Black Adam was released back in October and has since been a hit with audiences of the DCEU with its long sequences of strong violence, intense action, and a protagonist with a unique form of justice. It follows the origin story of Teth Adam, a man from ancient Egypt who finds himself fighting against the heroes of the modern world. The film has a large cast, with actors and actresses from all over that has a couple of movie watchers wondering where they actually knew them from. Let’s take a look at some of the Black Adam cast and what movies or tv shows you might know them from.
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Black Adam Cast & Characters New to the DCEU
Black Adam – Dwayne Johnson
Teth Adam was a slave in ancient Kahndaq whose son was gifted with the powers of Shazam (the stamina of Shu, the speed of Horus, the Strength of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti, the power of Aten and the courage of Mehen) to protect his country. In an effort to save Teth Adam his son regifted his powers and in a moment of vulnerability was assassinated by King Ahk-ton’s men. Adam went into an explosive rage killing King Ahk-ton and destroying his palace, which led to him being banished by the wizards, though not before he managed to kill all except one.
After a couple of thousand years, Teth Adam is set free and beings to wreak havoc on the modern world before eventually becoming an unlikely hero.
Dwayne Johnson was the actor who took on the title role and is by far the most recognizable face on the Black Adam cast list. The actor has been in many films over the years, his most recent being Jungle Cruise (which was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra who also directed Black Adam) alongside Emily Blunt and Red Notice beside Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman).
Johnson is also the voice of Krypto, the beloved dog of Superman in DC League of Super-Pets.
Alongside The Rock, the Black Adam cast is made up of Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Sarah Shahi as Adriana and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone.
Hawkman – Aldis Hodge
Carter Hall is another founding member of the Justice Society of America and the leader of the team. He uses the motif of Horus, the Egyptian god of war and the sky, when fighting against evil and is a reincarnation of the prince Khufu. He is not the biggest fan of Adam, eager to take him down and escort him to A.R.G.U.S. (Advanced Research Group Uniting Superhumans) as quickly as possible and often at odds with him throughout the film, but when the moment calls for it he is able to team up with the antihero.
His role as leader of the Justice Society has him seeming to take on a slight mentor relationship with Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher, who he is often reprimanding. Their few interactions are sure to pull a laugh from a couple of fans.
Aldis Hodge is the actor responsible for bringing Hawkman to life and does a fantastic job of it. Audiences make recognize him from Straight Outta Compton in which he played MC Ren. Hodge also features in another DC film where he plays the voice of John Stewart, a Green Lantern and friend of Hal Jordan, in the animated film Green Lantern: Beware My Power.
Doctor Fate – Pierce Brosnan
Kent Nelson was one of the founding members of the Justice Society of America. As a young boy, he stumbled upon the helmet of fate, which sparked a great talent for the mystic arts and led to him being one of the greatest heroes of all time. Nelson is the calmest member of the team, often the voice of reason throughout the film who has to keep Hawkman and Black Adam from fighting (though he does eventually give up and just lets them blow off some steam before trying to get things back to business).
He is great friends with Hawkman and seems to care for his team a lot, going so far as to sacrifice himself to ensure the survival of everyone else. He’s definitely one of the best characters in the film and it’s sad to watch him go.
As part of the main Black Adam cast, Pierce Brosnan does an excellent job of bringing Dr. Fate to life, especially with his mildly exasperated expression during one of the many moments when Adam and Hawkman clash. Many fans will remember him as James Bond or for his role as Sam Carmichael from Mamma Mia! and some younger audiences will probably know him better from The Misfits.
Cyclone – Quintessa Swindell
Maxine Hunkel is one of the youngest and newest members of the Justice Society of America. She is super intelligent and has always idolized Hawkman, often talking about him to her grandmother and even cosplaying him. When she was 15 she was used in an experiment by a scientist who infected her with nanites, fortunately, she survived the encounter and developed powers of her own from it.
Hawkman was the one who found and recruited her and describes her as a “tornado with a 167 IQ”. She has the power to create and manipulate wind, forming cyclones that she uses to fight against her enemies and she can generate force fields to protect herself and those around her.
