“Devotion,” based on the book by Adam Makos, flew into theaters over Thanksgiving break. The film about flight, friendship and family landed at an ideal time in the holiday season, and it features a number of talented actors who bring the true story to life onscreen. Before he appeared in the role of Hangman in “Top Gun: Maverick,” Glen Powell knew he wanted to bring the story of Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner to life — Powell finished Makos’ book in 2016, after which he began to develop the project. Joined by director JD Dillard and actor Jonathan Majors who portrays the precedent-setting Jesse Brown, the crew launches into a harrowing and heartwarming story.
“Devotion” chronicles the journey of two wingmen in the U.S. Navy’s Fighter Squadron 32. The pair came from completely opposite backgrounds, yet they joined forces to become the most well-known naval aviators to date, risking their lives in the begging of the Korean War. Makos wrote that The Korean War was basically an extension of World War II, and therefore, The Greatest Generation actually fought two wars. Tom and Jesse also had to readjust their flight patterns from lightweight F8F Bearcat propellor planes to heavier clunky Corsairs with “hog noses” that made landing way more challenging.
Here’s a complete cast and character guide to “Devotion.”
Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors)
Ensign Jesse Brown bore the brunt of being the first African American carrier pilot in the United States Navy at 24 years old. Born to sharecropping farmers in Mississippi, Brown grew up poor. He attended Eureka High School, and he went to The Ohio State University for two years where he saw a poster advertising the Navy. He married young, having a daughter — Pamela — with his wife Daisy.
Jonathan Majors is known for roles like Atticus Freeman in “Lovecraft Country,” David in “Da 5 Bloods” (2020), Montgomery Allen in “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” (2019) and Johnny ‘Lil Man’ Curry in “White Boy Rick” (2018). He will also appear as Marvel mega-villain Kang the Conqueror in the upcoming Phase 5 of the MCU, which includes films like “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.” He will also star alongside Michael B Jordan in the upcoming “Creed III” as Damian Anderson.
Tom Hudner (Glen Powell)
Tom Hudner played by the rules ever since he was young. He grew up in Massachusetts, son of a wealthy grocery-store chain owner, and his childhood looked very different from Jesse’s. Hudner passed up Harvard to fly planes, and he eventually became Brown’s wingman.
Glen Powell is most well-known for his other Naval aviation role of Lt. Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin in the beloved sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022). He also portrayed astronaut John Glenn in “Hidden Figures” (2016) as well as Mark Reynolds in “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” He played Chad Radwell in “Scream Queens” and Charlie in “Set It Up” (2018), and also starred in Richard Linklater’s “Everybody Wants Some!!” (2016). Most recently, he reunited with Linklater for “Apollo 10 1/2” on Netflix.
Daisy Brown (Christina Jackson)
Daisy Pearl Brown met Jesse at Eureka high school when she was a sophomore and he was a senior. She and her friends ate lunch daily near Jesse’s woodworking class. They married soon after and shared daughter Pamela while Jesse pursued flying planes in his early days as a newly minted ensign. Daisy did not love what Jesse chose to do for his profession because she knew there was always a chance of him not returning home after work.
Jackson is known for roles like Heather in “The Night House” (2020), Sally-Ann in “Outsiders,” Rosalyn Brock in “The Good Fight” and Tonya Edwards in “Swagger.”
Marty Goode (Joe Jonas)
Marty Goode is portrayed by Joe Jonas. The “bull ensign” of Fighting 32 who held the most seniority in the unit, he joined the navy at age 16. He worked his way up the ranks into flight school and an officer’s commission. Jonas is known for making music with his brothers Kevin and Nick in The Jonas Brothers band. The three of them starred together in Disney’s “Camp Rock” movies alongside Demi Lovato. They had a show together called “Jonas.”
He has appeared in TV shows like “The Righteous Gemstones” and “Dash & Lily.” Joe also wrote a song for the film called “You Are Not Alone” featuring Khalid.
Dick Cevoli (Thomas Sadoski)
Lieutenant Commander Dick Cevoli was Fighter Squadron 32’s flight leader, second in command only to the skipper of the USS Leyte, Dug Neill. An Italian, he was 30 when Tom and Jesse came aboard. Rumor had it that Cevoli was a former civil engineer-turned fighter pilot who came to a shocking rescue during World War II, but he didn’t really talk about it.
Sadoski is known for playing Don Keefer in Aaron Sorkin’s HBO series “The Newsroom,” Matt in “Life in Pieces,” Paul in “Wild” (2014) alongside Reese Witherspoon and Jimmy in “John Wick” (2014).
Bill Koenig (Daren Kagasoff)
Bill Koenig was an intense naval officer who joined the squadron shortly after Carpol Mohring, Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner. Tom had known him from earlier days aboard ships. Koenig was super competitive and dutiful to his appearance as a naval officer as well.
Kagasoff might be most well-known for portraying Ricky alongside Shailene Woodley in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” where they parent a child at a super young age. He plays Gabe Napolitano in “The Village,” Trevor in “Ouija,” and Alex Sheathes in “Delirium” based on the book by Lauren Oliver.
Carol Mohring (Nick Hargrove)
Mohring was the son of Germans who had immigrated to Pennsylvania. The ensign was 26 when he had recently joined Squadron 32 alongside Hudner and Brown, and he carpooled with Jesse to work. According to Makos’ book, Mohring had crashed a Corsair in training, which was kept on the downlow in his file.
Hargrove has previously appeared in 20 episodes of “Charmed” as Parker Wagner-Caine and a couple episodes of “Counterpart” as Werner.
Elizabeth Taylor (Serinda Swan)
Movie star Elizabeth Taylor (portrayed by Serinda Swan), known for countless films including “Little Women” (1949), “Giant” (1956), “Cleopatra” (1963), and “The Taming of the Shrew” (1967 to name a few — ran into Brown and his fellow pilots in Cannes while they took a brief break from duty. Swan is most well-known for her role as Dr. Jenny Cooper in “Coroner.” She played Chloe in “Ballers,” Medusa in Marvel’s “Inhumans” and a smaller role of Siren #2 in “Tron: Legacy.”
