The Step Up cast is led by Channing Tatum as Tyler Gage, a Baltimore street dancer, and Jenna Dewan as Nora Clark, a ballet student preparing for her senior showcase. The credits then place Damaine Radcliff as Mac Carter, Rachel Griffiths as Director Gordon, Deirdre Lovejoy as Katherine Clark, Alyson Stoner as Camille Gage, Drew Sidora as Lucy Avila and Josh Henderson as Brett Dolan, with Heavy D as Omar and Mario as Miles Darby. Step Up (2006), directed by Anne Fletcher, opened in US theaters on August 11, 2006, after a shoot on location in Baltimore. This cast is also notable for what happened off screen, because Tatum and Dewan met on the set and later married in 2009. Fletcher also appears in the film as Ms. Stephanie, and cinematographer Michael Seresin has a cameo as the Custodian. TMDB lists 85 credited roles, many of them dancers in the ballet, class, nightclub and finale scenes.
| # | Actor | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Channing Tatum | Tyler Gage |
| 2 | Jenna Dewan | Nora Clark |
| 3 | Damaine Radcliff | Mac Carter |
| 4 | Rachel Griffiths | Director Gordon |
| 5 | Deirdre Lovejoy | Katherine Clark |
| 6 | Alyson Stoner | Camille Gage |
| 7 | Drew Sidora | Lucy Avila |
| 8 | Josh Henderson | Brett Dolan |
| 9 | Heavy D | Omar |
| 10 | Ryan Sands | History Teacher |
| 11 | Frank Ferrara Sr. | Security Guard |
| 12 | Frank Herzog | Judge Milton |
| 13 | De'Shawn Washington | Skinny Carter |
| 14 | Mario | Miles Darby |
| 15 | Tim Lacatena | Andrew |
| 16 | Jane Beard | Lena Freeman |
| 17 | Richard Pelzman | Bill Freeman |
| 18 | Carlyncia S. Peck | Mac's Mother |
| 19 | DeLon Howell | PJ |
| 20 | Dominique Boyd | Omar Party Girl Yvette |
| 21 | Reina Poindexter | Omar Party Girl #2 |
| 22 | Angelica Huesca | Omar Party Girl #3 |
| 23 | Anne Fletcher | Ms. Stephanie |
| 24 | Natalie Steinberg | Little Girl Ballerina |
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: Jamie Scott (Colin), Isaiah Washington (Malcolm), Jiehae Park (Stagehand), Sheila Cutchlow (Scout #1), John Leslie Wolfe (Scout #2), Karim Fawzy (Oamr Partier), Tom Quinn (Music Teacher), Shiloh Monaco (Piano Player), Caitlin Kinney (Ballerina), Jeanne (Girl Singer #1 / Lucy Back Up Singer #1), Jeannie Ortega (Girl Singer #3), Donald Rheubottom (Court Room Sheriff), Donald Waugh (Fruit Vendor), Michael Seresin (Custodian), Spencer Longmore (Omar's Chop Shop Guy), Adrienne Canterna (Ballet Dancer), Oscar Campisi (Ballet Dancer), Tara Ghassemieh (Ballet Dancer), Nikkia Parish (Ballet Dancer), Ryan Rankine (Ballet Dancer), Emily Bicks (Dance Class Dancer), Whitney Brown (Dance Class Dancer), Ashley Canterna (Dance Class Dancer), Sara Cato (Dance Class Dancer), Caitlin Gold (Dance Class Dancer), Stephanie Jingle (Dance Class Dancer), Rebecca Mejia (Dance Class Dancer), Anthony Carr (Nora's Finale Dancer), Laura Edwards (Nora's Finale Dancer), Samantha Frampton (Nora's Finale Dancer), Antonio Hudnell (Nora's Finale Dancer), Julie Nelson (Nora's Finale Dancer), Samantha Zweben (Nora's Finale Dancer), Shawn Michelle Cosby (Nightclub Dancer), Melissa Emrico (Nightclub Dancer), Sabrina Furr (Nightclub Dancer), George Hubela (Nightclub Dancer), Jameson Perry (Nightclub Dancer), Ashley Phipps (Nightclub Dancer), Denise Piane (Nightclub Dancer), Sarah Satow (Nightclub Dancer), Jamal Sims (Nightclub Dancer), Adam Shankman (Nightclub Dancer), Zachary Woodlee (Nightclub Dancer), John Alix (Audition Dancer), Kellie Corbett (Hip Hop Dancer), Lance Guillermo (Hip Hop Dancer), Kirk Jennings (Hip Hop Dancer), Monica Warr (Hip Hop Dancer), Joanna Becker (Dancer (uncredited)), Tony Devon (Defense Attorney (uncredited)), Kawan Kean (Music Student (uncredited)), Chris O'Brocki (Music Student (uncredited)), Emily Peachey (Student (uncredited)), Jennifer Rouse (Nightclub Dancer (uncredited)), Natasha Sattler (Concert Usher (uncredited)), Noah Schaftel (Nightclub Dancer (uncredited)), Leo Christopher Sheridan (Dancer (uncredited)), Thomas W. Stewart (Nightclub Dancer (uncredited)), JB Tadena (MSA Student (uncredited)), Eddy Shalita (Club Patron Dancing (uncredited)).
