Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (2024)

Table of Contents
Uzo Aduba – Edie Flowers Matthew Broderick – Richard Sackler Taylor Kitsch – Glen Kryger West Duchovny – Shannon Schaeffer Dina Shihabi – Britt Hufford John Rothman – Mortimer Sackler Tyler Ritter – US Attorney John Brownlee Carolina Bartczak – Lily Kryger Jack Mulhern – Tyler Kryger Clark Gregg – Arthur Sackler Ana Cruz Kayne – Brianna Ortiz Sam Anderson – Raymond Sackler John Ales – Dr Gregory Fitzgibbons Jamaal Grant – Shawn Flowers Ron Lea – Bill Havens Related stories recommended by this writer: FAQs References

Painkiller is a new Netflix drama that explores the opioid crisis in America through a dramatised retelling. The series will focus on those dealing with the crisis and those taking on the Sackler family.

Though this is a dramatised retelling of events, the Netflix series is based on Barry Meier’s book Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic.

Painkiller features an all star cast that viewers are bound to recognise, including some very well known Netflix stars. Here’s where you recognise the case of Netflix series Painkiller from.

Uzo Aduba – Edie Flowers

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (1)

via Netflix

Uzo Aduba stars as Edie Flowers in Painkiller, a no-nonsense lawyer working for the US Attorney’s office who notices a pattern in prescriptions of OxyContin.

Viewers will likely recognise Uzo for her role as Suzanne Warren in Orange is the New Black. Her other projects include Miss Virgina, Mrs. America and Solos.

Matthew Broderick – Richard Sackler

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (2)

via Netflix

Matthew Broderick is probably best known for his roles in films from the 1980s and 90s. One of his best known roles is in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and being the voice of Simba in The Lion King movies. His other projects include No Hard Feelings, WarGames and The Cable Guy.

Matthew stars as Richard Sackler in the Netflix series. In Painkiller, Richard becomes chairman and president of Purdue Pharma, prompting the call to replace MS Contin with OxyContin.

Taylor Kitsch – Glen Kryger

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (3)

via Netflix

Glen Kryger is a business owner who gets prescribed OxyContin following an injury at work. Viewers see his journey as the drug turns his and his family’s lives upside down.

Glen Kryger is played by Taylor Kitsch, best known for his roles in Battleship, John Carter and Friday Night Lights.

See Also
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West Duchovny – Shannon Schaeffer

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (4)

via Netflix

West Duchovny is fairly new to the acting game but in the last few years she has appeared in Saint X, Linoleum and A Mouth of Air.

In Painkiller, West stars as Shannon Schaeffer, a university graduate who attends a recruitment drive of Purdue Pharma and hopes of a lavish future.

Dina Shihabi – Britt Hufford

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (5)

via Netflix

Dina Shihabi has starred in various TV shows and movies over the years, including Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Altered Carbon and Archive 81.

Dina’s character is Britt Hufford, a Purdue Pharma sales rep who recruits Shannon and let’s her in on the life she could have working for them.

John Rothman – Mortimer Sackler

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (6)

via Netflix (John Rothman on the left)

Mortimer Sackler was the middle brother in the Sackler family, who died in 2010. Mortimer is portrayed by John Rothman, best known for his roles in Prime and One Mississippi.

Tyler Ritter – US Attorney John Brownlee

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (7)

via Netflix

John Brownlee is Edie’s new boss who prompts the legal battle to pursue justice and the truth behind the OxyContin drug. Brownlee is played by Tyler Ritter who has appeared in Young & Hungry, NCIS and The McCarthys.

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'Painkiller' on Netflix cast and characters

Carolina Bartczak – Lily Kryger

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (8)

via Netflix

Lily is Glen’s wife who woks alongside him at their small business. When Glen struggles with his use of OxyContin, Lily has face the reality of his addiction and tries to help him.

Carolina Bartczak is best known for her roles in X-Men: Apocalypse, An Audience of Chairs and Moonfall. She has also appeared in the TV series’ The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehod, Most Dangerous Game and The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe.

Jack Mulhern – Tyler Kryger

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (9)

via Netflix

Avid Netflix viewers will recognise Jack Mulhern for his role in The Society as well as in Wu-Tang: An American Saga and Odd Man Rush. Jack stars as Tyler Kryger, Lily and Glen’s son who blames himself for Glen’s accident at work.

Clark Gregg – Arthur Sackler

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (10)

via Netflix

Arthur Sackler is the head of the Sackler family and founder of Purdue. Arthur Sackler is played by Clark Greggs, who viewers will most definitely recognise as Agent Phil Coulson in Marvel films.

Over the years Clark has also starred in (500) Days of Summer, Florida Man and Run Sweetheart Run.

Ana Cruz Kayne – Brianna Ortiz

Ana Cruz Kayne plays Brianna Ortiz in Netflix series Painkiller. Over the years she has starred in Partner Track, The Enemy Within and her most recent project is in the billion dollar film, Barbie.

Sam Anderson – Raymond Sackler

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (11)

via Netflix (Sam Anderson on the right)

Raymond Sackler is portrayed by Sam Anderson, who viewers may recognise from Forrest Gump, Memoirs of an Invisible Man and Water for Elephants. Some of his more recent projects include A Million Little Things, Where the Crawdads Sing and Alt.

