

Childhood is when impressionable minds open widest to the mesmerizing power of entertainment. Nearly everyone can recall connecting with a show so completely it feels like a magical world created just for you.
But what if it actually was?
Superfan James is obsessed with the clever if quaintly goofy kids' show Brigsby Bear to the point of religiosity. A bright, sensitive young adult still living at home, he has grown up with this fantasy series, and the program has grown with him as well — getting more complex over the years. But to say James' intensely protective parents have kept their son a bit sheltered is an understatement.
One dramatic night, James' insular world is upended. Through the disorienting but sporadically hilarious transition to a new life that follows, Brigsby remains James' security blanket and, upon learning the series has been cancelled, he adopts the old adage that the show must go on. Family members and authority figures fret over James' fixation, but by becoming Brigsby Bear's new creator instead of just a viewer in the dark, he finally accesses all the meaningful connections his life has lacked. By telling his story, James repairs it — producing in the process an inventively offbeat and profoundly uplifting love letter to the redemptive power of creativity.
James
One of Saturday Night Live's leading players, Kyle Mooney is currently in his fourth season, the most-watched in 23 years. In his debut year, he quickly gained recognition via the digital shorts "Miley Sex Tape" with Miley Cyrus and in "420" with Seth Rogen, and has also stood out with his signature man-on-the-street interviews. In addition to co-founding the Good Neighbor sketch comedy group, Mooney has been a regular writer and performer at Upright Citizens Brigade since 2007. He starred in the HBO series Hello Ladies and the movie adaptation HELLO LADIES: THE MOVIE opposite Stephen Merchant. He has also appeared on NBC's Parks and Recreation and in the feature films ZOOLANDER 2, directed by Ben Stiller, and NEIGHBORS 2: SORORITY RISING.
Originally from San Diego, Mooney studied film at the University of Southern California and currently lives in New York City.
Detective Bander
Hailing from the sketch comedy group Good Neighbor, writer/performer Beck Bennett is currently a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Beck's credits include the independent film INTRAMURAL opposite Kate McKinnon and Jake Lacy, BESIDE STILL WATERS, directed by Chris Lowell, and DEAN, written and directed by Demetri Maritn. Beck is also known for the AT&T "It's Not Complicated" commercials, directed by Jorma Taccone, where he interviewed children and recently starred as one of the lead voices in the hit Illumination Entertainment animated feature SING.
Emily
Having established herself as one of Hollywood's leading actresses, Claire Danes currently stars on Showtime's critically acclaimed series Homeland. For her performance as Carrie Mathison, she has won back-to-back Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama, and a 2013 SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. Danes also received critical acclaim for her performance in HBO's TEMPLE GRANDIN biopic, winning the 2010 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. She also won the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television and the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. Danes also starred in Richard Linklater's critically acclaimed film, ME & ORSON WELLES opposite Zac Efron and Christian McKay. In 2007, Danes made her Broadway debut starring in George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" opposite Jefferson Mays. Danes additionally garnered critical acclaim for her performances in Anand Tucker's SHOPGIRL opposite Steve Martin and Jason Schwartzman, Richard Eyre's STAGE BEAUTY opposite Billy Crudup, Burr Steer's IGBY GOES DOWN opposite Susan Sarandon, Jeff Goldblum, Ryan Phillippe and Kieran Culkin, and Baz Luhrman's WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO & JULIET opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. Danes first caught critics' and audiences' attention in Ed Zwick and Marshall Hershkovitz's acclaimed series, My So Called Life, which earned her an Emmy Nomination and a Golden Globe for her leading role as Angela Chase.
Ted
Mark Hamill's career has encompassed all aspects of entertainment including stage, screen, television and new media. He is best known as Luke Skywalker in George Lucas' original STAR WARS trilogy. He recently returned to the role in J.J Abrams' STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS and will continue in Rian Johnson's EPISODE VIII. Other films include: CORVETTE SUMMER, SAMUEL FULLER'S THE BIG RED ONE, SLIPSTREAM, WALKING ACROSS EGYPT, JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, SUSHI GIRL, and KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE. Hamill directed and starred in the cult mockumentary COMIC BOOK: THE MOVIE. Broadway credits include "The Elephant Man," "Amadeus" (also First National Tour), Michael Stewart's "Harrigan n' Hart," "The Nerd," "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks" and the Roundabout Theatre production of "Room Service." As a prolific voice-over artist, Hamill has performed in countless television cartoons, feature films and video games. Hamill first played the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series then returned to the role in the Arkham Aslyum video game series for which he received a BAFTA award, followed by this year's groundbreaking R-rated animated film, THE KILLING JOKE. This trend continued when he returned as The Trickster on CW's The Flash, a role he first played in the original CBS series. Hamill has re-teamed with Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts for Star Citizen: Squadron 42 with Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, and Ben Mendelsohn. As an avid collector, he also created Mark Hamill's Pop Culture Quest, which debuted last fall on Comic Con HQ.
