eric Tao, for instance, but that's just the start of his impressive resume.

Indeed, "Star Wars" fans will know Leung for playing Admiral Statura in "The Force Awakens," one of the biggest movies of all time. Some of his other film credits include M. Night Shyamalan's "Old," "X-Men: The Last Stand," "Vanilla Sky," and "Inside Man," among others. Speaking of "X-Men," that's not his only Marvel credit. Rather, Leung additionally played Karnak on "Inhumans," a project that, sorry to say, ranks as Marvel's lowest-rated show on Rotten Tomatoes.

Setting that aside, Leung has been a part of some huge TV series in his day. He portrayed Miles on the television game-changer that was "Lost" and appeared in several episodes of "Person of Interest," "The Blacklist," and even an episode of "The Sopranos." More recently, the actor has been a crucial part of Netflix's live-action "Avatar: The Last Airbender" TV show, bringing Commander Zhao to life.

Finally, horror fans might recognize Leung as Detective Steven Sing, a key part of the gory box office hit turned franchise launcher that was the first "Saw" movie. So, without listing every single one of his credits, it's easy to see why Leung would ring a bell. He's done a whole lot across 30 years in the biz.

What about Annie Shapiro, another key member of the crew in "Project Hail Mary" alongside Ryan Gosling's Ryland? She's played by Liv Kingsman. An actor with about a decade's worth of experience under her belt, Kingsman has starred in a lot of episodic television, as well as one of the biggest box office hits of 2025.

Perhaps most notably, Kingsman played Lisbeth Bampton alongside Brad Pitt and Damson Idris in last year's "F1," a film that has won Best Sound at the Oscars on top of being nominated for Best Picture. Aside from that, though, the bulk of her on screen work up to this point has been in the world of television, including the European comedy series "Parlement" (in which she plays Rose Pilkington).

Before that, some of her earliest credits were in the world of comedy, as she starred in shows like "Ballot Monkeys" and "Power Monkeys," as well as "Borderline." She also appeared in "Timewasters," "Small Town Politics," "Down from London," and "The Brilliant World of Tom Gates," among others. Undoubtedly, European audiences will be more familiar with her work at this point (though she did star alongside Idris Elba in Apple TV's "Hijack").

Kingsman has some major projects coming up as well, including "Practical Magic 2" with returning stars Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. She's even playing Anne de Bourgh in Netflix's developing series adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice."

Lastly, we arrive at Martin Dubois, played by Malachi Kirby. He's an actor who's been working pretty steadily for about 15 years, but he appears to be approaching a breakout phase of his career. That's in no small part thanks to his work as Hezekiah Moscow in "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight's Hulu series "A Thousand Blows.". That's Kirby's most well-known role at the moment, but it's far from his only recognizable work.

Kirby has done quite a bit of other television work over the years, including, but not limited to, a stint on "EastEnders," "Way to Go," 2015's "Jekyll and Hyde" miniseries, and the 2016 remake of "Roots" as Kunta Kinte. He also starred in "Men Against Fire," an episode of "Black Mirror" that was inspired by a real war documentary. Similarly, "Doctor Who" fans may recognize him as Gastron from the season 9 episode "Hell Bent."

Some of his other notable credits include the miniseries "Small Axe," the TV series "Devils," and the show "Curfew." Besides co-starring in "Project Hail Mary," he's additionally lending his talents to the star-studded video game "Squadron 42."

"Project Hail Mary" begins its Thursday evening preview screenings tonight.