What The Cast Of Awkward Looks Like Today
Once upon a time, before streaming took over the TV landscape, MTV gave us the scripted series "Awkward." "Awkward," which premiered in 2011, is a high school dramedy that tells the story of a girl named Jenna Hamilton who suddenly becomes the most popular girl at school after an accidental fall in her bathroom is mistakenly thought to be a suicide attempt. As the show goes on, however, it also delves into the lives of other students around Jenna as they all navigate friendships, romances, and everything else that comes with teenhood.
"Awkward" may not have been the most critically acclaimed series out there but throughout its run, it amassed quite a significant following: The Season 1 finale drew in over 2.2 million viewers. In 2014, MTV announced that the show would be ending afterfive seasons in 2016.
As for the show's main cast? The "Awkward" stars sure have stayed busy. Some have also seemingly taken a break from acting. But either way, a lot of them still resemble the characters they played so many years ago.
Ashley Rickards (Jenna Hamilton)
When "Awkward" was looking for its lead actor, Ashley Rickards just so happened to be looking for her next acting gig. And so, when she heard about MTV's newest teen dramedy, she knew she wanted to audition for it right away. "It struck as something completely different. It has a really unique voice. Not only is the show funny and charming, but it has the ability to cover so many different emotions in 22 minutes," Rickards later told HuffPost.
Her initial audition certainly went well. The next thing the actor knew, she was hearing from show creator Lauren Iungerich herself. On an episode of MTV's "This Is How I Made It," Rickards recalled receiving a text from Iungerich that read, "Pssst! You nailed it!" That's how she found out that she nabbed the lead role of Jenna Hamilton.
After wrapping up "Awkward," the actor went on to work on the DC Comics series "The Flash" where she played the recurring character of Rosalind Dillon, who also happens to be a villain known as The Top. Rickards also worked on a number of movies, including the thriller "Killer App" and the R-rated horror thriller "Smiley Face Killers."
Beau Mirchoff (Matty McKibben)
When Beau Mirchoff landed "Awkward," he already had some major credits to his name. The Canadian actor had been booking roles since the early 2000s, making his onscreen debut in the 2003 series "Romeo!" before scoring his first film role in "Scary Movie 4." Since then, Mirchoff already starred in "The Grudge 3" and booked the recurring role of troubled teenager Danny Bolen in "Desperate Housewives."
Soon after this, Mirchoff also joined the cast of "Awkward" as Matty McKibben, Jenna's (Ashley Rickards) schoolmate and love interest. When he read the script for the show, Mirchoff immediately knew that Matty was a character he could relate to. "I remember actually liking a girl in high school who was kind of an outcast and weird, and people made fun of her. I remember hanging out with her, but I was apprehensive about telling anyone I really liked her," he revealed to Collider.
Meanwhile, Mirchoff has moved on to other projects since the show ended. The actor gravitated to feature films, joining the cast of the horror drama "Flatliners," which also stars Elliot Page, Nina Dobrev, and Diego Luna. Later on, Mirchoff also joined the cast of Edward Drake's "Detective Rogue" movies, which features Bruce Willis as the titular character. He also pursued TV shows like Hallmark's "Ride," "Good Trouble," and "Narcos: Mexico."
Jillian Rose Reed (Tamara Kaplan)
When Jillian Rose Reed was tapped to audition for "Awkward," she was already used to Hollywood's lengthy audition process. Her onscreen career began in 2008, and her earliest acting credits include "Weeds," "Zoey 101," "Community," and "The Middle." Despite her experience, however, the actor wasn't prepared for what happened next when she first went in for the role of Jenna's best friend, Tamara, in the MTV series. "I was asked to audition because the casting director saw me in another project," Reed recalled during an interview with Candy. "The role really fit me. I auditioned one time and found out two days later that I got the part!" As the show went on, her character also received a more prominent storyline.
Reed is still a working actor, popping up in shows like "Daytime Divas," "Love Daily," and "Lucifer." She's also ventured into animation, voicing the part of adventurer Naomi in the Disney series "Elena of Avalor." Aside from taking on more roles, she's stayed busy with the Breaking The Chains Foundation, even creating a social media wellness program called How To Love Yourselfie.
"I wrote a program about mental health and social media and it just kind of took off from there," Reed told AlexisJoyVIPAccess at the 2023 How to Love YourSelfie event. "Social media can be hard, especially for young people. ... You can change the conversation around social media."
