Painkiller on Netflix: Full cast list

Netflix's latest original limited series, Painkiller, has already started making waves with its hard-hitting premise that revolves around the opioid crisis in America. The drama series is due to release on the streaming platform Netflix on August 10, 2023.

Painkiller features Uzo Aduba, Matthew Broderick, Sam Anderson, Taylor Kitsch, Carolina Bartczak, Tyler Ritter, John Ales, Ron Lea, Ana Cruz Kayne, West Duchovny, Jack Mulhern, Dina Shihabi, John Rothman, John Murphy, and Noah Harpster in varying roles. Meanwhile, the official synopsis by Netflix reads,

"The causes and consequences of America's opioid epidemic unfold in this drama following its perpetrators, victims, and an investigator seeking the truth."

The Netflix drama series is based on the New Yorker article by Patrick Radden Keefe titled The Family That Built an Empire of Pain and Barry Meier's Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic.

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Netflix's Painkiller cast list explored

1) Uzo Aduba as Edie

Uzoamaka Nwanneka Aduba, the American actress of Nigerian descent, has been cast as Edie Flowers who is an investigator with the US attorney’s office. She takes up the case against Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, and tries to take them down as the lead prosecutor.

Uzo Aduba shot to fame with her portrayal of Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in the hit Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019).

Aduba won two Emmys - Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2014, an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2015, and two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series in 2014 and 2015.

The 42-year-old actress went on to work in films like Candy Jar (2018), Miss Virginia (2019), and Lightyear (2022).

2) Matthew Broderick as Richard Sackler

Richard Stephen Sackler was the chairman and president of Purdue Pharma and found himself involved in a number of lawsuits due to the connection with the opioid crisis in America.

Matthew Broderick, from the fame of Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1995), picks up the role of Richard Sackler in Painkiller.

The 61-year-old actor was born in Manhattan and is presently married to Sarah Jessica Parker. Broderick was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 with his star and subsequently found a place in the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2017.

3) Sam Anderson as Raymond Sackler

Sam Anderson, the 76-year-old actor who played Bernard Nadler on Lost, was cast in Painkiller as Raymond Sackler. Sackler had acquired Purdue Pharma along with his brothers Arthur and Mortimer following which the Sackler family got heavily involved in the direct manufacturing of opioids in the American pharmaceutical market.

The American actor, Sam Anderson, was recently seen as Tate Walker in the Daisy Edgar Jones film Where the Crawdads Sing (2022). He has been credited with films like Ouija: Origin of Evil, Forrest Gump, and 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.

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The cast includes West Duchovny as Shannon Schaeffer, the new sales hire in Purdue who is also a former collegiate athlete, and Taylor Kitsch as Glen Kryger, the mechanic whose back injury decapitates his usual life. Meanwhile, Carolina Bartczak from the fame of X-Men: Apocalypse will play Glen's wife, Lily Kryger.

Watch the Painkiller as it premieres globally on Netflix on August 10, 2023.