The 2024 romantic-comedy movie Space Cadet follows Emma Roberts as an unconventional hopeful astronaut with a hilarious supporting cast. The original Prime Video movie takes an interesting approach to the space movie subgenre through Roberts’ character and the rest of the astronaut candidates, comically referred to as “Ascans.” While Space Cadet is certainly a comedy with romantic elements, it has an important message and a lot of heart behind it. Space Cadet can make viewers laugh out loud and tear up in its nearly 2-hour runtime.

Space Cadet was written and directed by Liz W. Garcia, who was once tasked with writing a draft of Princess Diaries 3. Garcia is also known for co-writing the popular 2022 Netflix romantic drama Purple Hearts. Unlike that movie, Space Cadet focuses far more on its comedy than the romance, with a character-driven story that helps it fit in with other comedy movies directed by women, like Clueless. Much of what’s endearing about Space Cadet comes from the cast and their performances as their unique, memorable characters.

Emma Roberts As Rex Simpson

Date of Birth: February 10, 1991

• Active Since: 2001

Actor: American actor Emma Roberts, who comes from an acting family, debuted in 2001’s Blow, but gained recognition at 13 while starring in the Nickelodeon series Unfabulous. Roberts’ career hasn’t slowed down since, as she’s appeared in numerous films, many of which were romantic comedies, and television shows since. Roberts is perhaps now best known for her collaborations with Ryan Murphy in the American Horror Story anthology series and the comedy horror series Scream Queens.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Emma Roberts plays the lead character, Rex Simpson, in Space Cadet, a woman from Florida in her early 30s who dreams of being an astronaut. Though Rex may not be traditionally qualified to go to space, she has the necessary smarts, passion, and drive.

Tom Hopper As Logan O’Leary

Date of Birth: January 23, 1985

• Active Since: 2007

Actor: English actor Tom Hopper was born in Leicestershire, England, and started to study acting as a teenager. After appearing onstage and having small onscreen roles, Tom Hopper had his breakthrough role as Sir Percival in Merlin. Following Merlin, Hopper starred in the American historical adventure series Black Sails and had a role in Game of Thrones. Hopper’s most notable role as of late has been as Luther Hargreeves in Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: In Space Cadet, Tom Hopper plays Logan O’Leary, Rex’s superior at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Logan is also Rex’s main romantic interest, as he is intrigued by her eccentric behavior typically unfitting for an astronaut.

Poppy Liu As Nadine Cai

Date of Birth: January 11, 1991

• Active Since: 2018

Actor: Actor Poppy Liu was born in Xi’an, China, and was raised between Minnesota and Shanghai. Liu began performing as a young child and, in 2018, had her first main onscreen role in the television show Mercy Mistress. Liu has mainly worked in television, with multiple short films to her name as well. Liu’s projects are mostly comedic, such as Hacks, but in 2023, Liu starred in the psychological thriller miniseries Dead Ringers.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Poppy Liu stars in Space Cadet as Nadine Cai, Rex’s best friend who supports Rex’s dreams but wants her to be realistic. For better or worse, Nadie is instrumental in helping Rex succeed.

Kuhoo Verma As Violet Marie Vislawski

Date of Birth: October 9, 1996

• Active Since: 2017

Actor: American actor Kuhoo Verma had her feature film debut in 2017’s The Big Sick. She has starred in multiple short films since and appeared in two episodes of the 2019 miniseries Insomnia. Verma is best known for co-starring in the Hulu coming-of-age comedy film Plan B with Victoria Moroles. The actor has also been featured in multiple episodes of the podcast series Play on Podcasts.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Kuhoo Verma plays Rex’s roommate and fellow Ascan in Space Cadet, Violet Marie Vislawski. Violet Marie, or Vi as Rex calls her, struggles with her confidence and she and Rex find ways to help each other out.

Space Cadet Supporting Cast & Characters

Space Cadet Has A Strong Ensemble Cast

Gabrielle Union As Pam Proctor – Gabrielle Union is featured in Space Cadet as Pam Proctor, a highly-respected NASA astronaut who helps run the astronaut training program. Union had her breakthrough role in Bring It On and has since starred in Bad Boys II, Cadillac Records, Think Like a Man, L.A.’s Finest, and Truth Be Told.

Sam Robards As Calvin Simpson – Sam Robards plays Rex’s widowed father, Calvin Simpson, who runs a scam ghost encounter business. Robards began as a stage actor and received a Tony Award nomination for his work in the Broadway revival of The Man Who Had All the Luck. He has appeared onscreen in The Tempest, Fandango, American Beauty, Gossip Girl, Twisted, and Isle of Hope.

Desi Lydic As Dr. Stacy Kellogg – Desi Lydic plays Dr. Stacy Kellogg, the most intense Ascan, who quickly becomes Rex’s rival. Lydic, an actor and comedian, previously starred in Awkward, Invasion, and The Real Wedding Crashes, and is a senior correspondent on The Daily Show.

Sebastián Yatra As Toddrick Spencer – Toddrick Spencer, Rex’s former classmate who started his own private space company, is played by Sebastián Yatra. Yatra is primarily known as a Grammy Award-nominated Colombian singer who also worked on the soundtracks of A Man Called Otto and Encanto.

Dave Foley As Rudolph Bolton – Dave Foley joins the Space Cadet supporting cast as Rudolph Bolton, the head of the astronaut training program. The Canadian-American actor is also a stand-up comedian who co-founded The Kids in the Hall comedy group. Foley is best known for NewsRadio, A Bug’s Life, Dick, Monster’s University, and Fargo.

Yasha Jackson As Grace Jackson – Yasha Jackson plays another Ascan, Grace Jackson, who boasts an impressive, secretive military background. Jackson has appeared in Blue Bloods and The Flight Attendant and was featured in the romantic comedy The Hating Game.

Andrew Call As Captain Jack Mancini – Andrew Call’s character in Space Cadet, Ascan Captain Jack Mancini is nicknamed “Captain America” for his military background, patriotism, and looks. Call previously had roles in Grease Live! And Z: The Beginning of Everything and was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for his performance in Resident Musical.

Josephine Huang As Miriam Osprey – Josephine Huang plays Miriam Osprey in Space Cadet, a quieter, somewhat unnerving Ascan. Huang, a first-generation Taiwanese-American actor-director, has guest-starred in numerous television shows, including The Following and Ramy. She was also featured in Common Ground – The Web Series.

Troy Iwata As Hector Kaneko – Troy Iwata rounds out the Ascan group as Hector Kaneko, a confident, sometimes conceited Ascan. Iwata’s most notable roles were in the 2020 Netflix series Dash & Lily and the 2022 Apple TV+ miniseries WeCrashed.

Tomás Matos As Johnny – One of Rex’s best friends in Space Cadet, Johnny, is played by Tomás Matos. The “Fame” school graduate first gained attention for his performance in the 2022 Hulu romantic comedy Fire Island. Motas also appeared in episodes of Fantasmas.

Fergie L. Philippe As Bingo – Fergie L. Phillipe plays Bingo, Nadine’s boyfriend and father of her baby in Space Cadet. Philippe has previously appeared in Here on Out and The Gilded Age and has multiple Broadway credits.