Brett Davern (Jake Rosati)
When Brett Davern first auditioned for "Awkward," he read for the part of Matty. The casting department sensed he was right for the show, but better for a different role: Matty's best friend, Jake Rosati. "Brett is not only a very funny actor, he's very empathetic and he's got a huge range," series creator Lauren Iungerich also told the Seattle Times. "Jake is an old soul from the get-go ... Jake thinks for himself and not with the team. That's just something Brett had innately."
Davern bonded with his fellow stars, especially Beau Mirchoff. "Beau and I have become best friends in our outside lives," Davern told Media Mikes. "It's pretty funny that he and I had never crossed paths before doing this show."
Post-"Awkward," Davern has gravitated toward more mature projects. In the years that followed, he booked roles in shows such as "Relationship Status," "NCIS: Los Angeles," and "Tacoma FD." Davern also starred in the Prime dramedy "Sitting in Bars with Cake." The cast also includes Yara Shahidi, Bette Midler, Ron Livingston, and Odessa A'zion.
Molly Tarlov (Sadie Saxton)
When Molly Tarlov landed the part of bully Sadie Saxton, she had already been acting professionally for some time, having appeared in shows such as "iCarly," "Gravity," and "Huge." Oh, and when she was still in grade school, she had a small role in 1999's "Simply Irresistible," a fantasy rom-com her dad directed.
"Awkward" was arguably Tarlov's breakout role, and she couldn't have been more proud of the project. "It doesn't talk down to its audience and that's a really big part of its success," she once told Teen Vogue. "It's come together in a pretty magnificent way where everything fell exactly where it was supposed to be—and that includes the audience."
Following "Awkward," Tarlov continued acting, starring in series such as "Nasty Habits," "No, That's Okay. I'm Good.," and "On Hiatus with Monty Greer." In 2017, she wed Honor Society drummer Alexander Noyes in 2017. Some of the actor's "Awkward" castmates, including Brett Davern and Jillian Rose Reed, attended the wedding. In 2020, Tarlov gave birth to her first child.
Greer Grammer (Lissa Miller)
As the daughter of Hollywood legend Kelsey Grammer, it was natural for Greer Grammer to gravitate toward acting too. And so, she started putting together her acting portfolio even as she attended USC. Greer made her acting debut in 2010, taking on a guest role in "iCarly" and joining the cast of the drama "Almost Kings." And while she was open to just about any potential project, Greer wasn't really sure what to expect from MTV's "Awkward."
"Well, I actually kind of brushed it off at first. I thought 'MTV getting into scripted?'" Greer recalled during an interview with HuffPost. And when Greer went in to audition, she also thought that she didn't do well so she didn't expect to get cast. But then, Greer got a do-over. "I went back and really read the whole script and realized that it was so smart, and funny, and didn't talk down to its audience at all," she later added. "That's what made me really want to be a part of it." Eventually, she got cast as Lissa.
Since "Awkward," Greer has taken on a few television projects and landed some gigs on the big screen. She has starred in films such as "Roe v. Wade," "Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman," and the crime drama "Deadly Illusions."
Nikki DeLoach (Lacey Hamilton)
Nikki Deloach had been acting professionally for as long as she could remember by the time she landed the part of Jenna's (Ashley Rickards) mom, Lacey, in "Awkward." By then, she had already been in the business for decades, having gotten her start in "The Mickey Mouse Club" back in 1993. Over the years, DeLoach has also starred in shows such as "Walker, Texas Ranger" and "North Shore," as well as films like "The House Bunny" and "Love & Other Drugs."
DeLoach hadn't tried playing a mom before "Awkward" came along, although she was happy to give the role a shot — even after some of her peers expressed apprehension. "I remember when I first auditioned for the show, and a lot of my other actress friends who are my age were like, 'Oh, I wouldn't do that. I'm not ready to play a mom,'" DeLoach recalled during an interview with Esquire. "And I was like, you know, I really don't care. This role comes along once in a lifetime. I'm going for it."
Following her "Awkward" days, DeLoach has continued to stay busy. And while she briefly appeared in the action-drama "9-1-1," the "MMC" alum has mostly focused on doing television movies for The Hallmark Channel. Over the years, DeLoach has starred in feel-good films such as "Sweet Autumn," "Taking the Reins," "The Gift of Peace," and "A World Record Christmas."
Desi Lydic (Valerie Marks)
When Desi Lydic learned that "Awkward" was casting for the role of guidance counselor Valerie Marks, she was also told that the character was only supposed to appear on the series once. And while Lydic was looking for a stable gig at that time, she told Pop Gurls that she couldn't help but be drawn to it. "I don't care if this is a guest star. I don't care if it is a one-day [role]. I definitely want to get in on this," Lydic remembered thinking at the time. "I thought the Valerie character was a character that was someone like me doesn't get the opportunity to play very often. It is the role that Steve Carell or Tina Fey gets to play." A month after the show got picked up, she also learned that she was also made a series regular.