John Ales – Dr Gregory Fitzgibbons

John Ales stars as Dr Gregory Fitzgibbons in the Netflix Painkiller cast. Ales is best known for his roles alongside Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor. He has also appeared in You Wish, Who Are You People and Life of the Party.

Jamaal Grant – Shawn Flowers

Jamaal Grant stars in three episodes of Painkiller as Shawn Flowers. Jamaal has starred in an array of TV shows and movies including The Recruit, The Manny and Rabbit Hole.

Ron Lea – Bill Havens

Ron Lea stars as Bill Havens in the Netflix Painkiller cast and he is best known for his roles in Street Legal, This is Wonderland and Doc.

Painkiller is available to watch on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memeslike The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

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Featured image credit via Netflix.

Here's where you recognise the cast of Netflix's opioid crisis drama Painkiller from (2024)

FAQs

Who are the characters in Painkiller based on? ›

While the characters in the show are played by actors, several of them are based on real people, like the Sacklers, while others are fictional characters based on a collection of real people, like lawyer Edie Flowers and Purdue Pharma sales rep Shannon Schaeffer.

Read The Full Story ›
Is Shannon Schaefer based on a real person? ›

Is Shannon Schaeffer based on a real person? Not exactly. Shannon's character is an amalgamation of many people who worked as sales representatives for Purdue Pharma. Essentially, she's a composite character, similar to Uzo Aduba's portrayal of federal prosecutor Edie Flowers.

Read The Full Story ›
Who is the Painkiller in Orange Is the New Black? ›

Painkiller, the new Netflix drama featuring Orange Is the New Black star Uzo Aduba, has released its first images. The six-part series, which also stars Matthew Broderick, will tell the story of the opioid crisis in the United States, in particular focusing on the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma.

Discover More ›
Is the Netflix Painkiller accurate? ›

While the vast majority of the limited series draws directly from historical events, most of its main characters—Edie, Glen, Shannon, and Britt—are fictional, although the people they stand for are certainly not. Each episode begins with a real person reading a disclaimer: “This program is based on real events.

Explore More ›
Who is Glen based on in Painkiller? ›

Per Netflix's official description, the series is merely a "fictionalized retelling of events." So, even though Glen Kryger's story isn't based on a real person, many people in the United States share a similar story—and Painkiller dramatizes it all for television.

Continue Reading ›
Who is Edie Flowers based on? ›

“The world of Edie Flowers, who is a fictitious person—but is a composite of a number of investigators—runs alongside the very real Richard Sackler,” Uzo says in an interview with Netflix's Tudum. “Having those points of intersection where the two worlds come together was incredibly impactful and powerful.”

Get More Info Here ›
Was there a whistleblower at Purdue Pharma? ›

Steven May started at Purdue Pharma as a sales rep in 1999, and years later went on to allege fraud against Purdue as a participant in a whistle-blower lawsuit (which was dismissed on procedural grounds).

View Details ›
Is OxyContin still available? ›

Oxycodone is only available on prescription. It comes as slow-release tablets, standard tablets and capsules, and a liquid that you swallow.

View More ›
What happened to Shannon Schaefer's Painkiller? ›

What happens to Shannon at the end of Painkiller? In one of the final episodes of Painkiller, Shannon does OxyContin, and ends up walking straight into a swimming pool, per Netflix. This leads to her character having a moral breakthrough.

Show Me More ›
Is OxyContin still legal? ›

OxyContin, a trade name for the narcotic oxycodone hydrochloride, is a painkiller available in the United States only by prescription.

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Where is Richard Sackler now? ›

Since 2013, he has lived outside Austin, Texas.

Read The Full Story ›
Is Purdue Pharma still in business? ›

As of August, 2023, Purdue Pharma remains in chapter 11 bankruptcy, pending a Department of Justice appeal to the United States Supreme Court, of a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals ruling that the bankruptcy proceedings may continue.

Discover More ›
Is painkiller the same as dopesick? ›

Each series focuses on 4–5 storylines that cover every complicated piece of the opioid epidemic. While Dopesick spends most of its time with the U.S. Attorney's investigation, Painkiller dives deeper into the history of the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma.

See More ›
Who invented OxyContin? ›

All three of the original Sackler brothers who bought Purdue and ultimately developed oxycontin were physicians. At the peak of their sales and marketing, Purdue hired 3,000 doctors to serve on their speakers bureau—a fact which certainly does not reflect well on the medical profession.

See Details ›
Who are the real life Sackler family? ›

The Sackler brothers

Three Sackler brothers—Arthur (1913–87), Mortimer (1916–2010), and Raymond (1920–2017)—were responsible for establishing the family's role in the pharmaceutical industry. The brothers grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where they graduated from Erasmus Hall High School.

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Is Britt Hufford a real character? ›

Britt Hufford (Not A Real Person)

Britt Hufford is a veteran sales rep for Purdue Pharma who mentors Shannon. She's played by Dina Shihabi, who has also been in Madam Secretary, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, and Daredevil.

View More ›
Who is Pain Hustlers based on? ›

Hughes's reporting also included how Insys sold the drug, including the practice of hiring attractive sales reps and bribing medical practitioners. The company was founded by billionaire Dr. John Kapoor, who was most likely the inspiration for Jack Neel (Andy Garcia) in the new Netflix film.

Read More ›

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