The 2018 movie Rust Creek is full of nail-biting suspense and thrill, and it owes this to its talented cast of actors. The film, which made its way to Netflix’s US Top 10 in April 2024, is an intriguing survival thriller following an ambitious young woman who winds up on the wrong road (literally and figuratively) entirely because of chance. This leads her through a series of horrible luck and terror, and her will to survive and an unlikely connection with a shadowy figure is left as her only hope.
Rust Creek, an indie film directed by Jen McGowan and written by Julie Lipson and Stu Pollard, was an unexpected critical success. The film managed an 85% “Certified Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes, where critics praised the film’s unique Appalachian setting for contributing to its chilling tone and thrilling premise. A great deal of the credit also goes to Rust Creek‘s underdog cast. Actors like Hermione Corfield and Jay Paulson gave surprisingly intimate performances, allowing the 2018 film to shine.
London-born actor Hermione Corfield landed her first film in 2014 with the movie Colton’s Big Night, in which she played the character Anna. From there, she gained notoriety for her role opposite Ian McKellen and Laura Linney in 2015’s Mr. Holmes and with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nations that same year. Corfield’s career only accelerated from that point forward, and she appeared in movies like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) and Bees Make Honey (2017). Rust Creek is among Corfield’s more celebrated roles, leading to her being cast in 2024’s Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
Corfield plays Sawyer Scott in Rust Creek, a college senior who begins a trip across the country for a job interview. Naturally, Sawyer tells no one of this since she doesn’t want to tell her friends and family if she is denied the job. This means that when she runs into trouble in the Appalachian forest, no one knows where she is. After accidentally witnessing a crime, Cortfield’s Rust Creek character begins a traumatic bid for survival.
New York-born actor Jay Paulson first gained notoriety from his recurring role on the 1995 comedy series Cybill, where he played Zoe’s boyfriend, Sean. From there, Paulson appeared in various movies, including the 2003 film Rolling Kansas, 2011’s Red & Blue Marbles, and 2014’s Lucky Bastard. Still, he is best known for his TV roles, making appearances in popular series like The West Wing (in 2005), Bones (in 2012), and The Glades (in 2013). Of the dozens of TV shows he has appeared in, Paulson is most recognized for playing Ady Whitman in several episodes of the AMC series Mad Men.
In 2018’s Rust Creek, Paulson plays Lowell Pritchert, a meth cook who finds Sawyer after her altercation with two criminals. The men who had attacked her happen to be Lowell’s cousins and colleagues, but desiring to protect her, he hides Sawyer away in his home. The two bond, increasing Lowell’s dedication to getting Sawyer safely out of the forest.
Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, actor and producer Sean O’Bryan has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows since he began his career in 1991 when he appeared in the film Frankie and Johnny. Since then, his notable film roles have included I’ll Be Home for Christmas (1998), The Princess Diaries (2001), Big Fat Liar (2002), Yes Man (2008), and Jumping the Gun (2020). O’Bryan’s TV appearances include prominent series like Richard Dean Anderson’s MacGyver (in 1991), Quantum Leap (in 1992), Beverly Hills, 90210 (1993), Touched by an Angel (in 1997), The King of Queens (in 2000), Criminal Minds (in 2007), The Middle (from 2011 to 2018), Glee (in 2014), and much, much more.
O’Bryan plays O’Doyle in Rust Creek, the local sheriff who is entirely disinterested in the abandoned car that Deputy Nick Katz has become so suspicious of. Of course, this vehicle belonged to Sawyer, and after it goes missing shortly after being reported, O’Doyle suspiciously instructs Katz to forget about the whole thing.
Micah Hauptman got his start appearing in several minor roles in the early 2000s before landing a more notable role in the 2013 film Parker with Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez. After this, in 2015, Hauptman claimed the leading role in the 2015 movie In Stereo and played the on-screen version of real-life figure David Breashears in the film Everest that same year. Since playing in Rust Creek in 2018, Hauptman has appeared in 2020’s The Boy Behind the Door and Phobias. The actor’s notable TV appearances include Supernatural (in 2011), Masters of Sex (in 2013), and an episode of White Collar (in 2013).
Hauptman plays Hollister in Rust Creek, a member of a drug organization in Appalachia whom Sawyer inadvertently witnessed burying a body. Hollister and his brother, Buck, thus approach Sawyer in her car, hoping to tie up their loose end. Of course, Sawyer manages to escape the two men and is taken under the wing of Hollister’s cousin and colleague, Lowell.
Daniel R. Hill was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, and began his career acting on-stage with theaters like Kentucky Shakespeare, and landed his first on-screen role in the 2016 short film Kins.Rust Creek is his most notable movie role, though he played Chad Anderson in three episodes of the Fox series The Resident in 2018. Hill also played Cheetah in the 2019 Netflix movie Point Blank and the character Black in the 2021 film Cherry from the Russo Brothers.
Hill plays Buck in Rust Creek, the brother of Hollister and cousin to Lowell. Buck noticed Sawyer in the vicinity while he and Hollister were disposing of a body, and this led the brothers to begin a mad hunt for the woman in the Appalachian forest.
New York-born actor Jeremy Glazer landed his first on-screen role in 2002 when he was cast as Chad in the TV series Providence, and in the years following, he played roles in prominent shows like 7th Heaven (in 2003), ER (in 2004), Veronica Mars (in 2007), and Numb3rs (in 2008). More recently, Glazer played Kieran in an episode of Modern Family (in 2018), Avery Ward in The Good Fight (in 2019), and Douglas Pritchard in a 2023 episode of NCIS. Glazer’s movie roles include Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), Moonlight Serenade (2009), and 2020’s On the Ride, which he also co-wrote and produced.
Glazer plays Nick Katz in Rust Creek, a local deputy who takes a special interest in Sawyer’s abandoned car. Katz is immediately suspicious of the vehicle and begins an investigation into its owner’s potential disappearance, much to the annoyance of Sherrif O’Doyle. When O’Doyle refuses to take the situation seriously, Katz gets the Kentucky State Police involved, leading Commander Douglas Slattery to take matters into his own hands.
John Marshall Jones as Commander Douglas Slattery – John Marshall Jones plays Commander Douglas Slattery in Rust Creek, a Kentucky State Police officer who comes to town to investigate Sawyer’s disappearance. Jones is best known for his ongoing role as Uncle Ronny in Paramount’s Paradise Lost and Malcolm Peters in the ABC series Grand Hotel.
Laura Guzman as Charlotte – Laura Guzman plays Charlotte in Rust Creek. She is best known for her roles in Seventh Grade (2014) and the 2020 HBO series Rizo, in which she plays Cristina.
Virginia Schneider as Donna – Virginia Schneider is best known for her roles in Bosch (2014), Too Old to Die Young (2019), and, of course, Rust Creek, in which she plays the character Donna, Sawyer’s mother.
Denise Dal Vera as Mrs. Gander – Oakland, California-born actor Denise Dal Vera plays Mrs. Gander in Rust Creek. Dal Vera is best known for playing Dandra Tennant in 2019’s Dark Waters and Alice in 2017’s My Days of Mercy.