Spencer
Arriving in Los Angeles at age of eighteen to pursue acting, Jorge Lendeborg Jr.'s breakthrough role came in as the lead character Steven Caple Jr.'s THE LAND, which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Festival with IFC releasing. Variety wrote that "newcomer Jorge Lendeborg Jr. truly captivates" in his "confident star turn" as Cisco, one of four Cleveland teens whose dreams of becoming pro skateboarders in California, and plans to finance them through petty crime, soon run afoul of a local drug queen-pin. Lendeborg will be also seen in Robert Rodriguez and Fox's ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, alongside Christoph Waltz and Rosa Salazar, playing "Tanji" — one of the cunning characters who battles in the futuristic world of the twenty-sixth century. In addition, Lendeborg landed the role of Peter Parker's friend and high school reporter in SPIDER- MAN: HOMECOMING alongside Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr
Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Miami, Lendeborg comes from a film family: his father Jorge "George" Lendeborg Sr. is a director, producer, writer, and actor. An avid writer himself, Lendeborg also enjoys doing stand-up comedy and plays several musical instruments, including piano and drums.
Detective Vogel
Academy Award® nominee and Emmy Award-winning actor Greg Kinnear continues to draw audiences and critical acclaim with diverse and interesting roles in both television and film. In his forthcoming feature directorial debut, the dark comedy THE PHILOSOPHY OF PHIL, Kinnear plays a dentist whose life is thrown off the rails after a patient who seemed to have it all unexpectedly commits suicide. The supporting cast includes Emily Mortimer, Luke Wilson, and Jay Duplass. Kinnear can next be seen this fall in SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME alongside Renee Zellweger and Djimon Honsou. Kinnear was last seen in the critically acclaimed drama LITTLE MEN, directed by Ira Sachs and released by Magnolia Pictures. On the small screen, Kinnear recently appeared in the Emmy-nominated HBO film CONFIRMATION opposite Kerry Washington. In 2014 Kinnear starred in FOX's U.S. version of the popular Australian legal drama, Rake, which follows the chaotic and comedic world of criminal defense lawyer Keegan Deane (Kinnear). In 2012, Kinnear's guest starring role on the award-winning ABC hit-series Modern Family, as Phil's (Ty Burrell) inappropriate boss Tad, earned him an Emmy Award nomination in the category of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. His performance as John F. Kennedy in The Kennedy's earned him an Emmy Award nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie and a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. In 2006, Kinnear starred in the smash indie hit LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and his numerous other film credits include ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND CONTINUES, HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, THE ENGLISH TEACHER, AUTO FOCUS, INVINCIBLE, FAST FOOD NATION, GHOST TOWN, FEAST OF LOVE, WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? and YOU'VE GOT MAIL. His performance as Simon in James L. Brooks' AS GOOD AS IT GETS, starring alongside Jack Nicholson, earned him an Academy Award® nomination and the honor of being named Best Supporting Actor by the National Board of Review and nominations in the same category at The Golden Globes and The Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Arielle Smiles
Since graduating from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Kate Lyn Sheil has appeared in Carlo Mirabella-Davis' KNIFE POINT, Alex Ross Perry's THE COLOR WHEEL (AFI 2011), Lawrence Michael Levine's GABI ON THE ROOF IN JULY, Sophia Takal's GREEN (SXSW 2011), Joe Swanberg's SILVER BULLETS (Berlin 2011), Adam Wingard's YOU'RE NEXT (Toronto 2011), Amy Seimetz's SUN DON'T SHINE (SXSW 2012), Robert Byington's SOMEBODY UP THER LIKES ME (SXSW 2012), Alex Ross Perry's LISTEN UP PHILIP, Zachary Wigon's THE HEART MACHINE (SXSW 2014) and Drake Doremus' sci-fi futuristic love story EQUALS. Last year, Kate made a Sundance splash with the premiere of Robert Greene's genre-bending documentary, KATE PLAYS CHRISTINE, which follows Kate preparing to portray the role of Christine Chubbuck, a real-life news reporter who killed herself on national television in 1974. In television, Kate can be seen in the recurring role of 'Lisa Williams' on Netflix's House of Cards and the Starz TV series The Girlfriend Experience, which centers on the life of a New York call girl (Sundance Premiere 2016). Currently, Sheil is a series regular on the Cinemax thriller Outcast, from the creator of The Walking Dead, and lives in New York City.
