A Few Good Men cast and character guide: Who plays whom in the legal drama movie

A Few Good Men was directed by Rob Reiner, while Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay. It was based on Aaron Sorkin’s stage play of the same name and starred Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, and Jack Nicholson in the lead roles. The film was released on December 11, 1992, by Columbia Pictures after its world premiere in LA. The official synopsis, as mentioned in Letterboxd, reads:

When cocky military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee and his co-counsel, Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway, are assigned to a murder case, they uncover a hazing ritual that could implicate high-ranking officials such as shady Col. Nathan Jessep.

Let's take a look at the film's cast and character details.

A Few Good Men cast and character guide explained

1) Tom Cruise as Daniel Kaffee

Tom Cruise plays the role of Daniel Kaffee, who is a junior-grade Lieutenant in the United States Navy. He is also a part of the JAG Corps and is looking into the case of the two court-martialed Marines. Cruise is also known for roles in the Mission: Impossible franchise, Edge of Tomorrow, Magnolia, and others.

2) Demi Moore as Joanne Galloway

Demi Moore in A Few Good Men | Image via Sony Pictures Entertainment

Demi Moore is playing the US Navy's Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway in A Few Good Men. She is a JAG Corps lawyer assisting Kaffee in defending the Marines accused of murder. Moore has acted in films like Disclosure, The Substance, and G.I. Jane.

3) Jack Nicholson as Nathan R. Jessep

A still from A Few Good Men | Image via Sony Pictures Entertainment

Nicholson plays USMC Colonel Nathan R. Jessep, who was the commanding officer at Guantanamo Bay. His orders resulted in a death, which forms the central issue of the case. Nicholson has had a long career in Hollywood and some of his films include The Shining, The Departed, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Chinatown, among others.

4) Other cast members

Kevin Bacon as Jack Ross
Kiefer Sutherland as Jonathan James Kendrick
Noah Wyle as Jeffrey Owen Barnes
Harry Caesar as Luther
Kevin Pollak as Sam Weinberg
Wolfgang Bodison as Harold W. Dawson
James Marshall as Louden Downey
Matt Craven as Dave Spradling
John M. Jackson as Captain West
J. T. Walsh as Matthew Andrew Markinson
Christopher Guest as (Dr.) Stone
J. A. Preston as Julius Alexander Randolph
Michael DeLorenzo as William Santiago
Cuba Gooding Jr. as Carl Edward Hammaker
Xander Berkeley as Captain Whitaker
David Bowe as Jerry Gibbs
Joshua Malina as Tom

More about A Few Good Men

A Few Good Men is produced by David Brown, Rob Reiner, and Andrew Scheinman under the production banner of Castle Rock Entertainment. The film had its world premiere on December 9, 1992, at the Westwood Village Theatre in Los Angeles, before its nationwide release on December 11. Upon release, the film received positive critical response and grossed $243 million at the box office. It also ended up getting a Best Picture Oscar nomination along with three more.

Over the years, the film's scenes and dialogues have become a part of pop culture, especially Nicholson's delivery of 'You can't handle the truth' dialogue.