Who’s who in Heartland, the country music-infused film’s ensemble
Curious who’s starring in Netflix’s Heartland—meet the cast behind the film.
A former country star forced back home, a missing niece, and the shadows of Nashville’s music scene set the tone for Heartland, a new Netflix thriller that drops its lead right into a small-town search where old secrets don’t stay buried. Jessica Chastain plays Misty Jones, whose return to her roots turns into a tense hunt that spins past family drama into something far darker.
The film leans into the world of country music on and off screen, with real recording artists in key roles and a cast stacked with seasoned character actors. It ’s directed by Shana Feste, whose work often mixes intimate character studies with high-stakes emotion.
Cast and roles
- Jessica Chastain — Misty Jones (Academy Award and Golden Globe winner; Interstellar, The Martian)
- John Hawkes — Clark (Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee; Winter’s Bone, The Sessions)
- Carter Faith — Charlie Heart (country singer-songwriter; debut album Cherry Valley in 2025 )
- Garrett Hedlund — Roy Combs (Friday Night Lights, Four Brothers; Triple Frontier, The Marsh King’s Daughter)
- Jennifer Nettles — Winnie Jo Lean (Grammy winner; four Country Music Association Awards; one American Music Award)
- Ross Lynch — Jace (My Friend Dahmer; Teen Beach Movie and Teen Beach 2)
- Isabelle Kusman — role TBA (seen in Netflix’s His & Hers)
- Wynn Everett — role TBA (Marvel ’s Agent Carter; recurring on Sweet Magnolias and This Is Us)
The music bona fides are front and center: Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles brings her stage presence to Winnie Jo Lean, while rising country artist Carter Faith plays a fellow up-and-comer on screen — and released her real-life debut album in 2025.
Chastain on channeling country stardom
Chastain’s already logged serious time in this world, having played Tammy Wynette in the 2022 limited series George & Tammy, which earned her an Emmy nomination. She told People that experience helped her find Misty Jones’s center.
“I could draw from that understanding of what superstardom does to a person, but also the innocence that can somehow survive alongside it,” she told People. “Thankfully, Tammy had already sent me to country-music graduate school.”
Heartland premieres on Netflix on November 13, 2026 .