Aubrey
As a young girl, Ryan Simpkins first came on the scene opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal in SHERRY BABY. Other roles in critically acclaimed films include playing on-screen siblings with her real-life brother Ty Simpkins in Gavin O'Connor's PRIDE AND GLORY and later in Sam Mendes' Oscar-nominated film REVOLUTIONARY ROAD. Simpkins then appeared in Tom Ford's A SINGLE MAN and Francis Ford Coppola's TWIXT. She is also featured this year in New Line's THE HOUSE, playing Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler's daughter.
April
A graduate of Julliard, Adams Jane won both the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for her performance as Sheila Birling in AN INSPECTOR CALLS, directed by Stephen Daldry, and received a Theatre World Award and nominations for both a Drama Desk Award and Outer Critic's Award for her performance in Paul Rudnick's I HATE HAMLET. Her feature film credits include memorably turns in ALL THE LIGHT IN THE SKY, SILVER BULLETS, ALEXANDER THE LAST, DIGGING FOR FIRE, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, WONDER BOYS, THE BRAVE ONE, LEMONY SNICKET, ORANGE COUNTY, and THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY among others. Jane received a Golden Globe nomination for her role in HBO's critically acclaimed series Hung and other television credits include Frasier, Relativity, Easy, Atlanta, plus the upcoming Twin Peaks and Claws.
Excited Man
Writer and actor Nick Rutherford launched his career as a member of the sketch comedy group Good Neighbor, alongside Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, and Dave McCary, before joining Saturday Night Live as staff writer. Currently, he is writing for and starring in Dream Corp, LLC for Adult Swim — a live-action/animated comedy series executive produced by Stephen Merchant and John Krasinski that is entering its second season. Recently, he appeared in the film INTRAMURAL opposite Jake Lacy, Kate McKinnon, and Beck Bennett, which premiered at last year's Tribeca Film Festival.
Meredith
Alexa will soon appear as a teenage Griselda Blanco, a.k.a. "The Godmother of Cocaine," in the film THE GODMOTHER. She also had a recurring role over three episodes of the hit Showtime series Ray Donovan and starred in the short film MILES directed by Oliver Daly and produced by David Goyer. Alexa is also an accomplished singer-songwriter, selling out venues during her recent month-long tour across Europe opening for JMSN.
Logan
Prior to making his feature film debut in BRIGSBY BEAR, Crimin created and starred in a popular Vine channel. Launched in 2013, the channel quickly amassed an audience over 350,000 strong by the network's end in 2016. Since then, he has also created a successful YouTube channel with 100,000+ views and his content has been featured on independent European networks as well as MTV's Ridiculousness.
Greg
Matt Walsh currently stars in HBO's award-winning comedy Veep alongside Julia Louis- Dreyfus and recently garnered an Emmy nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his role as Mike McLintock on the series. He appeared in Paramount Pictures' OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY, Paul Feig's re-boot of GHOSTBUSTERS, and the Zack Galifianakis and Jon Hamm film KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES. He will also be seen in David Wain's forthcoming film about the National Lampoon magazine A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE. Previously, Walsh was a correspondent for The Daily Show, starred in his Spike TV's sports comedy, Players, and appeared on HBO's Hung, NBC's Outsourced, NBC's Community, ABC's Happy Endings, Adult Swim's Childrens Hospital, NTSF:SD:SUV::, IFC's Comedy Bang Bang, Comedy Central's Drunk History, and Nick Swardson's Pretend Time. His movie appearances include SEMI-PRO, OLD SCHOOL, BAD SANTA, ROAD TRIP, ELF, ROLE MODELS, STEP BROTHERS, THE HANGOVER, DUE DATE, TED, INTO THE STORM, HITS, and GET HARD. Walsh is a founding member of the monumentally successful and influential national improv-sketch comedy theatre Upright Citizens Brigade, which has schools and venues in New York and Los Angeles.
