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Netflix has the perfect start to this late-summer weekend: Sextuplets, Marlon Wayans‘s new Netflix original film that features Wayans in six different roles. If you think you can guess exactly what that film will be like, you’re almost definitely right. The film’s protagonist, Alan (Wayans) is a soon-to-be father who discovers he has a twin brother named Russell (Wayans). But the brothers quickly realize they are not twins, but sextuplets. Their late mother gave birth to five boys and one girl and gave all but one up to a foster home. And yes, Wayans plays every sibling, and yes, two of those siblings require the use of a fat suit.
It’s a comedic tradition that’s been passed down from Peter Sellers to Eddie Murphy to Tyler Perry, and now it’s Wayans’s turn behind the prosthetics. Just as there will always be critics of the practice—it does inevitably lead to some unfavorable, and, sometimes offensive stereotyping, particularly when it comes to the women that these comedians play—there will also always be people who love it. And you can’t deny there’s something impressive about watching one man inhabit so many different personas and costumes. I can’t imagine Sextuplets was an easy shoot for Wayans, and you have to respect hard work.
However, there are a few characters in the film that are not played by the comedian, like Alan’s boss, Alan’s pregnant wife, Alan’s coworker, Alan’s mother-in-law, Alan’s father-in-law, and several doctors. If you’re wondering where you’ve seen those familiar faces before, or if you just want to get a glimpse at the many faces of Marlon Wayans in Sextuplets before you watch the film, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s your guide to the Sextuplets cast, including Marlon Wayans, Brenda Webb, Molly Shannon, Michael Ian Black, and more.
Marlon Wayans as Alan
Marlon Wayans has been a fixture in Hollywood comedy for over two decades. He’s a member of the Wayans family, and frequently collaborates with his brothers, Keenan and Shawn, with whom he wrote and starred in, among other films, Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2, and White Chicks. More recently, Wayans created and starred in his own sitcom, Marlon, which was canceled after two seasons. You might also know Wayans from his acting roles in films like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Requiem for a Dream, The Heat, and much more.
Of all the many roles Wayans has played in his career, never has he ever played six characters in one film, as he does in Sextuplets. First up is the film’s protagonist Alan, a soon-to-be father who discovers he has five other siblings. Alan is the least eccentric of the sextuplets, which means the least amount of make-up and costume for Wayans when he’s on screen.
Marlon Wayans as Russell
Russell is the first sibling that Alan meets, and it’s Wayans in a fat suit and makeup. Russell is a nerdy introvert who speaks with a lisp and lived with his mother until her death.
Marlon Wayans as Ethan
Yep, that’s right, it’s Wayans again! That’s kind of the point of this whole movie! As Ethan, Wayans wears a wig, rocks a gold tooth, and speaks like a 1970s pimp.
Marlon Wayans as Dawn
You didn’t think you were going to get through this film without seeing Wayans in drag, did you? Dawn is Alan’s sister, a confident exotic dancer who’s recently served some time in prison.
Marlon Wayans as Baby Pete
I’m honestly not sure how to describe “Baby Pete,” the fifth sibling played by Wayans that we meet. It’s never really explained why he looks like the head of an 80-year-old has been transplanted onto the body of an 8-year-old, other than vague health problems, but it gives Marlon a chance to do an old-man voice and wear a weird hair piece, I guess!
Marlon Wayans as Jaspar
The final sibling Wayans plays is Jaspar, the stuffy and villainous academic. I won’t spoil how the film ends, but let’s just say Jaspar plays an important role in getting the family back together.
Bresha Webb as Marie
There actually are a few other actors besides Wayans in Sextuplets, and one of them is Bresha Webb as Alan’s pregnant wife, Marie. You might know Webb, a comedian, from her show, Love That Girl!, which ran for four years on TVOne, or you may recognize her from her role on Wayans’s sitcom, Marlon, where she played the best friend of Wayans on-screen wife. Webb has also appeared in films like Night School, Ride Along 2, and Meet the Blacks.
Molly Shannon as Linda
National treasure Molly Shannon shows up in this film, as Alan’s sexually aggressive boss, Linda. You know her from her days on Saturday Night Live, where she was a cast member from 1995 to 2001. You’ve also seen her steal scenes in her supporting roles in films like A Night at the Roxbury, Never Been Kissed, Other People, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and Wet Hot American Summer. More recently she was starring on the HBO comedy-drama, Divorce, which aired its third and final season last month. She truly is a gift!
Michael Ian Black as Doug
Glynn Turman as Leland
Marie’s father—who we are told several times is a judge—is played by the always great Glynn Turman. Turman’s Hollywood credits stretch back further than is possible to list out here, but a few fun facts: Turman was Lew Miles on the soap opera Peyton Place in the ’60s, he was mayor Clarence Royce on The Wire in the early 2000s, and he was married to singer Aretha Franklin from 1978 to 1982. Now that’s what I call a resume!
Debbi Morgan as Janet
Like her on-screen husband, Debbi Morgan—who plays Marie’s mother, Janet—has a long and impressive career in the industry. She was Angie Baxter–Hubbard on the soap opera All My Children, she was a seer on Charmed, and more recently she was Harmony Hamilton on The Young and the Restless. Cinephiles may also remember her in the critically-acclaimed 1997 drama, Eve’s Bayou.
