Rachel Zegler as Snow White

Rachel Zegler was a 16-year-old theater actress in New Jersey when she responded to an open casting call for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake. She was selected to play Maria from over 30,000 applicants and won a Golden Globe for her performance in the beloved musical. It’s really like something out of a fairy tale.

Zegler went on to play the leading role of Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023), as well as supporting roles in Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) and Kyle Mooney’s A24 horror-comedy Y2K (2024).

The announcement that Zegler, who is of Colombian descent, would be playing Snow White triggered a racist backlash among certain crowds. She addressed the furor during a 2022 chat with Entertainment Weekly.

“The reality is that the cartoon was made 85 years ago, and therefore is extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman is fit for in the world,” she said. “And so when we came to reimagining the actual role of Snow White, it became about ‘the fairest of them all’ meaning who is the most just, and who can become a fantastic leader.”

Last month, she touched on the topic again while speaking with Vogue Mexico. “I interpret people’s feelings about this film as passion for it, and what an honor to be able to be a part of something that people are so passionate about,” she said. “We’re not always going to have the same feelings as everyone around us and all we can do is give our best.” 

Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen

Gal Gadot made her film debut as Gisele Yashar in Fast & Furious (2009), a role she reprised three more times in the Fast franchise. She’s likely best known, though, as DC Studios’ Wonder Woman, having played the role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Wonder Woman (2017), Justice League (2017), and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), among other films.

Her other credits include Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile (2022) and a pair of Netflix films, Red Notice (2021) and Heart of Stone (2023), the latter of which she also produced.

At Disney’s D23 last summer, Gadot said playing the Evil Queen was “completely different” than anything she’d done before. “She’s delicious, she’s evil, she’s magical, I got to sing all these different songs — it was incredible,” she said.

Andrew Burnap as Jonathan

A rising star on the stage and screen, Andrew Burnap won a Tony Award in 2021 for his turn in the Broadway production of The Inheritance. TV credits include notable roles in Apple TV+’s WeCrashed (2022) and FX’s Under the Banner of Heaven (2022), the latter of which found him playing Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism. Last year, he starred opposite Brandy in the A24 horror film The Front Room.

As Jonathan, Burnap carries a role designed specifically for this version of the story. In an effort to punch up the age-old fairy tale, director Webb and the writers reimagined the dashing prince as a more modern type of love interest. “I would say that Jonathan is less of a full-on prince and more of a reluctant hero,” Burnap said in a 2023 interview.

He added, “It’s a new story in the sense that it’s no longer a princess waiting to be saved by a prince, but a princess waiting to be saved by herself and finding her voice, her strength and her courage and actually, in the end, saving everyone around her.”

Ansu Kabia as the Huntsman

English actor Ansu Kabia, a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, found his footing onstage before leading four seasons of Miss Scarlet and The Duke (2020–2022). You may also have seen him as Ruthven Sykes on Netflix’s The Sandman (2022) and as a supporting player in the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black (2024).

Traditionally, the Huntsman, a character who received his own (sorta) spinoff in 2012 with Snow White and the Huntsman, is ordered by the Queen to kill Snow White but neglects the devious deed.

Patrick Page as the Magic Mirror

A longtime treader of the boards, Patrick Page was nominated for a Tony in 2019 for his role as Hades in the Broadway production of Hadestown. He also originated the Broadway roles of the Grinch in Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical (2006) and the Green Goblin in the famously troubled Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (2011–2012). Currently, he plays Richard Clay on Max’s period drama The Gilded Age (2022–present).

As the voice and motion capture behind the film’s Magic Mirror, Page will determine who’s the fairest of them all. Following the trailer’s release, Page posted several behind-the-scenes pics of himself on set.

“Many of you who have been to ‘Wicked’ have seen the trailer for the new ‘Snow White’ and recognized my voice,” he wrote in the caption. “’Famed is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold, a lovely maid I see. Rags cannot hide her gentle grace. Alas, she is more fair than thee.'”