Louise
Currently starring on the critically acclaimed hit Hulu series Casual, Watkins will also soon be seen in the comedy film THE HOUSE alongside Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler. Additional forthcoming films include HOW TO BE A LATIN LOVER and HUMAN PEOPLE alongside Michael Cera and Abbi Jacobson. Watkins also starred last year as "Mel" in the feature film LAZY EYE. She was featured in the first and second season of Amazon's Golden Globe-winning series Transparent and can be seen in the Netflix limited series Wet Hot American Summer opposite Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd. Prior to that, she played the eccentric and loveable 'Jackie' on the critically acclaimed ABC series Trophy Wife opposite Bradley Whitford and Malin Ackerman. Other past television credits include Veep, The Goldbergs, Married, The Comedians, New Girl, Enlightened, Modern Family, Children's Hospital, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Parenthood, Key and Peele, The Kroll Show, Drunk History and Californication. On the creator side, Watkins recently executive produced, created, and wrote the comedy series Benched with Damon Jones for the USA Network. As an indie film darling, Watkins' memorable performances include Lake Bell's IN A WORLD... and Jill Soloway's AFTERNOON DELIGHT. Other feature film credits include the Universal Pictures comedy WANDERLUST, opposite Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, THEY CAME TOGETHER opposite Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd, and Nicole Holofcener's film ENOUGH SAID. Watkins hails from the Los Angeles main stage company, The Groundlings Theater, where many distinguished Saturday Night Live alum have performed. Watkins joined the Saturday Night Live cast midseason for 2008-09 and quickly made her mark with spot-on impressions of Arianna Huffington, Barbara Walters and Kathie Lee Gifford's sidekick Hoda Kotb.
Director
Dave McCary, co-founder of the L.A.-based sketch comedy group Good Neighbor, is currently in his fourth season as a writer and director at Saturday Night Live. He has been nominated for an Emmy Award for his work at Saturday Night Live and is making his feature directorial debut with BRIGSBY BEAR.
Co-Writer
Saturday Night Live repertory player Kyle Mooney recently returned as a cast member for his fourth season. During his first season, he quickly gained recognition starring in the digital shorts "Miley Sex Tape" with Miley Cyrus and in "420" with Seth Rogen. He has also contributed his signature man-on-the-street interviews. In addition to co-founding the Good Neighbor sketch comedy group, Mooney has been a regular writer and performer at Upright Citizens Brigade since 2007. He starred in the HBO series Hello Ladies and the show's movie adaptation HELLO LADIES: THE MOVIE opposite Stephen Merchant and has appeared on NBC's Parks and Recreation. Kyle also appeared in the feature films ZOOLANDER 2, directed by Ben Stiller, and NEIGHBORS 2: SORORITY RISING. Mooney studied film at the University of Southern California. He is from San Diego and currently lives in New York City.
Co-Writer
Kevin Costello grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma and San Diego, along with a few other places in close proximity to Naval and Air Force bases. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism in 2007 he moved to LA and slept on his friend's couch. Then, after working as an assistant and mastering proper Hollywood lingo, he was able to transition to his dream job of writing doomed screenplays, followed by his super dream job of making a movie with his friends Kyle and Dave. Kevin currently lives in Los Feliz with his wife Lauren and dog Ripley.
Director of Photography
Born in Hollywood, FL and raised in Chicago, Christian studied cinematography at Columbia College before moving to Los Angeles. A strong passion for thought-provoking cinema has yielded Christian an eclectic body of work, notably GREGORY GOES BOOM, winner of the Jury Prize for US Fiction Short Film at Sundance in 2014, the critically acclaimed FX series Atlanta and Netflix's upcoming series G.L.O.W.. Christian currently lives in Los Angeles where he passionately searches for new stories to tell, new places to explore, and new tacos to enjoy.
Editor
Jacob Craycroft has cut over 20 films, including Robert Altman's swan song, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. Other notable films include the Netflix Original BARRY, Twentieth Century Fox's PAPER TOWNS, the Sundance award winner ROBOT AND FRANK, Fox Searchlight's JOSHUA, Jesse Peretz's OUR IDIOT BROTHER, the cult comedy SUPER TROOPERS, VH1's Rock Doc DOWNLOADED directed by Alex Winter, and Sebastian Silva's MAGIC MAGIC. Jacob was a consulting editor on A24's OBVIOUS CHILD. He produced and edited the documentary BREATH CONTROL: THE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN BEAT BOX. His television credits include Robert Altman's Tanner on Tanner.