The Kong: Skull Island cast is led by Tom Hiddleston as Captain James Conrad, Samuel L. Jackson as Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard, John Goodman as Bill Randa and Brie Larson as Mason Weaver, with John C. Reilly as Hank Marlow. Jing Tian plays San Lin, while Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, John Ortiz, Shea Whigham and Thomas Mann fill out the Skull Island expedition and the helicopter unit that carries it to the island. Kong: Skull Island (2017), directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, opened in US theaters on March 10, 2017, and TMDB lists 40 cast members in all. If you have ever watched a sports team get rebuilt in the off season, the way this ensemble came together will feel familiar. Hiddleston was attached in 2014, nearly a year before most of his costars, and Deadline reported Jackson in early talks and Reilly atop a short list for roles that J.K. Simmons and Michael Keaton had left.
| # | Actor | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Hiddleston | Captain James Conrad |
| 2 | Samuel L. Jackson | Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard |
| 3 | John Goodman | Bill Randa |
| 4 | Brie Larson | Mason Weaver |
| 5 | Jing Tian | San Lin |
| 6 | John Ortiz | Victor Nieves |
| 7 | Corey Hawkins | Houston Brooks |
| 8 | Jason Mitchell | Glenn Mills |
| 9 | Shea Whigham | Earl Cole |
| 10 | Thomas Mann | Reg Slivko |
| 11 | John C. Reilly | Hank Marlow |
| 12 | Marc Evan Jackson | Steve Woodward |
| 13 | Eugene Cordero | Reles |
| 14 | MIYAVI | Gunpei Ikari |
| 15 | Will Brittain | Young Marlow / Marlow's Son |
| 16 | Richard Jenkins | Senator Al Willis |
| 17 | Allyn Rachel | Secretary O'Brien |
| 18 | Robert Taylor | Athena Captain |
| 19 | James M. Connor | General Ward (voice) |
| 20 | Thomas Middleditch | Jerry (voice) |
| 21 | Brady Novak | Base Guard |
| 22 | Peter Karinen | Chinook Pilot |
| 23 | Brian Sacca | Chinook Co-Pilot |
| 24 | Joshua Funk | Seismic Soldier |
Billing order from the film's credits (TMDB). Actors with a Cinvibe page and characters with a character page are linked.
Also in the cast: Daniel F. Malone (Boat Captain), Glenn Kiwi Hall (Boat Captain), Garreth Hadfield (Crew Chief), Shannon Brimelow (Kamikaze Pilot), Jon Quested (Dead Pilot), Korey Williams (Sunglasses Pilot), Dat Phan (Bar Thug), Cynthy Wu (Thug's Girlfriend), Beth Kennedy (Marlow's Wife), Bryan Chojnowski (Chicago Taxi Driver), Nick Robinson (Bar Guest (uncredited)), Kevin Kent (Military technical advisor), Erin Moriarty (Bar Guest (uncredited)), Moisés Arias (Bar Guest).
Tom Hiddleston plays Captain James Conrad in Kong: Skull Island, the tracker Bill Randa hires to guide the survey team across the island. He was the first actor attached to the film. Variety and Deadline reported in September 2014 that Legendary had set him to star with Jordan Vogt-Roberts directing, before the project took its final title.
Samuel L. Jackson plays Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard in Kong: Skull Island, the officer who commands the Army helicopter unit escorting the expedition. Deadline reported in August 2015 that Legendary was in early talks with him for the role J.K. Simmons had vacated, and a Deadline casting report the following month listed him in the cast.
John Goodman plays Bill Randa in Kong: Skull Island, the Monarch official who persuades the government to fund the 1973 survey of the island. Deadline reported his casting on September 25, 2015, describing the part as a government official who leads the expedition. The Hollywood Reporter later noted that Cate Randa in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is this character's granddaughter.
Brie Larson plays Mason Weaver in Kong: Skull Island, the antiwar photographer who joins the survey alongside Captain James Conrad. Trade reports in July 2015 said she was set to star opposite Tom Hiddleston, with Variety describing her as in talks for the part. She is billed fourth in the TMDB credits, after Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman.
Jing Tian plays San Lin in Kong: Skull Island and is billed fifth in the TMDB credits. Deadline listed her among the principal cast in October 2015, when it reported the production heading to Australia's Gold Coast. The Hollywood Reporter later described her as a Chinese actress who made her English language debut opposite Matt Damon in The Great Wall before she joined Legendary's Pacific Rim sequel.
John Ortiz plays Victor Nieves in Kong: Skull Island and is billed seventh in the TMDB credits. Deadline reported in October 2015 that Ortiz and Shea Whigham had joined the cast together. Theirs was one of the last rounds of supporting additions, at a time when The Hollywood Reporter was reporting a shoot that would take in Hawaii, Australia and Vietnam.