Swindell does a great job of bringing Maxine to life and portrays her as an intelligent, young, optimistic superheroine who just wants to make a difference and is finally getting the opportunity to fight alongside her long-time idol. She is best known for her role as Tabitha Foster in Trinkets.
Atom Smasher – Noah Centineo
Albert Rothstein is one of the newest members of the Justice Society of America and clearly a very nervous individual who isn’t very confident in his powers yet and hasn’t quite gotten the hang of being a hero, often being reprimanded by Hawkman when he makes a mistake (though it’s clear that the older hero just cares about him and doesn’t want him to hurt himself or others as he learns to use his powers).
He inherited his suit, alias, and powers from his uncle Al Pratt, who was a former member of the Justice Society and the one who suggest him for the team (Pratt had once compared his nephew to Carter Hall, which I think is hilarious given their dynamic in the film).
Rothstein is able to change the molecular structure of his body and grow to exponential sizes. This size increase gives him incredible superhuman strength (he was briefly able to overpower Black Adam, but that was mostly because he had the element of surprise on his side) and increases his durability, allowing him to withstand a lot of attacks, such as gunfire which has no real effect on him.
The bond that beings to form between him and Cyclone is one of the sweetest things to watch progress and shows audiences some of his best awkward moments while she is just off to the side smiling at his attempts to backpedal out of a conversation he thinks he messed up. He’s got a similar personality to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in this regard.
Centineo does an excellent job at bringing Albert Rothstein’s awkwardness and enthusiasm to life. He’s best known for his many roles in teen romance films where he plays the beloved heartthrob such as Peter Kravinsky in the To All the Boys trilogy and Brooks Rattigan in The Perfect Date.
Adrianna Tomaz – Sarah Shahi
Adrianna Tomaz is a history professor in Kahndaq and a freedom fighter who is actively getting herself into sticky situations and trying to free the people of Kahndaq from Intergang. After getting on their bad side it became difficult for her to move around so she enlisted the help of her brother Karim to sneak her around when she stumbles upon the location of the crown of Sabbac, an artefact that she believes will be the key to freeing Khandaq.
When she finally finds the crown she discovers that it is hidden in the tomb of Teth Adam, the ancient hero of Kahndaq who has been said to return when he is most needed. She summons him in hopes that it will give her the time she needs to escape and that he will be the saviour they have been waiting for.
She has absolutely no trouble calling the Justice Society on their inability to arrive when Khandaq was first overrun by Intergang but now, when they finally have their own hero whose willing to fight for them, they suddenly make an appearance. She is also someone that will do whatever it takes to protect her family, no matter the cost.
“I’m Middle Eastern; I’m Persian. And there’s not a lot of Middle Eastern representation out there,” she said. “There are other Middle Eastern actors that I know who are either getting cast in terrorist roles or they’re really being stereotyped by how they look. So I’m hoping that, on some level, Black Adam will help break open that stereotype.”
In the DC comics, Adrianna is originally known as Isis, the wife of Black Adam who is able to control the forces of nature.
Sarah Shahi does a great job of bringing her character to life. Audiences make recognize her as Billie Connelly from Sex/Life.
Karim – Mohammed Amer
Karim is the younger brother of Adrianna who is warned by Doctor Fate to stay away from electricity (which is kind of a problem since his livelihood revolves around electricity). He is the one who sneaks his sister past Intergang and helps her get Teth Adam back to their apartment.
Mohammed Amer is hilarious as Karim and any scene with him in it is guaranteed to pull a bit of a chuckle out of anyone. Amer appears as Mo in Ramy and is also known for his stand-up comedy in Mo Amer: Mohammed in Texas.
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Amon Tomaz – Bodhi Sabongui
Amon Tomaz is the enthusiastic, superhero-loving son of Adrianna. Upon meeting Teth Adam for the first time he tries to befriend him very quickly and starts giving him advice on how to be a hero (even going so far as to provide him with a catchphrase) which Adam follows with varying degrees of success. Amon’s personality seems to be very close to that of Teth Adam’s son, inspiring the people of Khandaq to stand up against their oppressors and fight back and is the key factor that is used to get Adam to briefly team up with the Justice Society.
