The Surfer cast and character guide: Who plays whom in the latest psychological thriller starring Nicolas Cage

The Surfer isn’t just a movie about waves. It’s about what crashes inside a man when the world stops making sense. Bathed in blinding sunlight and soaked in existential dread, it throws you onto the rugged shores of Western Australia and doesn’t let you leave.

What starts as a simple homecoming spirals into a psychological showdown, where every grain of sand feels like judgment, and the ocean starts to feel like a mirror. This film isn’t afraid to get weird, to get quiet, to get loud; it strips everything down to the bone. This isn’t about surfing. It’s about survival.

Surely a gripping narrative like this deserved the perfect cast, and The Surfer absolutely delivered. Here's who plays whom in this surfing thriller that will keep you glued to your seats till the very end.

Cast and character guide of The Surfer

Nicolas Cage as The Surfer

Still from The Surfer (Image via YouTube/Lionsgate Movies)

Nicolas Cage delivers a wild, riveting performance as the Surfer, blending unhinged chaos with aching vulnerability. He doesn’t just play a man losing control; he embodies the breakdown. With sunburnt skin, twitchy eyes, and manic monologues about wave etiquette, Cage transforms what could’ve been a one-note role into a full-blown psychological symphony.

He arrives at his childhood beach with a quiet sense of entitlement, clinging to nostalgia and the belief that money and civility will grant him peace. But the beach rejects him violently. Stripped of comfort, status, and even his name, he spirals into a raw, almost primal state.

Before this, Cage starred in films like Moonstruck, Leaving Las Vegas, Face/Off, National Treasure, and Ghost Rider, showcasing his wide range across genres from romance to action and horror.

Julian McMahon as Scally

Julian McMahon brings a sun-scorched swagger to Scally, the beach tyrant with a bleached smile and a rotting soul. He’s not just the villain; he’s the embodiment of every entitled man who thinks the ocean owes him something. With a past wrapped in bravado and a present dripping with menace, Scally rules the beach like a sunburned king gone mad.

McMahon, no stranger to charming chaos, considering his work on Nip/Tuck, Charmed, and Fantastic Four, taps into something raw here. He turns Scally into a ghost of masculinity’s worst instincts, all tan, teeth, and terrifying control, and dares us to look away.

Nicholas Cassim as The Bum

Nicholas Cassim delivers a quietly haunting performance as the Bum, a character who drifts between sage and specter. Living in a rusted station wagon and weighed down by loss, he sees through the macho posturing that plagues the beach.

Cassim, best known for his role in Mr Inbetween, brings a tragic tenderness to the role, making the Bum less of a side character and more of a broken mirror reflecting the Surfer's own decline.

Finn Little as The Kid

Finn Little is the quiet heartbeat of The Surfer, embodying the raw hope and fragile innocence that the Surfer desperately clings to. As The Kid, he’s not just a character; he’s the reason the Surfer fights, dreams, and struggles against the brutal tide of the beach boys and his own unraveling mind.

Before this, Little made waves with his standout lead in Storm Boy and earned praise for roles in Angel of Mine, Tidelands, and Yellowstone season 4. His blend of youthful vulnerability and quiet strength perfectly grounds the film’s emotional core.