Corey Hawkins plays Houston Brooks in Kong: Skull Island and is billed eighth in the TMDB credits. Variety reported his casting as an exclusive in 2015. It said he was in negotiations to join Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson and was reuniting with Legendary after Straight Outta Compton, in which he played Dr. Dre.
Jason Mitchell plays Glenn Mills in Kong: Skull Island, a pilot in Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard's helicopter unit. The Hollywood Reporter reported his casting as an exclusive in 2015 and said he would play an easygoing pilot, which put him back alongside Corey Hawkins after the two starred together in Straight Outta Compton. Variety later named both actors among the film's stars when it reported the move to Warner Bros.
Shea Whigham plays Earl Cole in Kong: Skull Island, a member of Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard's helicopter unit. Deadline reported in October 2015 that Whigham had signed on alongside John Ortiz, as the supporting roles around Samuel L. Jackson's commander were filled before production began. TMDB bills him tenth, directly ahead of Thomas Mann and just behind Jason Mitchell.
Thomas Mann plays Reg Slivko in Kong: Skull Island, a soldier in Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard's unit. Variety reported his casting as an exclusive in 2015, during the run of fall signings that also brought in John Goodman, John Ortiz and Shea Whigham. TMDB bills him eleventh, followed by Terry Notary, credited with Kong motion capture services, at twelfth and John C. Reilly at thirteenth.
John C. Reilly plays Hank Marlow in Kong: Skull Island, a World War II pilot who crashed on the island in 1944 and has lived there ever since. Deadline reported in August 2015 that he topped a short list for the role Michael Keaton had left over scheduling. In the TMDB credits, Will Brittain plays the younger version of the character as Young Marlow / Marlow's Son.
Marc Evan Jackson plays Steve Woodward in Kong: Skull Island and is billed fourteenth among the 40 cast members listed on TMDB, directly after John C. Reilly. He is one of two Jacksons in the credits (the other is Samuel L. Jackson), which is worth knowing if you are searching the cast list for either actor by surname.
The Kong: Skull Island cast took a little over a year to assemble. It began with Tom Hiddleston in September 2014 and closed with a run of supporting signings in the fall of 2015. Legendary unveiled the project at Comic-Con in July 2014, and Variety reported two months later that Hiddleston would star with Jordan Vogt-Roberts directing.
Two of the bigger parts changed hands along the way. J.K. Simmons was announced in December 2014. Deadline reported in August 2015 that Samuel L. Jackson was in early talks for the role Simmons had vacated, and that John C. Reilly sat atop a short list for the part Michael Keaton had left over scheduling. Trade reports in July 2015 said Brie Larson was set to star opposite Hiddleston, Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell arrived from Straight Outta Compton, and John Goodman joined in September, the same month Deadline reported the project moving from Universal to Warner Bros.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that the shoot would cover Australia, Vietnam and Hawaii. For the plot, crew and release details, the kong skull island page has the full film record, and the guide to monsterverse movies shows where this film sits among the other entries.
| Director | Jordan Vogt-Roberts |
|---|---|
| Writers | Max Borenstein, Dan Gilroy, John Gatins, Derek Connolly, Edgar Wallace, Merian C. Cooper |
| Producers | Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Alex Garcia |
| Music | Henry Jackman |
| Cinematography | Larry Fong |
Toby Kebbell and Terry Notary are both credited with Kong motion capture services in Kong: Skull Island, the performance work behind the giant ape. Kebbell also appears on screen in a second role, Maj. Jack Chapman, so his work shows up twice in the film: once in human form and once through the giant ape.
Tom Hiddleston plays Captain James Conrad, the tracker Bill Randa hires to guide the 1973 survey. Variety and Deadline reported in September 2014 that Legendary had cast him, which made him the first lead in place, and he heads the TMDB billing for the film.
Yes, Samuel L. Jackson plays Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard, the officer in charge of the helicopter unit that flies the expedition in. He is billed second, behind Tom Hiddleston. Deadline first reported him in early talks in August 2015, for the role J.K. Simmons had vacated, and listed him in the cast by September 2015.
No, J.K. Simmons does not appear in the finished film, although Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter reported in December 2014 that he had joined the cast. In August 2015, Deadline reported that Legendary was in early talks with Samuel L. Jackson for the part Simmons vacated, and that Michael Keaton had also left a role over scheduling.
John C. Reilly plays Hank Marlow, the World War II pilot stranded on the island since 1944. Will Brittain plays the younger version of the character, credited on TMDB as Young Marlow / Marlow's Son. The Hollywood Reporter reported Brittain's casting as an exclusive and described the part as a pilot role.
Yes, Brie Larson plays Mason Weaver, the antiwar photographer who joins the survey alongside Captain James Conrad. Trade reports in July 2015 said she was set to star opposite Tom Hiddleston, with Variety describing her as in talks for the part. She is fourth in the TMDB billing, after Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman.
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