Tim Burton basically looked at the Hollywood phone book in 1996 and decided to hire everyone. Honestly, looking back at the cast of the movie mars attacks, it’s hard to believe this movie actually exists. You have Oscar winners rubbing shoulders with B-movie icons and 90s pop stars, all while CGI aliens with exposed brains vaporize them into neon skeletons. It’s chaotic. It’s loud. It’s arguably the most stacked ensemble ever put on screen for a comedy that was, at the time, kind of a gamble.
The movie didn't just have stars; it had the stars. Jack Nicholson wasn't content with just one role; he played two. You had Pierce Brosnan right in the middle of his James Bond peak, Glenn Close playing a First Lady who was way too refined for the madness surrounding her, and a very young Natalie Portman. Even Tom Jones shows up as himself. It’s the kind of casting that makes you wonder if Burton had some sort of cosmic leverage over every agent in Los Angeles.
The Dual Roles of Jack Nicholson
Most directors would be thrilled to get Jack Nicholson for a cameo. Burton got him to lead the entire thing as President James Dale, a man who is hilariously out of his depth. But Nicholson also plays Art Land, a greasy, tan-obsessed Las Vegas real estate developer. It’s a brilliant bit of meta-commentary. On one hand, you have the leader of the free world trying to use diplomacy on aliens who clearly don't care about peace. On the other, you have a sleazy businessman who represents the worst of American greed.
Nicholson’s performance as the President is surprisingly restrained until the very end. He plays it straight, which makes the absurdity of the Martians' "We come in peace" recordings even funnier. People often forget that Nicholson was coming off a string of massive hits, yet he chose to spend his time in a movie where he gets impaled by a flag. That’s commitment to the bit.
The A-List Victims and the Power of the Ensemble
If you watch a movie today, the "big names" are usually protected. They have "no-die" clauses or they’re the heroes who save the day. Mars Attacks! threw that rulebook in the trash. The cast of the movie mars attacks is essentially a list of people you’re shocked to see die.
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- Pierce Brosnan as Professor Donald Kessler: He’s the intellectual heart of the movie, the guy who thinks he can communicate with the Martians. Seeing his disembodied head floating on a life-support machine later in the film is one of those "only in a Tim Burton movie" moments.
- Glenn Close as Marsha Dale: She brings a certain regalness to the White House scenes, which makes it all the more satisfying when she’s crushed by a giant chandelier.
- Sarah Jessica Parker and Pierce Brosnan’s head: The chemistry between Parker (as talk-show host Nathalie Lake) and Brosnan—or rather, their grafted-together bodies—is weirdly touching. It’s a bizarre sub-plot that shouldn't work, but their shared scenes on the Martian ship are legendary.
- Annette Bening as Barbara Land: Bening plays the New Age-obsessed wife of Art Land. Her character is a perfect foil to the destruction, mostly because she’s too spiritually "aligned" to realize how much danger she’s in.
Then you have Danny DeVito. He’s barely in the movie. He plays a gambler in Vegas who gets vaporized almost immediately. It’s a testament to how big this cast was that a star of DeVito's caliber was essentially an extra.
The Young Stars and the Unexpected Heroes
While the veterans were getting the headlines, the younger cast of the movie mars attacks members were doing the heavy lifting. Lukas Haas plays Richie Norris, the "ordinary kid" from Kansas who ends up being the unlikely savior of humanity. His chemistry with Sylvia Sidney, who plays his grandmother Florence, is the only grounded part of the film.
Sylvia Sidney was a legend of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Her inclusion was a tip of the hat to the era that inspired the movie. And then there’s Natalie Portman as Taffy Dale, the President's cynical daughter. She plays the role with a dry wit that she’d later perfect in her more "serious" roles. It’s wild to see her here, just a couple of years after Léon: The Professional, acting alongside Jim Brown.
Speaking of Jim Brown, he’s incredible as Byron Williams. A former boxing champ working as a casino greeter? It’s a trope, sure, but Brown brings a physicality and a quiet dignity to the role that makes you genuinely root for him. When he stays behind to fight the Martians hand-to-hand so his family can escape, it’s one of the few genuinely heroic moments in a movie that mostly mocks heroism.
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Why This Specific Cast Worked
You might think that putting this many stars in one movie would be distracting. Usually, it is. But Mars Attacks! is based on Topps trading cards from the 1960s. Those cards were lurid, violent, and over-the-top. To capture that energy, Burton needed actors who could play "archetypes" rather than complex characters.
The cast of the movie mars attacks understood the assignment. They weren't trying to win Oscars here. They were playing live-action versions of trading cards. Martin Short as the lecherous Press Secretary Jerry Ross is a perfect example. He’s oily, he’s weird, and he plays it with a 1950s sitcom energy that fits the retro-future aesthetic perfectly.
Even the "Martian Girl," played by Lisa Marie, is a masterclass in physical acting. She doesn't say a single word. She just glides through the White House with that eerie, jerky movement, looking like a pin-up girl from a nightmare. It’s iconic.
The Legacy of the Mars Attacks Ensemble
Critics weren't exactly kind to the movie when it dropped in December 1996. It was overshadowed by Independence Day, which took the "alien invasion" trope much more seriously. But time has been very good to Mars Attacks!. It has become a cult classic precisely because of how weird it is.
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The sheer density of the cast of the movie mars attacks means that every time you rewatch it, you spot someone new. Is that Christina Applegate? Yes. Is that Jack Black as a gung-ho soldier who gets fried in the first ten minutes? Absolutely. The movie is a time capsule of 1990s stardom. It captures a moment when studios were willing to spend $70 million on a cynical, violent satire just because Tim Burton wanted to make it.
Lessons from the Martian Invasion
What can we actually take away from this movie and its legendary lineup? First, it’s a reminder that "star power" works best when it’s used to subvert expectations. Seeing these massive icons fail, die, or look ridiculous is part of the fun.
If you're looking to dive back into this 90s staple, keep these things in mind:
- Watch the background: Half the fun of the Vegas scenes is spotting the cameos.
- Appreciate the practical effects: While the Martians are CGI, many of the sets and props were real, giving the actors something tangible to play off.
- Listen to the score: Danny Elfman’s theremin-heavy soundtrack is the secret sauce that holds these disparate performances together.
- Focus on the tone: Don't expect a serious sci-fi flick. It’s a mean-spirited, hilarious tribute to the B-movies of the 1950s.
The cast of the movie mars attacks remains one of a kind. We probably won't see a collection of talent like this again, mostly because the economics of Hollywood have changed. Today, these actors would be spread across ten different Marvel movies. Seeing them all together, being chased by big-brained invaders, is a rare treat that only the 90s could have produced.
Next Steps for Fans: To truly appreciate the scope of this production, track down the original 1962 Topps trading card series that inspired the film. Many of the specific death scenes—like the dog/human head swap—are direct references to those cards. Additionally, look for the "making of" featurettes that detail how Tim Burton convinced Jack Nicholson to take on two roles, as it sets a template for how modern ensemble comedies are built.