Why Bryan From Resident Evil Looks So Familiar
by Bill Bria · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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One of the pleasures of being a fan of film and television is getting to see an artist's career take shape in real time. The process of yesterday's no-name actor becoming an above-the-line star is, with rare exception, not an overnight one. Every up-and-coming actor has a breakout moment (or, typically, several) in which first the industry and then the general public begin to take note of them. When this happens, the folks who happened to notice their work months or years before can feel a sense of excitement, even pride, to have seen them first.
In 2026, Austin Abrams is having his star moment. He's the lead of Zach Cregger's new film version of "Resident Evil," where he plays the character Bryan. A few weeks from now, Abrams will carry another wild genre film on his shoulders, the Brian Duffield whale thriller "Whalefall." Thanks to this one-two punch, it's likely that most people (especially genre fans) will recognize the name Austin Abrams from now on. For right now, however, you might have watched "Resident Evil" and felt a little lost, not yet putting past work to Abrams' name or face. If you're wondering why the actor looks so familiar, it's because he's been working steadily in films and TV since he was a teenager in 2011. He's cropped up in a number of popular movies and shows, especially comedy and horror films. The chances are that you've seen Austin Abrams several times before, so here are the most likely places where you did.
Austin Abrams has been a staple in teen dramadies and horror films
After making his debut in a couple of small independent films, Austin Abrams began appearing in movies like "Gangster Squad" and "Sacrifice." His average-dude demeanor mixed with a sense of quirkiness helped get him cast in teen comedies and dramas on both the big and small screen. Abrams had a recurring role in the American remake of "The Inbetweeners" series and showed up in guest appearances on shows like "Shameless" and "Silicon Valley." With his turns in "The Kings of Summer," "Paper Towns," "All Summer's End," and "Dude," Abrams quietly became a staple of coming-of-age movies. This then led to his casting in supporting roles as a teenager/young adult in some bigger dramas, like Mike White's "Brad's Status" and a couple episodes of "The Americans."
In the midst of all this, Austin Abrams began building some cred amongst horror fans. Abrams landed the role of Ron Anderson in "The Walking Dead," turning up on the series throughout its 5th and 6th seasons. He then appeared in Tyler MacIntyre's "Tragedy Girls" in 2017, which was followed by his role as Tommy in André Øvredal's "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" in 2019. For most of his career so far, Abrams has vacillated between teen-oriented fare, romantic comedy/drama, and horror. He's been able to develop his impressive versatility as a result of this, allowing him to do things like lead the romantic comedy series "Dash & Lily" as well as combine his teen and genre film threads with movies like "Do Revenge."
You probably know Austin Abrams from Euphoria and Weapons
There are two projects which really allowed Austin Abrams to shine. He played the part of Ethan Daley on HBO's "Euphoria," a series which garnered a ton of buzz thanks to its breakout ensemble cast as well as its controversial, button-pushing storylines. While Abrams' Ethan was only a recurring role during the first season of the Sam Levinson series, he became a main cast member in Season 2, playing the doting boyfriend of Kat Hernandez (Barbie Ferreira). Abrams helped make Ethan a much more interesting character than a mere "nice guy," allowing him to stand out in a show that was already stuffed with young talent.
While "Euphoria" was buzzworthy enough to make Abrams recognizable, it was the actor's performance in Zach Cregger's "Weapons" last year which really helped him break out even further. Cregger's film utilized a neat narrative structure, where the movie was broken into six segments that closely followed a single character. Abrams was the star of one of those segments, playing the drug addict and thief, James. While Cregger peppered humor throughout the horror film, it was Abrams' hilarious work as James which really gave "Weapons" more dimension and range.
Abrams' performance in "Weapons" also demonstrated how much of an idiosyncratic, character-actor quality he has, as both James and Ethan from "Euphoria" feel totally distinct from each other. This appears to be Abrams' biggest strength now, on the eve of the release of "Resident Evil" and "Whalefall." Other actors might be nervous to star in two genre thrillers that are largely centered around their imperiled characters released in such close proximity to each other. Thanks to Austin Abrams' versatility, it's likely that audiences won't feel like he's repeating himself at all.