After "Awkward" ended, Lydic joined the cast of "The Daily Show" where she serves as a correspondent. On the Emmy-winning comedy talk show, Lydic has become particularly famous for her "Foxsplains" segment.
Mike Faiola (Kevin Hamilton)
Just like the other stars of "Awkward," Mike Faiola was no stranger to Hollywood by the time he landed his role as Jenna's (Ashley Rickards) father, Kevin Hamilton, on the show. The actor made his onscreen debut in the TV movie "Fantasy Island" back in 2002. Since then, he also made brief appearances in shows such as "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI: Miami," "Ugly Betty," "Happily Divorced," and "Modern Family." That said, "Awkward" gave Faiola his first regular television role.
Following his time on the show, Faiola went on to pursue several TV movie projects, including the 2018 Hallmark Channel romantic drama "Reunited at Christmas," which reunited Faiola with "Awkward" co-star Nikki DeLoach. "It's been really fun to do something with him again. Sometimes we sit around set and talk about 'Awkward' and how special it was," DeLoach later told TVLine. On top of all that, Faiola stays busy teaching acting lessons with the BGB Studio.
Nolan Gerard Funk (Collin Jennings)
Nolan Gerard Funk did not enter the "Awkward" universe until Season 3. However, this was far from his first acting gig. Funk had already built up quite an acting portfolio, having taken on brief roles in shows such as "The L Word," "Smallville," "Supernatural," "Lie to Me," "Castle," and "Hellcats." Funk also memorably spent some time in Ryan Murphy's "Glee," playing Dalton Academy Warblers Hunter Clarington. And as it turns out, that's how the casting team for "Awkward" found him. In an interview with She Said Media Said, Funk dished that he nabbed the part of Collin after testing just once. "I just got to meet Lauren Iungerich and showed my take on the character and luckily it worked!" he shared.
As for what Funk's been up to since "Awkward" ended? Looks like he has also been quite busy with taking on one project after another. These include films such as "Berlin, I Love You" and "Confession," as well as shows such as "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," Netflix's "Partner Track," and Kaley Cuoco's HBO Max series "The Flight Attendant."
Jessica Lu (Ming Huang)
On the "Awkward," Jessica Lu played Ming Huang, Jenna's (Ashley Rickards) other best friend who had a more prominent presence on the show during its first three seasons. When Chris Alberghini and Mike Chessler became the new showrunners during Season 4, however, changes happened, including the exit of some of the cast members. Evidently, Lu's departure from the show was her decision. "She wanted to move on," series creator Lauren Alberghini told BuzzFeed.
Moving on from "Awkward" allowed Lu to pursue all kinds of other projects. For starters, she starred in shows such as "Nashville," "Here and Now," "God Friended Me," and "Reverie." In a 2018 interview with Character Media, she said that she wanted to play Alexis, her character on "Reverie," immediately. "I read the script and I cried. I went into the audition and fought every bit of my personality. I didn't want to show any of my outgoingness, because Alexis is not that at all," she said.
On the film side of things, Lu joined the cast of "Line of Duty," a feature film starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben McKenzie. Aside from these projects, Lu also appeared in the music video for Steve Aoki's song "Waste It on Me" featuring the K-pop group BTS.
Evan Williams (Luke)
As if her love life wasn't already "Awkward" enough, Jenna (Ashley Rickards) also falls for a college tour guide named Luke (Evan Williams) in Season 4. Since his time on the MTV dramedy, he's booked project after project.
As "Awkward" began to wind down, Williams continued to star in the period drama "Versailles" where he portrayed the cruel and devious Chevalier de Lorraine." Soon after, the actor followed this up with brief appearances in "The Rookie," "Westworld," and "Fuller House," Netflix's sequel to the 80s hit show "Full House." Later on, Williams also signed on to join the cast of the Hallmark Channel drama "The Way Home."
Over the years, Williams also delved into some film projects. This includes the Ana de Armas Netflix flick "Blonde," in which he portrayed Eddy Robinson Jr., actor Edward G. Robinson's son who supposedly had a romantic affair with Marilyn Monroe. Oh, and he also released an album called "Cloud Parade" in 2021. "I liked the rolling narrative of it," he said of the album in a chat with Pop Culturalist. "There's this big arc that's about coming of age and coming to terms with some of the deeper things that I've been struggling with like heartbreak, loss, and morality, and present circumstances of our world under late-stage predatory capitalism, and everything in between."