Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg plays Mike, a friendly New Jersey construction worker who’s a little stuck. He lives with his mom, hooks up with his former high school teacher, and basically runs in place — until old flame Roxanne (Halle Berry) sweeps him off his feet (read: sedates him) and drags him into a world of adventure. Soon Mike will have to use all of his skills in service of a very different line of work.

Wahlberg drew from an unlikely source while building his character. “Mike has this unique skill set in that he doesn’t really have any fear,” he said. “He’s a steelworker, and you think of that iconic image of guys sitting on a beam 50 stories in the air, eating a sandwich like they’re sitting on a curb.” Of course, Wahlberg wasn’t quite as casual about his stunts: “To go up there, even though you’ve got a wire on, it’s still pretty scary.”

The Departed, Boogie Nights, The Other Guys, Ted, The Fighter, The Italian Job, Daddy’s Home, Deepwater Horizon

Oscar-winner Halle Berry plays Roxanne, Mike’s high school sweetheart, who’s led quite a different life since they parted ways in their senior year. She’s now a Union agent, a working-class spy without equal. And she needs Mike’s help.

Berry loved the way The Union flipped the typical spy-movie gender dynamic on its head. “Roxanne is a woman that has always dreamed of getting outside of her own backyard, which she did,” Berry tells Tudum. “What I love about her is that she’s been relentless in her pursuit of her dreams, of her career, of her goals. And I also love that she goes back and she plucks Mike out of that world and dares him to dream a bigger dream for himself.”

Monster’s Ball, X-Men, Die Another Day, Cloud Atlas, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, The Call, Swordfish

Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons plays Tom Brennan, a former CIA agent turned Union man. He lets Roxanne run point on this operation — and keeps a weather eye on the inexperienced Mike.

“I’ve worked with Mark a couple of times, and I’m a big fan," Simmons told Netflix. "I hadn’t worked with Halle, but I’m also a big fan of her work. As always, it's about the script. It looked like a really fun popcorn movie with substance, some comedy, some action — and a really good ride. What I like about the film is that, with Julian at the helm, there's a balance between levity and still having some stakes, so it’s not a cartoon.”

Whiplash, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Juno, Palm Springs, Up in the Air, Being the Ricardos, Thank You for Smoking

Mike Colter is Nick Faraday, Roxanne’s partner in life and work. 

“It’s intriguing because I think we all sit on our couches or all think to ourselves, ‘What could we have done if we decided to do it?’ ” Colter says of The Union’s central wish-fulfillment concept. “Could we have reached that potential? The Union looks at these people and tries to give them an opportunity to do that.”

Luke Cage, Plane, Girls Trip, Zero Dark Thirty, 

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays Frank, The Union’s physical specialist. He’s a hardened combat veteran who puts Mike through his paces in training.

Oz, The Bourne Identity, Suicide Squad, The Mummy Returns, The Thing (2011), Pompeii, Congo, Concussion

Jessica De Gouw plays Juliet Quinn, the auctioneer whom The Union is trying to track down. 

Gretel & Hansel, These Final Hours, Underground, Operation Buffalo, The Secrets She Keeps, The Couple Next Door

Alice Lee plays Athena, another member of The Union. She’s full of vim, vigor, and wisecracks — which makes Mike’s medical evaluation one to remember.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, My Adventures with Superman, Switched at Birth, Take Two, Gap Year

Jackie Earle Haley plays the Foreman, The Union’s technical whiz. His title isn’t just a code name; before joining The Union, he was a foreman and forklift operator. 

Watchmen, Shutter Island, Breaking Away, The Bad News Bears, Lincoln, Alita: Battle Angel, Little Children

Stephen Campbell Moore plays Cameron Foster, the Union’s CIA counterpart. Like many at the Agency, he has a tendency to look down at the lunch-box types at The Union.

Johnny English Reborn, Man Up, The Bank Job, Masters of the Air, Season of the Witch, Goodbye Christopher Robin

Oscar-nominee Lorraine Bracco plays Mike’s mom. She’s got eyes everywhere.

GoodFellas, The Basketball Diaries, Hackers, Riding in Cars with Boys, Sea of Love, The Pick-Up Artist, Medicine Man