You know that feeling when you finish a series and suddenly the actors feel like people you actually met? That's the vibe with the Cody family. For six seasons, TNT’s Animal Kingdom gave us a gritty, sun-soaked look at a crime family in Oceanside, California, that was as dysfunctional as it was dangerous. But honestly, the show wouldn't have worked without the specific lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry of the cast.
If you’re wondering who are the actors on Animal Kingdom, you’re looking at a mix of Hollywood veterans, British imports hiding their accents, and rising stars who’ve since moved on to massive projects.
The Matriarch and the Grandson: Barkin and Cole
Let's start at the top. Ellen Barkin played Janine "Smurf" Cody. She was the engine. Barkin brought this terrifying, manipulative, and—let’s be real—borderline-incestuous energy to the role of the grandmother running a heist crew. She played Smurf for four seasons before a pretty controversial exit.
Then you have Finn Cole. He plays Joshua "J" Cody, the kid who kickstarts the whole story when his mom overdoses in the first five minutes of the pilot. Finn Cole is actually British. If you've seen Peaky Blinders, you know him as Michael Gray. On Animal Kingdom, he spent years perfecting a flat, suspicious Southern California accent that hid just how much of a sociopath J was becoming.
It's wild to think he was filming both shows at once for a while. He’d go from the 1920s UK to modern-day Oceanside.
The Cody Brothers: Pope, Craig, and Deran
The heart of the "who are the actors on Animal Kingdom" question usually leads to the three biological sons. They each brought a totally different flavor of chaos to the house.
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Shawn Hatosy as Andrew "Pope" Cody
Shawn Hatosy is arguably the MVP of the series. He played Pope, the oldest brother who suffered from severe mental illness and a bone-deep obsession with his mother. Hatosy has been around forever—you might remember him from The Faculty or Southland—but Pope was his masterpiece. He did this "shark-eye" stare that made you think he was either going to hug you or kill you. Usually, it was the latter.
Ben Robson as Craig Cody
Then there’s Craig, the middle child and the family’s resident adrenaline junkie. He was played by Ben Robson. Another Brit! Seriously, the Cody family is half-English in real life. Robson is 6'3" and basically lived on a surfboard or a dirt bike for the role. He played Craig as a guy who was physically a giant but emotionally just a kid looking for Smurf’s approval.
Jake Weary as Deran Cody
The youngest son, Deran, was played by Jake Weary. Deran was always the most "normal" one, or at least the one who wanted out the most. Weary’s performance was incredibly nuanced, especially regarding Deran’s struggle with his sexuality in a hyper-masculine criminal world.
Scott Speedman and the Adopted Son
You can't talk about the cast without mentioning Scott Speedman. He played Barry "Baz" Blackwell. Baz wasn't a biological Cody, but Smurf "adopted" him (read: stole him) when he was a kid. Speedman brought a leading-man energy that balanced out the brothers' craziness.
He was the brains of the heists until... well, until he wasn't. Speedman’s departure in Season 3 was the first big sign that no one in this show was ever actually safe.
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The Flashback Cast: Young Smurf
In the later seasons, the show started doing these heavy flashbacks to the 70s, 80s, and 90s. This meant we got a whole second cast playing the same characters.
Leila George took over the role of young Janine "Smurf" Cody. It was a huge task to follow Ellen Barkin, but George nailed the transition from a scrappy drifter to the calculating boss we knew. Fun fact: Leila George is actually the daughter of actor Vincent D'Onofrio.
The flashback crew also included:
- Jon Beavers as young Jake Dunmore (the guy who was actually the brothers' father figure).
- Rigo Sanchez as Manny, the leader of the original crew.
- Jasper Polish as young Julia Cody (J’s mom).
- Kevin Csolak as young Pope.
Supporting Players and Love Interests
A show about a crime family needs people to steal from and people to lie to.
Daniella Alonso played Catherine in the first season, and her exit really set the tone for how dark the show would get. Then you had Molly Gordon as Nicky, J's high school girlfriend who got way too deep into the Cody world. Gordon has since blown up in movies like Booksmart and the show The Bear.
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Carolina Guerra played Lucy, the badass leader of a Mexican gang and Baz's mistress. She was one of the few people who could actually stand toe-to-toe with Smurf without blinking.
Why the Casting Worked
The reason people still search for the actors on Animal Kingdom years after the finale is that they felt like a real unit. They did their own stunts—mostly—and they actually spent time together in Oceanside.
The chemistry between Hatosy, Robson, and Weary was the glue. Even when the plot got a little "out there," you believed these three guys grew up in that house together. They fought like brothers, and they protected each other like a pack.
What the Cast is Doing Now
Since the show wrapped in 2022, the cast hasn't slowed down.
Finn Cole has moved into big-budget films like Last Breath and F9. Shawn Hatosy has actually moved behind the camera quite a bit; he directed several episodes of Animal Kingdom and has continued directing and acting in various TV dramas. Scott Speedman, of course, stayed busy with Grey's Anatomy and You.
If you're looking for a next step, check out some of the cast's other work to see the range. Watching Shawn Hatosy play a hero in Southland after seeing him as Pope is a total trip. You could also dive into the original 2010 Australian film Animal Kingdom to see how actors like Ben Mendelsohn and Joel Edgerton tackled these same roles before the TV show existed.