The American Rust characters list is filled with talented actors playing archetypes. Dan Futterman created the Showtime series, based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Philipp Meyer that focuses on the crumbling American middle class. American Rust follows a murder case that stirs the residents of a fictional town called Buell in the American Rust Belt — a region in the Northeastern and Midwest United States, extending from the eastern parts of Illinois and Wisconsin to the north and western parts of Pennsylvania and New York.
The Rust Belt experienced economic hardship throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries — and American Rust‘s story takes place in the midst of it all. But while it’s not about the Rust Belt in particular, American Rust is set in the backdrop of that region, with the core story being about a detective investigating a murder, with the accused suspect being someone close to him. So it makes sense why Showtime needed a strong cast to portray the American Rust characters that bring this story to life.
Actor: The lead of the American Rust characters is led by Jeff Daniels. The actor enjoyed his breakout role in Terms of Endearment (1983), which earned him his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Since that time, he has appeared in a variety of comedies and drama films, including The Purple Rose of Cairo, Something Wild, Arachnophobia, Dumb and Dumber, Pleasantville, The Squid and the Whale. He also starred in TV shows The Newsroom and Godless, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Lead Actor in both.
Character: Jeff Daniels stars in American Rust as Del Harris, a small-town Police Chief in Buell. He is a war veteran who lives alone in a cabin in the woods and takes several medications as he battles post-traumatic stress from his military duty. He also has a woman that he loves (Grace Poe), and his commitment to her is put to the test when her son Billy is accused of murder.
Actor: Maura Tierney plays Grace Poe in the American Rust characters. Tierney enjoyed her breakout role in the 1990 cult classic TV series, NewsRadio, where she starred as Lisa Miller, an on-air personality who also had a relationship with Dave Foley’s Dave Nelson. Her biggest role was in the Grey’s Anatomy cast, where she played Nurse Abby Lockhart and earned herself an Emmy nomination. Tierney also starred with Jeff Daniels in Newsroom, in the movie Beautiful Boy with Timothée Chalamet, and won a Golden Globe in The Affair.
Character: Grace Poe is the love interest of Police Chief Del Harris, whom she calls a “good man.” Working as a dress factory employee and labor organizer, her relationship with Del is put to the test when his investigation of a murder leads him to her son, Billy, a parolee who might be innocent of the entire ordeal.
Actor: Alex Neustaedter plays Grace’s son, Billy, in American Rust. His debut feature film appearance came in the low-budget horror movie Albino Farm, which stars professional wrestler Chris Jericho. After getting a small role as the young version of Christian Ward in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., he moved on to one of the main roles in the sci-fi movie Colony as Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies’ teenage son Bram. He also appeared in movies such as A.X.L., American Woman, and Things Heard & Seen.
Character: Billy Poe is a parolee who ends up sucked into the murder case as the top suspect. His mother is Grace Poe, who is dating the Police Chief, Del Harris. This means that Del spent most of the series trying to prove Billy’s innocence, which he did — but too late to really save the young man.
Actor: David Alvarez plays Isaac English in the American Rust cast. Alvarez is more popular off the big screen than on it. He was one of the original Billys in the Broadway production, Billy Elliot the Musical. He was one of the youngest performers to ever win a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. However, outside of American Rust, Alvarez’s only major role came as Bernardo Vasquez in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story.
Character: Isaac English is Billy’s best friend and someone who longs to escape his hometown. He ended up being one of the most important American Rust characters, as it was he who committed the murder that Billy was arrested for. However, Isaac committed the murder to protect Billy, and Police Chief Del Harris ended up protecting Isaac and covering things up for him at the end of the first season.
Actor: Bill Camp plays Henry English in American Rust. Camp has a long career, mostly as a supporting character actor in several major movies. Since 1998, he has appeared in Rounders as Eisenberg, Public Enemies as Frank Nitti, Lincoln as Mr. Jolly, 12 Years A Slave as Radburn, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer as Matthew Williams. More recently, he appeared in Joker as Detective Garrity, in Sound of Freedom as Vampiro, and in Drive-Away Dolls as Curlie. He also appeared in The Queen’s Gambit as Mr. Shaibel.
