Please say hello to The Man from Toronto.
The new action-comedy The Man from Toronto, starring Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson, mixes classic mistaken identity shenanigans with the thrill-a-minute pacing of a big-screen spy drama, resulting in something new and hilarious. Co-written by So I Married an Axe Murderer and Playing for Keeps scribe Robbie Fox, The Man from Toronto was directed by Patrick Hughes, who’s made smash-’em-up sensations such as The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, The Expendables 3 and the forthcoming American adaptation of The Raid.
Hart and Harrelson are the comically mismatched leads, and they’re joined by a hefty roster of Hollywood talent, as well as a few surprising additions from the worlds of MMA and music.
Here’s what you need to know about the cast of The Man from Toronto.
As down-on-his luck everyman Teddy Jackson, Hart is mostly responsible for the missteps and frustrations that ultimately lead to The Man from Toronto’s big mixup. (Pro tip: Keep your printer toner filled, lest you stumble into a similar situation.) While Hart’s screen credits run the gamut, from The Secret Life of Pets to Ride Along, his character, Teddy, is mostly known for his love for non-contact boxing, which he believes will be the next big thing in fitness. He loves his wife, Lori (Jasmine Mathews), beyond measure and will do anything to keep her safe and unaware of the drama in his life.
As the titular Man from Toronto, Harrelson brings a level of icy serenity and crafty confidence to the proceedings. Though he’s often described as a sort of antisocial loner — a trait that’s probably a prerequisite given his career as an assassin — he’s actually got a big heart, especially when it comes to the love of his life, Deborah, a 1969 Dodge Charger 440 R/T. Harrelson’s character says he’s always considered opening a restaurant once he gets out of the game. Meeting Teddy, it seems, could help The Man from Toronto open up — assuming he can keep him alive long enough to make an impact.
Left: Jasmine Mathews as Lori in The Man from Toronto.
As Lori, Teddy’s ride-or-die love interest, Mathews spends much of the movie blissfully clueless about the peril her man is in. As far as she knows, Teddy is off pitching his boxing scheme and arranging a lovely spa weekend for her. Things fall apart eventually — how could they not? — but Mathews plays Lori as a woman who just wants the best for her family and believes that, ultimately, hard work and optimism will open all doors. Prior to The Man from Toronto, Mathews was best known for her roles in The Tomorrow War and the TV reboot of Heathers, in which she plays Heather McNamara.
Center: Kaley Cuoco as Anne in The Man from Toronto.
Cuoco plays a small but essential role as Anne, Lori’s longtime BFF and the woman who could just get Harrelson’s character to open up. The Big Bang Theory and Flight Attendant star is as brash as ever here, giving Anne a level of cutting realism that makes it clear that she could hold her own against any badass contract killer.
Since first finding big-screen success in 1982’s Diner, Barkin has become a Hollywood legend. She’s stolen scenes in everything from The Fan to Drop Dead Gorgeous, and here, she even manages to capture hearts while remaining mostly off-camera as The Handler. She’s worked alongside The Man from Toronto for years, and, though the pair have never met, she’s always had his back. Revealing whether the relationship between them survives this adventure would creep too far into spoiler territory, but let’s just say things veer a little off-course.
To say too much about Fodé’s character, The Man from Miami, would be a disservice to future viewers. We will say this, though: Like his Canadian counterpart, The Man from Miami has a certain set of skills and a mission that he needs to complete... and we’ll leave it at that. Prior to The Man from Toronto, Fodé was best known for playing Thomas Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful, as well as for his roles in the Disney Channel series Jessie and opposite Victoria Justice in the 2015 romantic comedy Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List.
When Teddy is taken in by the FBI following his first run-in with The Man from Toronto, he gets to know Canela’s Agent Santoro, who’s been assigned to take care of Lori in Teddy’s absence. Smooth, handsome and multitalented, Agent Santoro is almost too perfect — especially considering the constant scrapes Teddy seems to be getting himself into. A Cuban-American singer, songwriter and actor, Canela has won acclaim for songs like “I Love It” and has appeared in multiple telenovelas, including Mi Corazón Insiste… en Lola Volcán.
Left: Tomohisa Yamashita as The Man From Tokyo in The Man from Toronto.
Another multi-hyphenate talent, Yamashita has been pursuing a career in entertainment since he was 11. He’s built a robust following in the J-Pop world, both as a member of NEWS and as a solo artist. He has also appeared in a number of shows and movies that have done incredibly well in Japan, including Code Blue: The Movie, Kurosagi and Nobuta Wo Produce. In The Man from Toronto, Yamashita plays The Man from Tokyo, who — like Fodé’s Man from Miami — is known for being a man of brutal action.
