Father Stu Cast: Who Is In This Mark Wahlberg Film?

The Father Stu cast is led by Mark Wahlberg and also includes Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver, and Teresa Ruiz.

By Rick Gonzales | Published 6 months ago

There have been many tales of redemption churned out by Hollywood. One such redemption tale comes in the form of Father Stu, a biographical drama that stars Mark Wahlberg in the title role and was written and directed by Rosalind Ross, her directorial debut.

The Father Stu cast includes Wahlberg along with Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver, and Teresa Ruiz.

THE FATHER STU CAST IS LED BY MARK WAHLBERG

Mark Wahlberg as Stuart Long

It was back in 2016 when Wahlberg first announced that he was working on the story and leading the Father Stu cast. He first teamed up with David O. Russell to work on the story, eventually giving way to Ross as screenwriter and director. Wahlberg made sure to include Father Stu’s real-life parents in the production, along with numerous others who knew the real Father Stu.

Many of those involved with the story outside of the Father Stu cast and who saw the final results claim that the relationship between Father Stu and his father was overdramatized in the film (well, it is Hollywood), but Bill Long still supported the film. He said the ultimate goal of the film was not how people saw him, but the message his son was delivering.

In addition to leading the Father Stu cast, Mark Wahlberg continues to be a draw on the big or small screen. On top of Father Stu, 51-year-old Wahlberg was recently seen in the movie adaptation of the hit video game, Uncharted. He was also seen in the Netflix comedy, Me Time, opposite Kevin Hart.

Up next for Wahlberg is the spy comedy, Our Man from Jersey. Then, Wahlberg will be seen in Arthur the King, followed by The Family Plan and The Six Billion Dollar Man, a reboot of the popular 1970s TV series, The Six Million Dollar Man.

Teresa Ruiz as Carmen

In the movie, Teresa Ruiz plays Carmen, who is a catalyst for Stu entering the faith. Ruiz has spent the majority of her career in Mexican cinema. Crossing over to American film and television, Ruiz has been seen on series such as Major Crimes, Gang Related, and Here on Earth. One of her first major American films came in the 2021 Liam Neeson movie, The Marksman.

Mel Gibson as Bill Long

In the Father Stu cast, Mel Gibson plays Stu’s father. We would need a few pages to cover Gibson’s career and all the drama that has come along with it.

Over the past few years, Gibson has been trying to right all his wrongs and has been fairly successful with his efforts. He continues to jump back and forth from B-movie schlock to more A-list material such as Father Stu.

Gibson has two films ready for release: Informant and Boys of Summer. After that, the actor will be taking on Desperation Road and will also be part of the John Wick prequel series called The Continental.

But what everyone is most excited about is Gibson’s return to the Lethal Weapon franchise as both director and star, reuniting with Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon 5.

Jacki Weaver as Kathleen Long

In the Father Stu cast, Weaver plays Stu’s mother. You may not know this by listening to Weaver speak (especially in her films), but she hails from Sydney, Australia. Her career has been ongoing since 1962 and she has been in numerous high-profile films, much like this one in the Father Stu cast.

Weaver continues to keep herself busy, both in feature films and television. She can presently be seen in the features, Wildflower and American Murderer, but she might be best noticeable in one of the hottest series around.

Weaver can be seen on the hit series, Yellowstone, drumming up a ton of trouble for the Duttons as she plays Caroline Warner.

Cody Fern as Jacob

Another Australian actor, before Fern was cast as Jacob (a fellow clergy) in the Father Stu cast, he debuted in 2017 on the feature film The Tribes of Palos Verdes. He was also seen in American Horror Story: Apocalypse, American Horror Story: 1984, and American Horror Story: Double Feature.

Malcolm McDowell as Monsignor Kelly

A long-time veteran of Hollywood, before being in the Father Stu cast, McDowell had appeared in such classic films as A Clockwork Orange, Caligula, Time After Time, and Cat People. McDowell has forged himself a fantastic, if not eclectic, career and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon for the 79-year-old star.

Aaron Clifton Moten as Ham

Best known for his roles on shows such as The Night Of, Mozart in the Jungle, Disjointed, and Next, Moten has crossed over to features like this one in the Father Stu cast as well as Native Son and Ironwood. Up next for Moten is the feature, Emancipation and the highly anticipated TV series, Fallout.

THE MARK WAHLBERG MOVIE IS THE STORY ABOUT A BOXER-TURNED-PRIEST

The Father Stu cast and crew tells the true (as far as Hollywood is concerned) story of Stuart Long (Wahlberg), who began his “professional” life as a boxer but ended up becoming a Catholic priest. Stu’s life was not an easy one, as he lost his brother Stephen at the age of six. This loss caused his parents (Weaver and Gibson) much hostility towards religion, turning his father into an alcoholic.

Stu was trying to make ends meet in his hometown of Helena, Montana by becoming a boxer. But things in the ring didn’t pan out, so Stu packed up and moved to Southern California, where he was hoping to get into the entertainment industry. To make ends meet in So. Cal, Stu takes a job at a local grocery store, where he meets Carmen (Ruiz), who is a strict Catholic.

Father Stu is cast aside by Carmen, telling him that she wouldn’t even consider dating him unless he was baptized. Stu is smitten, so he agrees and begins the process of getting baptized as a Catholic. As the process begins, Stu meets two parishioners, Ham and Jacob, who are on their way to the seminary. Jacob does not get along with Stu.

Carmen finally agrees to start dating Stu. At this time, Stu finally gets a gig on an infomercial, but it doesn’t go as planned. Stu takes out his frustration by heading to the bar, where he meets up with a mysterious man who offers him some sage advice. He also tells Stu not to drive home that night.

Well, Stu being Stu (he got busted earlier in the film on a DUI) decides to drive home drunk on his motorcycle. He ends up crashing into the back of a car, getting flipped off of his bike, and then run over by another car. His injuries are severe enough that he wasn’t expected to survive.

While Stu drifts in and out of consciousness, he is visited by the Virgin Mary, who explains to Stu that he cannot die in vain. Somehow, some way, Stu begins to recover. While he is still in the hospital, his father (Gibson) begins to visit, although their relationship is strained.

But Stu, on the road to recovery, knows where his future lies. He feels priesthood is now his calling and decides to enter the seminary. Stu is rejected at first but pleads his case in person, eventually being accepted at the seminary, where he is reacquainted with Ham and Jacob. One day at the seminary, Stu is playing a game of pickup basketball, when he takes a tumble. Stu is unable to get up on his own, forcing him to the doctor.

Stu is diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, which is a very rare muscular disorder on par with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Although it typically is not seen in people as young as Father Stu, he has it and the outlook is grim. Father Stu begins to lose the use of his hands.

As things progress, Father Stu’s relationship with his own father begins to slowly heal. Father Stu is cast into the faith and officially ordained and heads back to Helena to continue on as long as he can. Sadly, it is not a battle that Father Stu wins.

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If you know the real-life story of Stu Long, told by the Father Stu cast, then you will know to take the film with a grain of salt. Liberties, as they are with most “true” Hollywood stories, are taken to give films more heft and dramatic effect. But the message is not lost from real life to its screen version, and that is what is important about the film, Father Stu.

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