Ari Aster’s feature directorial debut Hereditary is a psychological horror story that takes the audience on a wild and terrifying ride along with the Graham family. Ari Aster's filmmaking career began with short films in the late 2000s and became widely known thanks to his 2011 short film The Strange Thing About the Johnsons. After a couple more short films, Aster made his feature-length directorial debut in 2018 with Hereditary, also written by him.
Hereditary follows the Graham family, who are grieving the death of their secretive grandmother. This begins to reveal a series of disturbing family secrets, as well as unleashing a series of sinister occurrences, including one more family tragedy. The Grahams soon learn they are no longer safe and are being watched, but the reasons behind all that are beyond what they could have ever imagined. Hereditary is not only very well-written and directed, but it also has an incredible cast full of talented and well-known actors.
Actor
Character
Toni Collette
Annie Graham
Alex Wolff
Peter Graham
Gabriel Byrne
Steve Graham
Milly Shapiro
Charlie Graham
Toni Collette as Annie Graham
Date of Birth: November 1, 1972
Active Since: 1990
Actor: Toni Collette was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Toni Collette’s career began in music, appearing in Burger Brain - The Fast Food Musical and the variety show Blah Blah Blah. Colette made her acting debut in 1990 in A Country Practice, but she broke big in 1994 when she starred in Muriel’s Wedding. Other notable movies in Collette’s acting career are Emma, Velvet Goldmine, The Sixth Sense, The Hours, Little Miss Sunshine, Krampus, and Knives Out.
On TV, Collette starred as Tara Gregson in United States of Tara, Joy Richards in Wanderlust, Ellen Sanders in Hostages, Grace Rasmussen in Unbelievable, Laura Oliver in Pieces of Her, Kathleen Peterson in The Staircase, and Margot Cleary-Lopez in The Power. Collette also led the band Toni Collette & the Finish.
Notable Movies & TV Shows:
Movie/TV Show
Year
Muriel's Wedding
1994
Emma
1996
Velvet Goldmine
1998
The Sixth Sense
1999
The Hours
2002
Little Miss Sunshine
2005
United States of Tara
2009
Fright Night
2011
Krampus
2015
Hereditary
2018
Knives Out
2019
Nightmare Alley
2021
The Staircase
2022
Character: Annie Graham is a miniature artist living with her husband, 16-year-old son, and 13-year-old son. After her secretive mother passes away, she gradually learns all her dark secrets and how this will inevitably affect her family, putting them in great danger.
Alex Wolff as Peter Graham
Date of Birth: November 1, 1997
Active Since: 2005
Actor: Alex Wolff was born in New York City. Alex Wolff’s career began in the teen musical comedy movie The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie, where he starred alongside his brother, Nat Wolff. Wolff went on to star in the Nickelodeon TV series The Naked Brothers Band, where he also contributed lyrics, vocals, and instrumentation. On the big screen, Wolff appeared in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Jumanji: The Next Level, Pig, Old, Oppenheimer, and A Quiet Place: Day One.
Notable Movies & TV Shows:
Movie/TV Show
Year
The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie
2005
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
2016
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
2017
Hereditary
2018
Jumanji: The Next Level
2019
Pig
2021
Old
2021
Oppenheimer
2023
A Quiet Place: Day One
2024
Character: Peter Graham is Annie’s teenage son. Peter doesn’t have the best relationship with his mother, and it only gets worse after another major family tragedy he’s directly involved in.
Gabriel Byrne as Steve Graham
Date of Birth: May 12, 1950
Active Since: 1978
Actor: Gabriel Byrne was born in Dublin, Ireland. Gabriel Byrne had his start in theater and rose to fame when he joined the Irish drama TV series The Riordans. Byrne made his film debut in 1981 in the epic Excalibur, and in 1983, he starred in the miniseries Wagner. Among Byrne’s most notable movies are Little Women, The Usual Suspects, The Man in the Iron Mask, Vanity Fair, and From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. On TV, Byrne’s most notable projects are Bracken, In Treatment, and The War of the Worlds.
Notable Movies & TV Shows:
Movie/TV Show
Year
The Riordans
1978
Bracken
1980
Little Women
1994
The Usual Suspects
1995
The Man in the Iron Mask
1998
Vanity Fair
2004
In Treatment
2008
The War of the Worlds
2019
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina
2025
Character: Steve is Annie’s husband and father of Peter and Charlie. Steve is as supportive of Annie through her grief as he can but feels it has gone too far when Annie claims sinister things are going on around them following another major family tragedy.
Milly Shapiro as Charlie Graham
Date of Birth: July 16, 2002
Active Since: 2013
Actor: Milly Shapiro is an American actress. Milly Shapiro made her acting debut in theater, as the lead character in Matilda the Musical in 2013. Hereditary was Shapiro’s movie debut, and her next acting credit in film is Pumpkin in The Hallowarrior. On TV, Shapiro had minor appearances in Splitting Up Together and JJ Villard’s Fairy Tales before getting a recurring role in the horror-thriller comedy series Hysteria!.
Notable Movies & TV Shows:
Movie/TV Show
Year
Hereditary
2018
Hysteria!
2024
The Hallowarrior
2025
Character: Charlie is Annie and Steve’s daughter, and Peter’s younger sister. Charlie has a secret link to her deceased grandmother, which will trigger disturbing events.
Hereditary Supporting Cast & Characters
Meet The Rest Of The Cast Of Hereditary
Ann Dowd as Joan: a support group member who befriends Annie and tries to help her cope with her grief. Anne Dowd’s most notable projects are The Manchurian Candidate, Marley & Me, The Art of Getting By, Compliance, and The Exorcist: Believer. On TV, she’s best known for her work in Masters of Sex, The Leftovers, Good Behavior, and The Handmaid’s Tale.
Mallory Bechtel as Bridget: Peter’s schoolmate and crush. Mallory Bechtel was part of the stage productions of Bring It On: The Musical, Rent, and Dear Evan Hansen. On the big screen, she played Jam in Know Fear, and on TV, she played Kelly and Karen Beasley in Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.
Pat Barnett Carr as Ellen Leigh: Annie’s mother. Pat Barnett Carr appeared in the short films The Lonely Stranger, Legend of Zelda - The Blood Moon, and Broken Bread. Her appearance in Hereditary is uncredited.
The feature film debut of writer-director Ari Aster, Hereditary tells the story of the unwittingly cursed Graham family. Annie Graham (Toni Collette) lives with her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and their children Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). After the death of Annie's mother, the family is beset by disaster and stalked by a supernatural entity that dredges up a past that Annie had spent her life trying to overlook.
Release Date
June 8, 2018
Cast
Toni Collette
, Milly Shapiro
, Zachary Arthur
, Gabriel Byrne
, Mallory Bechtel
, Alex Wolff
, Ann Dowd
English (US) ·