Character: Henry English is Isaac’s father, and he is the reason that his son never had a chance to go to college and escape his hometown. Henry is a wheelchair user and is also very ill, which forces Isaac to remain in Buell to help care for him. It was Henry who kicked things off in a way when Isaac, tiring of remaining trapped in Beull, stole $4,000 from his dad and tried to escape to California. When some guys try to rob him and Billy of that money, Isaac commits his murder.
Actor: Julia Mayorga plays Isaac’s older sister, Lee. As an actor, Mayorga has very little experience on TV or in movies. Her role in American Rust was the most extensive of her career. In 2023, she starred in Rare Objects and also performed the song “Truth Hurts” on the soundtrack for that movie. Her only other on-screen credit was a short film called It Is Decidedly So in 2018, which happened to be directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and his brother Oliver Gondry.
Character: Lee English is Isaac’s older sister, and she once had a romantic history with Billy. However, she left home after she married a wealthy man, escaping her hometown of Buell for a life in New York, only to return home during the first season. However, her life is shaken up when her ex, Billy, ends up in a coma and her father dies by suicide.
Actor: Rob Yang plays Deputy Steve Park in American Rust, Del’s partner with the Buell police department. Yang has appeared in several movies over his career, including The Adjustment Bureau, The Bourne Legacy, True Story, Glass, and The Menu. However, his biggest success has come on TV. On top of playing an American Rust character, Yang also starred in The Resident as Logan Kim, Succession as Lawrence Yee, and Rabbit Hole as Edward Homm.
Character: Steve Park starts in American Rust season 1 as Chief Harris’s partner, but by the end, he is in charge of the department and Harris has left for the big city again. However, Steve plays a much bigger role in season 2 as he becomes more than obsessed with proving that Del and Grace are guilty of more crimes than anyone could know. This all comes to an explosive conclusion when Del comes clean with what he has done and Grace takes matters into her own hands concerning the new Chief’s threat.
Actor: Kyle Beltran plays Detective Ramon Fisher in American Rust. Beltran got his main start on the stage, where he worked as a Broadway star in shows like The Cherry Orchardand In the Heights as the lead, Usnavi. The latter role got him a lot of attention, especially after the stage play was turned into a movie with Anthony Ramos playing his character. However, Beltran moved into other areas of entertainment, including Inventing Anna as Alexi and American Horror Story: NYC as Morris.
Character: Detective Ramon Fisher is a member of the Brotherhood in American Rust season 2. This is a group that works for the Pittsburgh police department and chooses to commit extrajudicial murder instead of actually solving crimes and arresting suspects. He ends up at odds with Del Harris, who returns to Pittsburgh and takes a place on the force, only to set out and try to find out more about the Brotherhood and stop them. This makes him the main antagonist of Del’s part of season 2.
Mark Pellegrino as Virgil Poe – Mark Pellegrino plays Virgil Poe, Billy’s father in American Rust. He got his start acting with some small roles on TV shows and a few movies, including cult favorite No Holds Barred, co-starring Hulk Hogan. He also appeared in The Big Lebowski as the Blonde Treehorn Thug, in Mulholland Drive as a hitman, Dick Hickock in Capote, and the mysterious Jacob in Lost. Many fans will remember him as Lucifer in Supernatural and as Deputy Bill Standall in 13 Reasons Why.
Jim True-Frost as Pete Novick – Jim True-Frost plays the murdered ex-cop central to American Rust. As an actor, his movie career has been limited, with notable films like Singles, The Hudsucker Proxy, and The Conspirator in his filmography. However, he has mostly been active on television. He appeared as a one-shot guest in everything from The Good Wife and Boardwalk Empire to The Blacklist and Yellowstone. He has also starred as a series regular in The Wire, where he played former police officer Roland “Prez” Pryzbylewski.