There are many great sports in the world, and there are iconic individuals who have dedicated their entire lives to them. Of course, achievements and victories don’t come easily for athletes. It’s only through rigorous training and overcoming physical and mental challenges that a fraction of professionals get to taste victory. This is precisely why, despite the highs and lows of the sports world, biopics about athletes are some of the most inspirational films to watch. Overall, they demonstrate that, no matter what obstacles one encounters, there’s no choice but to get up and try when it comes to accomplishing your dreams.
In this regard, Nyad is an inspiring tale about the real-life long-distance swimmer, Diana Nyad (Annette Bening), and is based on her autobiography, Find a Way. This 2023 movie effectively marks the feature narrative debut of directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, who previously worked in the documentary genre. Nyad sees Diana, who, despite her first failed attempt and people’s discouraging remarks, makes her dream come true by becoming the first person to complete the long-distance swim from Cuba to Florida at the age of 64. Here’s your cast and character guide to the Netflix film.
Annette Bening as Diana Nyad
Annette Bening brings the legendary long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad to life on-screen. At 64 years old, Diana makes the decision to fulfill her dream of swimming from Cuba to Florida — this would be her fifth attempt. An accomplished marathon swimmer, this isn’t the first time Diana has broken records for swimming. In 1975, she swam around Manhattan in record time, and in 1979, she swam from The Bahamas to Florida.
Bening, too, is accomplished in her field. She began in the theater before receiving her first film role in Howard Deutch’s The Great Outdoors. Since then, Bening has become one of the most versatile actresses in the industry to date, and has earned four Academy Award nominations for the following films: The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia, and The Kids Are All Right. In 2019, she joined the MCU to portray Wendy Lawson, a.k.a. Mar-vell, a Kree scientist who, through her technologies, wanted to foster peace between Skrulls and Krees in Captain Marvel.
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Jodie Foster as Bonnie Stoll
Two-time Academy Award-winner Jodie Foster takes on the role of Bonnie Stoll in Nyad, a coach, ex-lover, and good friend of Diana, who will be guiding her as she prepares for her long-distance swim. An accomplished athlete herself, Bonnie was renowned on the Professional Racquetball Tour in the 1980s.
Foster began her acting career at the age of 3 in a television commercial for Coppertone, finding work in commercials and small TV roles. In 1976, she got her breakout (though controversial) role in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, which gained her an Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category. Over the years, Foster has not only excelled in front of the screen, but has also made a name for herself as a director and producer in movies and TV shows like Walking The Dead, Orange Is the New Black, The Beaver, House of Cards, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, and Black Mirror. Her well-known acting projects are The Silence of the Lambs, Contact, The Brave One, Hotel Artemis, The Addams Family, True Detective, and Gunsmoke.
Rhys Ifans as John Bartlett
Rhys Ifans plays John Bartlett in Nyad, a professional navigator, who will be accompanying Diana Nyad on her dangerous swim between Cuba and Florida.
At the star of his career, Ifans was involved in many stage productions before embarking on a film career with Welsh-language projects. Of these films, Twin Town gained him global recognition. In English-language cinema, Ifans notably starred as Spike, the unhygienic flatmate of Hugh Grant’s William Thacker, in one of the most popular rom-coms of all time, Notting Hill. In addition to smaller indie films, he has appeared in big franchises, playing Dr. Curt Connors in Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Amazing Spider-Man, Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1, and Ser Otto Hightower in HBO’s House of the Dragon.
Other Cast and Characters
Karly Rothenberg, who is popularly known for her role of Madge “Pudge” Mansen in The Office, plays Boat Captain Dee Brady. Portraying the role of jellyfish researcher and scientist, Angel Yanagihara, is Jeena Yi, whom you might have seen in Only Murders in the Building, where played Amy Huang, one of the residents in the Arconia building.
Nyad also serves as the feature film debut for Luke Cosgrave, who is known for his television role in The Mist. He portrays shark expert Luke Tipple. A Savannah Hunting star Anna Harriette Pittman brings to life a younger Diana Nyad. Also joining the cast are: Eric T. Miller as Coach Jack Nelson, Ethan Jones Romero as Nico Gazzale, and Johnny Solo as Aris Nyad.
Stream Nyad on Netflix
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