When Amon gets kidnapped by Intergang he is smart enough to hide the crown of Sabbac before making his escape, knowing that if they do manage to catch him, there are probably going to be some very harsh consequences for everyone if they get their hands on it.
In the comic books, Amon is actually the brother of Adrianna and Teth Adam gifts him with a portion of his powers, allowing Amon to become the hero Osiris.
Bodhi Sabongui does an excellent job of bringing Amon’s enthusiasm and cheerfulness to life. Audiences may remember him from the reboot of The Baby-Sitters Club in which he played Trevor Sandbourne.
Ishmael Gregor – Marwan Kenzari
Ishmael Gregor reveals himself as the main antagonist of the film very quickly and audiences aren’t particularly shocked to find out that, not only is he the head of Intergang but he is also the last descendant of the oppressive king Ahk-Ton. He is obsessed with regaining the power that his family once had and once again ruling over Khandaq with an iron fist, taking out all who would dare to challenge him and not particularly caring about who he has to kill to get what he wants.
When he is killed by a wave of power from Teth Adam (who is unable to fully control his anger in the moment) while holding the crown of Sabbac, he is taken to an area that is similarly set up to the Shazam Wizards chamber and passed by the Legions of Hell, who grant him power and make him their champion, changing his name to Sabbac. As Sabbac, Ishmael has all the power he needs to rule over Khandaq and the world. Without Black Adam’s help, the Justice Society doesn’t have much of a chance of stopping him, made evident by how quickly he is able to kill Doctor Fate.
Marwan Kenzari is the actor responsible for bringing not just Ishmael Gregor to life, but also Sabbac and King Ahk-ton. A couple of fans might recognize him as Jafar from the live-action Rendition of Aladdin or as Joe, one of the immortal warriors from The Old Guard.
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Other Familiar Faces in the Black Adam Cast List
Amanda Waller – Viola Davis
Amanda Waller is by far one of the most ruthless characters in the DCEU and is a character that fans love to hate as many have gone so far as to call her a villain on occasion. She is the director of A.R.G.U.S. and the commanding officer for teams like Task Force X, an expendable group of metahumans who have done some bad things in their lives consisting of characters like the beloved Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, and the oddball Polka Dot Man.
She isn’t afraid to kill the members of Task Force X (including the leader Colonel Rick Flag) or threaten the people closest to them to get them to listen to her commands and follow through on their missions (though fortunately, her assistants are more than willing to knock her out when they think she is being unreasonable).
Viola Davis does a brilliant job of bringing the incredibly detestable character to life. She is best known for her role as Annalise Keating in How to Get Away With Murder and Nanisca in The Woman King.
Superman – Henry Cavill
Superman is the ultimate good guy in the DCEU. His fight against General Zod and the survivors from Krypton in Man of Steel was the foundation from which the DC Universe grew. After watching Batman thoroughly beat him in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (we all know that if he hadn’t shouted “Martha” at Bruce he would have been dead long before Doomsdays was given a chance to take him out) it would be great to see him redeem himself against a superpowered being who isn’t using kryptonite against him.
Henry Cavill has always done a brilliant job of portraying Superman, even when his mustache was poorly hidden. Besides the many DCEU movies he has already been in, fans will recognize him as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher, Napoleon Solo in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Sherlock Holmes from Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2.
The Wizard – Djimon Hounsou
Completing the Black Adam cast, Djimon Hounsou’s The Wizard is the old man who grants both Billy Batson and Teth Adam’s son, powers (though in Batson’s case he is granted the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the courage of Achilles, the power of Zeus, the stamina of Atlas and the speed of Mercury) and banishes Teth Adam after he misuses his gift.
Djimon Hounsou is a brilliant actor who is best known for his role as Juba in Gladiator, the Kree warrior Korath the Pursuer in Guardian of the Galaxy, and Captain Marvel and Sir Bedivere in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
Who was your favourite character in Black Adam and which member of the cast do you hope will make a reappearance in future DCEU films?
The Black Adam Cast & Where You Might Know Them From Written by Hannah Lieberum for Fortress of Solitude
