Natalie Portman wears a bowl cut. That’s probably the first thing anyone remembers about the Lucy in the Sky cast and the visual aesthetic of this 2019 astronaut drama. It’s a bold choice. It’s also a signal that this isn't your typical heroic space flick. Directed by Noah Hawley—the mastermind behind the Fargo and Legion TV series—the movie tried to take the sensationalist headlines of the real-life Lisa Nowak story and turn them into something operatic. It didn't quite land with critics, but the sheer density of talent in the room is still wild to look back on.
Space changes people. That is the core premise. When Lucy Cola returns to Earth after seeing the vastness of the cosmos, her suburban life feels like a cardboard set. She’s twitchy. She’s bored. She’s desperate to get back up there. Honestly, the way Portman plays the transition from disciplined pilot to a woman unraveling in a suburban kitchen is genuinely stressful to watch.
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The Heavy Hitters: Who Was Who in the Lucy in the Sky Cast
Natalie Portman plays Lucy Cola. She’s the anchor. If you’re looking for the factual inspiration, she’s the stand-in for Lisa Nowak, though the film changes names and specific details to distance itself from a pure biopic. Portman brought that same brittle, high-stakes energy we saw in Black Swan. She’s obsessive. You see it in the way she pushes herself during underwater training drills, refusing to come up for air even when her equipment fails.
Then there's Jon Hamm. He plays Mark Goodwin. He’s basically the "cool" astronaut—the one who’s been around the block, exudes effortless charm, and represents everything Lucy wants to be and be with. Hamm is perfect for this because he can play "handsome but slightly vacuous" in his sleep. His character is the catalyst for Lucy’s romantic fixation, leading to the infamous cross-country road trip that defined the tabloid coverage of the real-life events.
Dan Stevens shows up as Drew Cola, Lucy’s husband. It’s a thankless role in some ways—he’s the "boring" guy at home—but Stevens plays him with this heartbreakingly earnest kindness. He’s a marketing guy for NASA, totally supportive, totally oblivious until it’s too late. The contrast between Stevens’ warmth and Hamm’s cold, competitive flirtation is what drives the middle act of the film.
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The Supporting Players You Might Have Missed
The Lucy in the Sky cast wasn't just about the leads. You have Zazie Beetz playing Erin Eccles, the younger, talented astronaut who becomes Lucy’s rival. Beetz is great at playing "effortlessly capable," which makes Lucy’s insecurity feel even more visceral. It’s that classic generational tension. The veteran feels the footsteps of the newcomer, and in a field as competitive as NASA, those footsteps sound like thunder.
Then you have Ellen Burstyn. She plays Nana Holbrook, Lucy’s grandmother. Burstyn is a legend for a reason. She provides the grit. While Lucy is floating in her own head, Nana is the one smoking cigarettes and telling it like it is. She’s the only one Lucy actually seems to respect, perhaps because Nana is just as tough and uncompromising as Lucy tries to be.
- Colman Domingo as Frank Paxton: Before he was an Oscar nominee, he was here providing a grounded, authoritative presence at NASA.
- Nick Offerman as Will Plimpton: He plays one of the psychologists. It’s a brief role, but Offerman’s deadpan delivery works well in the clinical setting of NASA’s debriefing rooms.
- Tig Notaro as Kate Lynch: She plays a fellow astronaut and friend. Her naturalistic, dry humor is a much-needed breather in a movie that is otherwise very "heavy."
Why the Talent Didn't Equal a Box Office Hit
Usually, when you assemble a Lucy in the Sky cast this stacked, you expect a sweep at the Academy Awards. It didn't happen. The film made roughly $320,000 against a budget that was significantly higher. Why?
Style over substance is the common complaint. Noah Hawley used shifting aspect ratios—the screen literally shrinks and expands depending on Lucy’s mental state. When she’s in space or feeling powerful, the image is wide. When she’s trapped in her domestic life, it narrows into a box. Some people loved the metaphor; most people found it distracting.
Also, the "diaper" of it all. If you know the Lisa Nowak story, you know the most famous detail: the rumor that she wore adult diapers so she wouldn't have to stop for bathroom breaks while driving 1,500 miles to confront a rival. The movie chose to omit this. It tried to be a serious character study about the "Sublime" (the philosophical idea of being overwhelmed by greatness). Audiences, however, wanted the grit of the tabloid story. By trying to be high art, the film sort of alienated the people who were curious about the scandal.
The Realistic Depiction of NASA
One thing the Lucy in the Sky cast and crew got right was the feeling of the environment. They filmed at real locations and used consultants to make sure the training sequences felt authentic. The "Neutral Buoyancy Lab"—that giant pool where astronauts practice—looks incredible on screen.
Portman reportedly spent a lot of time talking to people in the industry to understand the psychological toll of returning to Earth. Imagine being one of the few humans to see the curvature of the planet, and then coming home to find a leaking sink or a bill in the mail. That "Post-Space Blues" is a real documented phenomenon. The cast does a great job of showing how that transition can break a person who is already prone to perfectionism.
What to Watch If You Liked the Cast But Not the Movie
If you walked away from Lucy in the Sky thinking, "Man, I love these actors, but that was a weird ride," you aren't alone. The Lucy in the Sky cast has moved on to some pretty incredible projects that handle similar themes of isolation or obsession much better.
For Natalie Portman fans, Annihilation is the superior "sci-fi descent into madness" film. It uses her ability to play controlled-yet-terrified much more effectively. If you're here for Jon Hamm, check out his work in Top Gun: Maverick—he plays the authoritative military figure again, but in a movie that knows exactly what it wants to be.
Zazie Beetz, of course, went on to be a standout in Atlanta and Joker. Her role in Lucy in the Sky was almost a precursor to the "grounded person in an ungrounded world" vibe she excels at.
Actionable Insights for Fans of the Genre
If you're fascinated by the intersection of space travel and psychology—the very thing this cast was trying to explore—there are a few ways to dive deeper without the 27% Rotten Tomatoes score.
- Read the Source Material: While not an official biography, the book Rocket Aspire by Lisa Nowak's contemporary, or the various long-form investigative pieces from Texas Monthly and The New York Times from 2007, provide the "missing" details the movie skipped.
- Watch "The Astronaut Wives Club": If you liked the domestic drama aspect of Dan Stevens and Natalie Portman’s relationship, this series captures that 1960s NASA era tension perfectly.
- Check out "For All Mankind": This Apple TV+ show is the gold standard for showing the psychological pressure of being an astronaut. It features the same kind of ensemble cast energy that Lucy in the Sky was aiming for.
- Listen to the Soundtrack: Jeff Russo’s score for the film is actually hauntingly beautiful. Even if the visuals or the "diaper-gate" omission bothered you, the music captures that feeling of floating in the void.
The Lucy in the Sky cast remains one of the most interesting "what ifs" in recent cinema history. It’s a collection of A-list talent that took a big, weird swing on an experimental indie-feeling blockbuster. It might not have been a hit, but as a character study of a woman losing her grip on reality after seeing the stars, it's a fascinating footnote in the careers of Portman and Hamm.
If you decide to revisit it, watch it for the performances, not the plot. Look at the way Portman’s eyes change from the beginning of the film to the end. That’s where the real story is.
To get the most out of your next viewing, pay close attention to the aspect ratio changes in the first thirty minutes. They signal exactly when Lucy’s mental health begins to fracture long before the dialogue ever says it. You can also compare the film's depiction of NASA protocol with real-life mission debriefings available on the NASA YouTube archives to see just how much the actors leaned into the technical jargon.