“Purple Hearts” took Netflix by storm, kicking “The Gray Man” out of the #1 slot in Netflix’s top 10 movies ranking within its first week on the streamer. Directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, the romantic drama movie watches two teens with completely opposing political views and opinions fake marry each other in order to get the military benefit money. Their whirlwind wedding leads to a long distance relationship with the husband deploying with the Marines and the wife staying behind to work on her music.
Viewers may be wondering where they’ve seen the faces of Luke, Cassie, Frankie and more before. We’ve got you covered with our cast and character guide for “Purple Hearts.”
Cassandra Salazar (Sofia Carson)
Cassie is a hostess by day and an aspiring musician by night. She also delivers food and teaches piano lessons in her spare time. She is very outspoken, especially about her liberal political views. She would rather “hustle for her art any day” than work a corporate 9-5 job. Cassie also has diabetes, and her mother immigrated to California from Colombia. Cassie is barely making ends meet when she runs out of her much-needed insulin before her refill, and she can’t afford to pay out of pocket. This is where Luke comes in.
Sofia Carson is a well known actress and musician. She is most known for her role in the Disney “Descendants” movies as Evie. She also worked with Rosenbaum on “Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists,” appearing as Ava Jalaii.
Luke Morrow (Nick Galitzine)
Luke is a Marine about to deploy for war in Iraq. He needs stability and structure, which is one reason he joined the Marines. He also did it to try and earn back his dad’s respect after his history of drug addiction. Luke does not get along with Cassie because he has more conservative political views, but when she asks her friend Frankie if he will marry her and Luke overhears, he tries to shut it down immediately because his dad is a military policeman. Luke needs money just as much as Cassie does to pay off his overhanging debt to his old drug dealer Johnno.
Galitzine has appeared in the show “Chambers” as Elliott Lefevre and in “Cinderella” as Prince Robert. He will also star alongside Taylor Zakhar Perez in the upcoming film adaptation of “Red, White & Royal Blue.”
Frankie Mubuthia (Chosen Jacobs)
Frankie has also become a Marine, and Luke is his bunkmate. Cassie used to babysit Frankie when they were younger, and he is the one to introduce her to Luke. Rosenbaum described Frankie as the conscience of the film, and he is a good kid. He declines marrying Cassie because he is sure about marrying his girlfriend Riley — he saved up to buy a ring and everything. He gives that ring to Cassie and Luke for their fake marriage until he returns from deployment.
Chosen Jacobs worked with Rosenbaum in “Sneakerella.” He is also known for playing Mike Hanlon in “It” (2017), Wendell Deaver in Hulu’s “Castle Rock” and Wil Grover in “Hawaii Five-0.”
Riley (Breana Raquel)
Riley is Frankie’s girlfriend. She provides a nice foil to Cassie in that she realizes the hardship of being a military girlfriend. Cassie starts to understand the sacrifice military families make. Riley supports Cassie through deployment.
Raquel has appeared in “General Hospital,” “SEAL Team,” “Hidden Faces” and “Criminal Minds.”
Johnno (Anthony Ippolito)
Johnno is Luke’s former drug dealer. He tails Luke on one of his runs to confront him about the money (thousands of dollars) Luke still owes him. Johnno also threatens Luke’s family and eventually Cassie’s family until he gets his sum.
Ippolito has previously appeared in “Pixels,” “You Have the Right to Remain Violent,” and “What Would You Do?” More recently, he has played George Wright in “Grand Army” and the young Al Pacino in the Paramount+ series “The Offer” about the making of “The Godfather.”
Armando (Nicholas Duvernay)
Armando is a fellow Marine of Frankie’s and Luke’s who makes two inflammatory comments that send Cassie over the edge. The first is “So we’re good enough to fight for your ass but not good enough to touch it,” which he says to Cassie upon their first meeting at the bar where she works.
Duvernay has appeared in HBO Max’s “My Dead Dad,” “The Rookie,” “Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living,” and “All American: Homecoming.”
Jacob Morrow Sr. (Linden Ashby)
Jacob Morrow Sr. is Luke’s father, a veteran and a military policeman who seems to suspect their marriage from the start. Luke and his father aren’t on the best of terms until a surprise homecoming brings them back together.
Ashbury played Sheriff Stilinski in the “Teen Wolf” series, and he is reprising the role in the “Teen Wolf” movie. He has also appeared in the show “Trinkets.” He is also known for his roles in “Mortal Kombat,” “Wyatt Earp,” “Resident Evil: Extinction.”
