Carrie: Every Major Battlestar Galactica Cameo In The Mike Flanagan TV Series

This article contains spoilers for "Carrie."

If you're a fan of "Battlestar Galactica" and also of horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan, you might notice some familiar faces shared between those productions. "Battlestar" breakout actor Katee Sackhoff is a lead in Flanagan's 2013 film "Oculus" as Marie Russell, a woman whose life and family are destroyed by a haunted mirror. (Believe me, it's a much scarier movie than that premise sounds, though Flanagan admits he had trouble pitching "Oculus" because "haunted mirror" doesn't sound that scary.)

Michael Trucco, Samuel Anders on "Battlestar Galactica," is officially part of Flanagan's troupe of actors he hires back for new projects (the "Flanaverse," as it's been called). Trucco first worked with Flanagan in a small part on the 2016 horror film "Hush," before getting supporting parts in Flanagan's TV series "Midnight Mass," "The Midnight Club," and "The Fall of the House of Usher." The latter also featured Mary McDonnell, President Laura Roslin on "Battlestar," as ruthless family matriarch Madeline Usher.

In January 2026, Trucco appeared on Sackhoff's eponymous podcast "The Sackhoff Show." He confirmed what you might've already suspected: Yes, Mike Flanagan is a big "Battlestar Galactica" fan. Trucco claimed that Flanagan has a "mission" to work with the whole cast. If that's true, then Flanagan's latest series "Carrie" brings him several notches closer. "Carrie" features not only Trucco and Sackhoff, but other "Battlestar Galactica" alumni too.

"Battlestar Galactica" is a show all about moral compromises (the kind you don't typically see on space operas like "Star Trek"). When your civilization is destroyed and the ones who did it are hunting you through space, everyone will sacrifice their principles for survival, right? Almost everyone, but one person who doesn't is Lt. Karl Agathon (callsign Helo), who evolved into the show's moral center.

Helo was played by Canadian actor Tahmoh Penikett. Since "Battlestar," Penikett has been a familiar face on genre TV. He was part of the main cast of Joss Whedon's sci-fi series "Dollhouse," had a recurring role on "Supernatural" as the angel Gadreel, and has appeared in everything from "Smallville" to "Criminal Minds."

In "Carrie," Penikett plays Carrie's father Ralph White, who is crushed to death in a construction accident in Episode 1. Carrie continues to see apparitions of her father throughout the series, one of the first signs of her psychic powers, and he also shows up in a brief flashback to Carrie's early childhood. Ralph's role is a change from Stephen King's original "Carrie" novel, where he left Carrie's mother Margaret (Samantha Sloyan in the show) and died before his daughter was even born. 

As I mentioned before, Mike Flanagan loves to cast Michael Trucco. In "Midnight Mass," Trucco played Crockett Island Mayor Wade Scarborough, a kind man who makes himself complicit in evil. Father Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater) brings a vampire to the island, convinced it's an "angel." After a drink of the angel's blood makes Scarborough's paralyzed daughter Leeza (Annarah Cymone) walk again, the mayor's loyalty is sealed to Hill.

In "Fall of the House of Usher," Trucco played Rufus Griswold, an arrogant and ruthless corporate suit who wound up buried alive behind a brick wall, a la Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." Trucco's role in "Carrie" is something of a middle ground between these two previous roles. He plays John Hargensen, father of Carrie's chief bully Chris (Alison Thornton).

A rich lawyer, John appears briefly in the "Carrie" novel. He tries to force Ewen High School Principal Henry Grayle (Matthew Lillard in the series) to let Chris attend prom, despite her suspension, with threats of legal action. Flanagan's "Carrie" digs more into the Hargensens' home life.

Outside of protecting his daughter from administrative consequences for her bullying, John is a neglectful and short-tempered father. He's not abusive, but he never shows much patience to his daughter. The show also introduces a new subplot that John and Chris' mother (Heather Graham) are divorcing, and the resulting abandonment issues are the root of Chris' vile behavior.

Trucco came to "Battlestar Galactica" in Season 2. His character, Samuel Anders, was a professional athlete turned resistance fighter who became a love interest for Katee Sackhoff's Starbuck. Speaking of...

Few actors are more synonymous with "Battlestar Galactica" than Katee Sackhoff, who played Kara Thrace/Starbuck. In the original 1970s "Battlestar Galactica," Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) was a hot shot cigar-chomping fighter pilot. The remake's innovation was taking that character and changing only their gender. (Proving fanboys have always been miserable, Sackhoff got plenty of grief for playing the gender-flipped Starbuck at first.) Starbuck made Sackhoff one of the badass women of science fiction, something cemented by later roles like the Mandalorian warrior Bo-Katan in "Star Wars."

It had been reported that Sackhoff was playing Judith Brigham, Carrie's maternal grandmother, presumably in flashback sequences. Whether that was misinformation or disinformation, the truth is much different. Sackhoff plays a woman named Amanda with a vested interest in Carrie.

Amanda debuts in the opening of Episode 7 "Romantic Literature," which introduces her as a mother whose daughter can astral project. Amanda next appears meeting Margaret in a coffee shop. At this point, Carrie is openly flaunting her telekinetic powers and Margaret is scouring message boards for people who've dealt with similar things. Amanda, who believes the psychics are secretly running the world, advises Margaret to kill Carrie (all but saying Amanda has experience from killing her own daughter). 

Later, Amanda is shown at the prom, presumably spying on Carrie, but her fate isn't spelled out. Mike Flanagan has said he envisions "Carrie" running for three seasons. Amanda returning to chase Carrie seems plausible. If she does, perhaps Sackhoff can bring Edward James Olmos with her and help Flanagan tick another box off his "Battlestar" cast bucket list.

Ok, this could all be coincidence, though, couldn't it? Mike Flanagan has worked with Michael Trucco and Katee Sackhoff before. Tahmoh Penikett is a prolific television actor. Does the three of them prove he was trying to get as many "Battlestar Galactica" actors in "Carrie" as possible? Not alone, but a scene in "Romantic Literature" does.

This scene is an assembly in Ewen High's gymnasium, where Principal Grayle is holding a public forum to decide whether the senior prom should proceed. Three parents weigh in, offering different perspectives, before the scene gets to Tina (Josie Totah), Margaret, and Carrie. Those three parents are played by Aaron Douglas, Rekha Sharma, and Tricia Helfer, all three of them "Battlestar Galactica" actors.

Douglas played Chief Galen Tyrol, boss of Galactica's mechanic crew who maintain the ship's fighters. Sharma, who joined "Battlestar" in late Season 2, played Tory Foster, aide to President Roslin. Helfer played the seductive humanoid Cylon known only as Number Six, easily one of the most famous characters from "Battlestar."

Three "Battlestar Galactica" actors, introduced in the same scene, cast as borderline extras for one-line speaking roles? Yeah, that can't be a coincidence. There's no wink-wink, though, so if you're not familiar with "Battlestar Galactica" you won't pick up why using those three actors is significant. If you are familiar, though, it's a fun little Easter egg.

"Carrie" is streaming on Prime Video.