A couple weeks after Netflix cast Ellen Page (Flatliners) in the lead role of The Umbrella Academy adaptation, the streaming service has now rounded out its cast of dysfunctional superheroes in the Hargreeve family. Joining Page in the series are Tom Hopper (Black Sails) as Luther, Emmy Raver-Lampman (Broadway’s Hamilton) as Allison, David Castañeda (Soldado) as Diego, Robert Sheehan (Misfits) as Klaus and Aidan Gallagher (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn) as Number Five.
The character descriptions for the new cast members are:
- Luther (Hopper) – Luther was groomed by his father from an early age to be the leader of The Umbrella Academy – a responsibility that has always weighed heavily on him. He is resilient, a workaholic, and possesses the ability of heightened physical strength. Upstanding to a fault, Luther always tries to do the right thing, even if that means putting others before himself.
- Allison (Raver-Lampman) – Allison is beautiful, elegant, and a formerly world-famous movie star who possesses the power of suggestion – anything she says aloud comes to pass. Her life seems perfect from the outside, but her ability has undermined every relationship she’s ever had. With her career on the decline and her marriage in shambles, she refuses to use her power as she seeks a more authentic life.
- Diego (Castañeda) – Diego is a skilled, intense vigilante who has a real problem with authority. He isn’t as naturally strong or smart as his siblings, so he’s worked three times as hard for everything. Believing he should have been the leader of his family instead of his brother, he carries a massive chip on his shoulder that makes him hostile to just about everyone.
- Number Five (Gallagher) – Number Five appears to be a thirteen year old boy, but in actuality he is a fifty-eight-year-old man trapped in the body of a child. He doesn’t suffer fools and is the smartest person in the room. He’s haunted by the things he’s seen and done, and is on the verge of losing his grip on reality.
- Klaus (Sheehan) – Klaus is a drug addict and lovable mess of a human being and yet, if you ask him, any day now his life is going to turn around. He’s a classic “middle child” – a disarming pleaser who is seemingly everyone’s friend, but will rob you blind without thinking twice.
The Umbrella Academy follows the dysfunctional family of the Hargreeves, a group of young superheroes that come together in order to solve their father’s mysterious murder. Fargo’s Steve Blackman will executive producer and showrun the series while The Exorcist’s Jeremy Slater has written the pilot. Series creator Gerard Way will also serve as a co-executive producer. Way created the series in 2007 with Gabriel Bá illustrating the art and was published by Dark Horse Comics.
Based on the popular, Eisner award-winning comics and graphic novels the series follows the estranged members of a dysfunctional family of superheroes (The Umbrella Academy) — The Monocle, Spaceboy, The Kraken, The Rumor, The Séance, Number Five, The Horror, and The White Violin — as they work together to solve their father’s mysterious death while coming apart at the seams due to their divergent personalities and abilities.
Originally published December 1, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
