Netflix’s Live Action Scooby-Doo: Where You Know the Origins Cast From

It’s acceptable for fans to get a bit nervous when a streaming giant swoops in on a beloved show like Scooby Doo.

However, two years on from Netflix’s announcement that it was developing a new live-action show featuring everyone’s favourite Great Dane, there’s been nothing to suggest that the producers are phoning this one in.

The first reassuring note was the announcement that Josh Appelbaum (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) and Scott Rosenberg (Con Air) were being brought in to pen the script. Next came the news that Toby Haynes (who helmed such beloved TV episodes as Sherlock’s ‘Reichenbach Falls’, Black Mirror’s ‘USS Callister,’ and the prison break triptych in Andor Season 1) was being brought in to direct. Now we have the main cast. All of this has collectively made Scooby-Doo: Origins a show fans can feel comfortable getting a little hyped about.

Read on to learn more about the stars of Scooby-Doo: Origins — which we’ll keep updating with each announcement — and use the guide to find out where to find some of their most notable work on platforms like Apple TV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

McKenna Grace as Daphne

She might not exactly be playing the lead character, but it certainly looks as if McKenna Grace’s Daphne is being lined up to be the star of the show. This is particularly shrewd casting by Netflix, as Grace is not only one of the buzziest young actresses in Hollywood, but also voiced Young Daphne in the 2020 animated movie Scoob!.

In fact, Grace’s years as a child star featured several similar roles — including playing young Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel and also young Tony Harding in I, Tonya. After her breakout performance in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and graduating to more mature roles, Grace has gone on to prove herself in the worlds of provocative indie filmmaking with Anniversary, franchise horror with Scream 7, and rom-coms with Regretting You. 

Her Daphne will, of course, have to contend with the shadow of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s iconic performance in the 2002 live-action Scooby-Doo and its sequel, but given everything that’s come so far in her career, Grace appears to be more than up for the task. Look out for her later this year in The Hunger Games: Sunshine on the Reaping.

One to watch: Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Frank Welker as the Voice of Scooby 

Another reason to feel a little excited about Scooby Doo: Origins is the endearing news that the great Frank Welker, who has been voicing Scooby Doo since the very first show went on air in 1969, is on board to once again play the mystery-solving Great Dane. 

Along with playing that iconic role for close to six decades, the 80-year-old Hollywood veteran has amassed a dazzling roster of characters over the course of his career. This astonishing list includes numerous Transformers, including Megatron; Stripe and Mogwai in Gremlins, Sultan in Beauty and the Beast, Abu in Aladdin, and Godzilla in, well, Godzilla. What a life. 

One to watch: Gremlins

Tanner Hagen as Shaggy

The most unknown quantity so far in the Scooby Doo: Origins cast is Tanner Hagen, a relatively unknown actor who has been given the responsibility of playing Shaggy, which means that Hagen will be filling the rather big shoes of Matthew Lillard (of Scream fame), who delighted fans with his unhinged goofiness in the role in 2002. 

Hagen’s most prominent job to date was playing Travis — a teenager with a post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage — in Season 1 of The Pitt. 

One to watch: The Pitt

Abby Ryde Fortson as Velma

Another Pitt alumnus (and yes, they appear in the same episode) on the Scooby Doo: Origins callsheet is Abby Ryde Fortson — she played the young woman who was attempting to get an abortion in the show’s first season.

Fans of Fortson’s work, however, will likely know her more for playing the pre-‘Blip’ Cassie Lang in the Ant-Man movies and, better yet, for her remarkable turn alongside Rachel McAdams in Kelly Fremon Craig’s delightful 2023 adaptation of Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

One to watch: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Maxwell Jenkins as Fred 

Another newish-comer who’ll be hopping in the Mystery Machine very soon is Maxwell Jenkins, who is set to take on the role of Fred, the hunky, ascot-wearing himbo who was played memorably by Freddie Prinze Jr. back in 2002. 

The name might be new to you, but Jenkins has been working in the industry for quite some time and (somewhat similar to co-star McKenna Grace’s early years) has played young versions of Jack Reacher in Reacher, Will Gorski in Sense8, and Owen Bouchard in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Since graduating to more mature roles, Jenkins’ most prominent part up until now was in the post-apocalyptic Nicholas Cage movie Arcadian, in which he played one of Cage’s sons.

One to watch: Reacher

Paul Walter Hauser as Scooby’s Owner

The only live-action cast member not featured in last week’s announcement photo was Paul Walter Hauser, who is currently listed in some places as playing Scooby-Doo’s owner. Given that the show will likely reveal how the gang first meets Scooby, and what we know about the characters that Hauser likes to play, I will not be at all surprised if we get to hear the actor utter some version of the famous line, “I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids.”If the name isn’t familiar to you, you’ll likely recognise Hauser for his recent performance as Mole Man in The Fantastic 4: First Steps or for his remarkable turn in the title role of Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell. Outside of those, he’s been gradually earning a reputation as one of the best (and funniest) modern character actors thanks to his memorable work in movies like I, Tonya, BlacKkKlansman and The Naked Gun. 

One to watch: Richard Jewell