The CW’s All American is one of the more underrated and important shows on television today. It tackles serious subject matter almost weekly while still focusing on the character development and football aspects of the series. It also boasts one of the most impressive casts of young talent anywhere.
Most of the main characters are teenagers but are played by actors in their 20s and early 30s. They have long careers ahead of them and have also appeared in some notable movies and TV shows to this point already. There are also veteran actors playing the adults who you’ll also recognize.
10 Chelsea Tavares (Patience) – Unfabulous
The biggest role of Chelsea Tavares’ career so far is her current one as Patience on All American. Patience is a talented singer and songwriter who is also the love interest of Coop. She has been through some rough patches in recent episodes due to an issue while on tour.
Long before All American, Tavares was most known for a role on Unfabulous. It was there that she portrayed Cranberry St. Claire, the best friend of the show’s resident mean girl. She also had recurring roles on both Just Jordan and Queen of the South.
9 Monet Mazur (Laura Fine-Baker) – Torque
Although Monet Mazur has been acting since way back in 1993, she isn’t a household name. She has mostly had some smaller roles in movies and her turn as D.A. Laura Fine-Baker in All American is probably the biggest part of her career so far.
Mazur has shown up in all sorts of films from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery to The House Bunny to 40 Days and 40 Nights. A rather big role for her came in 2004’s Torque, a movie about bikers and drugs. She played Shane, the longtime girlfriend of the protagonist.
8 Karimah Westbrook (Grace James) – Suburbicon
Karimah Westbrook is in a similar boat to Monet Mazur in that she has been acting for a long time but All American is her biggest role. There, she portrays Grace James, mom Spencer and Dillon and former lover of Billy Baker. She shines as someone who always gives sage motherly advice.
Westbrook debuted back in 2000 and her first film role was a small part in 2001’s Save the Last Dance. Most of her movie appearances are relatively minor and on TV she is known for guest roles. She showed up as Mrs. Mayers in 2017’s Suburbicon.
7 Taye Diggs (Billy Baker) – Equilibrium
In terms of being a veteran actor, Taye Diggs might top the list on this series. The former singer had dozens of credits before he landed arguably his best role ever as Coach Billy Baker on All American. Billy has made plenty of mistakes on the show but he’s always there for his family and players.
There are indeed many options to choose from in Diggs’s career including How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Chicago, and Private Practice. 2002’s Equilibrium is an interesting one though, as it put Diggs (Andrew Brandt) alongside Christian Bale in a rare sci-fi/action flick for him.
6 Cody Christian (Asher Adams) – Assassination Nation
Asher Adams starts All American as a guy who is seemingly just a friend of the more important characters. However, over the seasons he has developed a lot to show his troubled home life, steroid use, and his growth from it all. Cody Christian nails every aspect of the role.
Christian has kind of been everywhere. That includes a BAFTA-nominated voice role in Final Fantasy VII Remake and a recurring part as Mike Montgomery in Pretty Little Liars. However, it should be noted that he had a role as a jerk jock named Johnny in Sam Levinson’s creative 2018 film, Assassination Nation.
5 Michael Evans Behling (Jordan Baker) – Grey’s Anatomy
Michael Evans Behling has the fewest total credits of anyone on the All American cast. He plays Jordan Baker, the quarterback at Beverly Hills High, brother to Olivia, and friend of both Spencer and Asher. His quality performance has helped boost his career.
Behling recently landed a role in A Cinderella Story: Starstruck. Other than that and All American, he only has two acting credits. They were in one episode each of Grey’s Anatomy and Empire.
4 Bre-Z (Tamia “Coop” Cooper) – Empire
Speaking of Empire, Michael Evans Behling wasn’t the only cast member to make an appearance on the series. Bre-Z also did so, which is fitting given that she plays Tamia “Coop” Cooper on All American and is an aspiring rapper there, giving it a music industry connection.
While Bre-Z is most known for her real life rapping skills, she has appeared in things like The New Edition Story and Tales. Empire was her most notable role, working in 31 episodes as Freda Gatz, a female rapper who forms a close bond with protagonist Lucious Lyon.
3 Greta Onieogou (Layla Keating) – Heartland
Canadian actress Greta Onieogou has one of the toughest tasks on All American. Playing Layla Keating comes with a lot of emotional drama that means the actor has to deliver with big performances on an almost weekly basis.
Her most popular credits are an episode each of Schitt’s Creek and Anne With an E, as well as a recurring part on Heroes Reborn. However, the biggest role of her career was as Soraya Duval, best friend of Amy Fleming, for 50 episodes of Heartland.
2 Samantha Logan (Olivia Baker) – 13 Reasons Why
Samantha Logan has arguably been the best part of the third season of All American. Her character, Olivia Baker, is getting a ton of shine regarding her substance addiction, as well as her storyline surrounding racial injustice and how things are different for her since she’s the daughter of a D.A. and bi-racial.
Logan is an underrated queen of teen dramas. She appeared in a few episodes of Teen Wolf and then had a recurring role on The Fosters. Around the same time All American debuted, Logan was in every episode of season 2 of Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why as Nina Jones. She formed a bond with Jessica over their tragic pasts regarding sexual assault.
1 Daniel Ezra (Spencer James) – A Discovery Of Witches
Although he’s not even 30 years old, Daniel Ezra hasn’t been acting all that long, getting started when he was 18. Landing the leading role of high school football star Spencer James on All American was certainly the biggest break of his young career.
For the most part, his career is similar to his co-stars in that it involves a lot of roles on various TV shows. That includes Prime Suspect 1973 and Undercover. It’s worth checking out A Discovery of Witches, based on the All Souls trilogy of books. There he played Nathaniel Wilson, a daemon.
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