Channing Tatum plays Tyler Gage, a street dancer from Baltimore who is ordered to do community service as a janitor at the Maryland School of the Arts in Step Up (2006). He is billed first, and Disney's D23 lists him at the head of the principal cast. Tatum met his costar Jenna Dewan on the set, and UPI reports that the two married in Malibu in 2009.
Jenna Dewan plays Nora Clark, a ballet student in Step Up (2006) who needs a new partner for her senior showcase after her own partner is injured. Good Morning America reports that she and Channing Tatum met on the set and began dating soon after. Dewan has also shared her original audition tape for the film, which ET reported on in April 2018.
Damaine Radcliff plays Mac Carter in Step Up (2006), one of Tyler's friends and one of the three who break into the arts school when the story begins. Baltimore Magazine describes Mac as a talented basketball player. Radcliff is billed third, right after the two leads, and De'Shawn Washington plays Skinny Carter, the third member of the group, who shares Mac's surname in the credits.
Rachel Griffiths plays Director Gordon in Step Up (2006), the head of the Maryland School of the Arts where Tyler serves out his community service. She is billed fourth on TMDB and named among the principal cast on Disney's D23 page. Baltimore Magazine reports that the school's interiors were filmed at City Pier in Fells Point, the old set of Homicide.
Deirdre Lovejoy plays Katherine Clark in Step Up (2006), the mother of Nora Clark, who appears in the family scenes around her daughter's senior showcase. Lovejoy is billed fifth on TMDB, ahead of several other members of the ensemble. Like the rest of the cast, she worked on a production that Disney's D23 says was filmed in CinemaScope on location in Baltimore.
Alyson Stoner plays Camille Gage in Step Up (2006), a character who shares Tyler Gage's surname in the credits. Stoner is billed sixth on TMDB. Camille is one of the few roles from this film that carries forward in the franchise, because TMDB credits Stoner as Camille Gage again in Step Up 3D (2010), which makes the character a link between the first film and the sequels.
Drew Sidora plays Lucy Avila in Step Up (2006), Nora's best friend at the school and a singer whose performances are part of the student showcase world. The credits also list backup singers for Lucy, which shows how much of the role is musical. In a 2022 appearance reported by Bravo, Jenna Dewan called Sidora professional, sweet and talented, and singled out her singing.
Josh Henderson plays Brett Dolan in Step Up (2006), directed by Anne Fletcher. He is billed eighth on TMDB, directly after Drew Sidora as Lucy Avila and ahead of Heavy D as Omar, and he is listed among the principal cast on Disney's D23 page. That billing places Henderson inside the main ensemble of a film with 85 credited roles on TMDB.
Heavy D plays Omar in Step Up (2006), a figure from Tyler and Mac's side of Baltimore whose world, going by the credited roles around him, includes parties and a chop shop. The rapper turned actor was already a music name when he took the part, and the Television Academy lists Step Up among his feature films alongside The Cider House Rules and Tower Heist. He died on November 8, 2011, at 44.
