Master Cast & Character Guide | Screen Rant
Mariama Diallo's directorial debut Master is a thought-provoking gut-punch of a movie thanks to its exceptional cast of characters. Following its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2022, and domestic premiere at SXSW on March 14, 2022, Master is set for a March 18th, 2022 release date exclusively streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Master has already garnered highly positive views, with many critics praising Diallo's film for its well-crafted premise and cutting social commentary akin to Jordan Peele's Get Out.
Master follows three young women striving to find their place and purpose in a prestigious New England university. The trio, however, quickly begins to suspect more malevolent forces are at play following a series of uncanny events at the Ivy League school. Their fears are only exacerbated by the boorish, predominantly white undergraduate students, who are not only blind to the supernatural events but also amplify the taut campus politics at play throughout Master - leading to a fervently tense finale.
As a result, Mariama Diallo's Master requires a pitch-perfect cast able to underscore the social, racial, and spiritual divides at play throughout the film. Regina Hall is the pick of the bunch here, performing her role as the nervy yet distinguished scholar caught between her ambitions and unease at the university's tonal undercurrents. Here's a guide to the cast and characters of Master, as well as where you know each actor from.
As aforementioned, Master's Gail Bishop is a distinguished scholar with a respected publication record, who is both thrilled and apprehensive when she receives notice she has been appointed as the first black woman “master” to one of the university’s constituent houses. As Master progresses, Gail finds herself forced to choose between her Ivy League status and avoiding the impending doom pervading the school's halls. Gail Bishop is played by Regina Hall, who is perhaps best known for playing Brenda Meeks in the Scary Movie franchise and Lisa Carter in The Hate U Give.
Jasmine Moore acts as the first of the trio that Master audiences see, with Jasmine's elation at getting into the Ivy League school quickly turning bitter. Upon induction, Jasmine discovers her dorm room is the site where the university’s first black female student took her own life in the 1960s, setting off Master's chain of suspicious and eerie events. Jasmine Moore is played by Zoe Renee, with Master being Zoe Renee's breakout star role.
Of Master's three main characters, Liv Beckman is by far the most affable, slotting in as Gail's friend and Jasmine's tutor as an authority on theory and literature. Liv is a more radical figure than Gail on issues of racism around the campus, whose tenure consideration throws a spanner in the pair's friendship. Liv is played by Amber Gray in Amazon's Master, who is best known for her successful career in theatre stretching back to 2004.
Talia Ryder as Amelia: Jasmine's less-than-supportive roommate Amelia acts as the embodiment of the entitled and ostracizing feeling that pervades Master's Ivy League university. Amelia is played by Talia Ryder, who is best known for her recent turn as Tessie in West Side Story.