Jeremy Swift as Doc

Jeremy Swift, an actor and composer, has appeared in dozens of films and series over the years, with highlights including Robert Altman‘s Gosford Park (2001), Jupiter Ascending (2015), and Mary Poppins Returns (2018). In 2021, he nabbed an Emmy nomination for his turn as Leslie Higgins on Ted Lasso (2020–2023).

Swift plays Doc, the kindly and bespectacled leader of the seven dwarves. Doc was voiced by actor Roy Atwell in the 1937 film.

Martin Klebba as Grumpy

After popping up as a guest on The Howard Stern Show in the ’90s, Martin Klebba appeared in films like Planet of the Apes (2001) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) before playing pirate Marty in four Pirates of the Caribbean movies (2003–2017).

Since then, he’s found meatier roles in dozens of TV and film projects, the most notable of which being Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), Jurassic World (2015), and Ted 2 (2015), as well as this year’s Netflix movie The Electric State. In 2001, he played a dwarf in ABC’s Snow White: The Fairest of Them All.

Klebba plays Grumpy, the dwarf most resistant to Snow White’s arrival in their home. Grumpy was voiced by Pinto Colvig in the 1937 film.

George Salazar as Happy

George Salazar is a theater veteran who won a Lucille Lortel Award for his turn in Broadway’s 2019 production of Be More Chill. He went on to recur on several popular series, including Superstore (2019–2020), Nancy Drew (2020), and Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021). Snow White will be his film debut.

Salazar plays Happy, a dwarf whose thick, white eyebrows are said to be inspired by those of Walt Disney. In the 1937 film, Happy was voiced by Otis Harlan.

Andy Grotelueschen as Sleepy

In 2019, Andy Grotelueschen landed a Tony nomination for his performance in the Broadway production of Tootsie. His TV credits, meanwhile, include episodes of The Good Wife (2014), The Knick (2015), and The Gilded Age (2023). Most recently, he appeared in the Oscar-nominated film A Complete Unknown (2024).

Grotelueschen plays Sleepy, who, as his name implies, is a dwarf often dead to the world. He was voiced by Colvig in the 1937 film.

Tituss Burgess as Bashful

A Broadway veteran, Tituss Burgess found fame as Titus Andromedon on Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2020), a role that earned him five Emmy nominations. Burgess bounces between live-action and animated work, having appeared in 30 Rock (2011–2012), Dolemite Is My Name (2019), and Respect (2021). You’ve likely heard his voice in The Addams Family (2019), the Apple TV+ series Central Park (2020–2022), and Spellbound (2024).

Given his gregarious nature, Bashful is an interesting dwarf for Burgess to play. Traditionally, Bashful also nurses a crush on Snow White. The character was voiced by Scotty Mattraw in the 1937 film.

Jason Kravits as Sneezy

Jason Kravits made his television debut in 1982 on the PBS series Powerhouse and has since appeared in more than 100 film and TV roles. He’s likely best known for playing A.D.A. Richard Bay on The Practice (1999–2001), but he’s also recurred on series like The Michael J. Fox Show (2013–2014), Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2016), and Our Cartoon President (2018–2020).

Kravits, who plays Sneezy, posted about the role on his Instagram. Next to a photo of him posing with the Hollywood star of Billy Gilbert, the OG Sneezy, he wrote, “Paying respects to the original. Honored to be continuing the legacy!” He punctuated the post with “#Achooooo.”

Andrew Barth Feldman as Dopey

After spending a year playing the title role in Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen, Andrew Barth Feldman bounced from a supporting turn on Disney’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series to a leading role in the raunchy comedy No Hard Feelings (2023) opposite Jennifer Lawrence. He went on to play former Saturday Night Live talent coordinator Neil Levy in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night (2024).

Feldman plays Dopey, the dim dwarf who’s also the youngest of his seven pals. Eddie Collins voiced the character in the 1937 film.