Ryan Sands plays the History Teacher in Step Up (2006), one of the staff roles that fill out daily life at the Maryland School of the Arts. He is billed tenth on TMDB, the first of the smaller roles after the main ensemble. Baltimore Magazine identifies City Pier in Fells Point as the location where the school's interiors were filmed.
Frank Ferrara Sr. plays the Security Guard in Step Up (2006), credited eleventh on TMDB. His role belongs to the school setting where the story starts, since Tyler, Mac and Skinny break into the Maryland School of the Arts and wreck part of it, which leads to Tyler's community service. Baltimore Magazine reports that the school's exterior was filmed at Booker T. Washington Middle School on McCulloh Street.
Frank Herzog plays Judge Milton in Step Up (2006), credited twelfth on TMDB. After the break in at the arts school, Tyler Gage is ordered to do community service as a janitor there, and the credits also list a Court Room Sheriff played by Donald Rheubottom, which places Judge Milton in the courtroom where that sentence is handed down.
The Step Up cast was assembled around two leads who could carry long dance sequences, a small group of Baltimore characters and a large company of trained dancers. Anne Fletcher directed Step Up (2006), a Touchstone Pictures and Summit Entertainment film, and the production (originally titled Music High) shot in CinemaScope on location in Baltimore.
How did the leads come together? Jenna Dewan has shared her original audition tape, which ET reported on in April 2018, and Good Morning America described the first sparks between her and Channing Tatum in that footage. The pair met on the set and married in 2009.
Local ties run through the ensemble. Baltimore Magazine calls Mario, who plays Miles Darby and is credited under that single name, Baltimore's own, and the school interiors were filmed at City Pier in Fells Point, the old set of Homicide. Two crew members also appear on screen, with Fletcher as Ms. Stephanie, Nora's dance teacher, and cinematographer Michael Seresin as the Custodian. For how this cast fits the wider series, the step up movies hub covers every sequel, and the step up 2006 film page holds the plot, release and production details.
| Director | Anne Fletcher |
|---|---|
| Writers | Duane Adler, Melissa Rosenberg |
| Producers | Erik Feig, Jennifer Gibgot, Patrick Wachsberger, Adam Shankman |
| Music | Aaron Zigman |
| Cinematography | Michael Seresin |
Channing Tatum played Tyler Gage in Step Up (2006). Tyler is a street dancer from Baltimore who ends up doing community service as a janitor at the Maryland School of the Arts, where he begins rehearsing with ballet student Nora Clark. Tatum is billed first in the credits.
Jenna Dewan played Nora Clark in Step Up (2006). Nora is a ballet student preparing for her senior showcase who takes Tyler on as a rehearsal partner after her own partner is injured. Dewan is billed second, and Nora's mother, Katherine Clark, is played by Deirdre Lovejoy.
Yes, Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan met on the set of Step Up, which opened in August 2006. Good Morning America reports that they began dating soon after meeting on the film, and UPI reports that they married in Malibu in 2009. ET reported their separation in April 2018.
Yes, Alyson Stoner is in Step Up, playing Camille Gage, a character who shares Tyler Gage's surname in the credits. Stoner is billed sixth on TMDB and is also one of the few actors from the first film credited again later in the franchise, returning as Camille Gage in Step Up 3D (2010).
Damaine Radcliff played Mac Carter in Step Up. Mac is one of Tyler's friends, described by Baltimore Magazine as a talented basketball player, and he is part of the trio whose break in at the arts school sets the story going. De'Shawn Washington plays Skinny Carter, the third member of that group.
Yes, Mario plays Miles Darby in Step Up, credited under that single name. Baltimore Magazine describes Miles as the school's budding music producer and calls Mario Baltimore's own, which fits a film shot on location in the city. He is billed fourteenth on TMDB.
Anne Fletcher directed Step Up (2006), and she also appears in it as Ms. Stephanie, Nora's dance teacher. The film's cinematographer, Michael Seresin, has a cameo too, credited as the Custodian. Step Up opened in US theaters on August 11, 2006, and runs 104 minutes.
For UK viewers, Step Up Cable is the character played by Harry Shum Jr.
The Step Up TV show is a three season dance drama that began as Step Up: High Water in 2018 and later continued on Starz.