HBO's latest series may have started online, but it's making a seamless transition to premium cable with the help of some excellent actors. The cast of HBO's High Maintenance includes some of the cast from the original webseries and other actors that you'll definitely recognize. While most of the actors are only in one episode each, their appearances will stay with you.
High Maintenance is about various New Yorkers with drastically different lives but one key thing in common— they all get their weed delivered by the same guy, who doesn't even have a name. He's just The Guy, as far as we know. His clients let him into their lives, but we only rarely get a glimpse of his own situation. The HBO series may be a continuation of the webseries, but you don't have to have been following along on Vimeo to understand what's going on. All of the characters speak for themselves.
Here are some of the actors that feature heavily into each episode and where you might know them from. Other cast includes stage actress Ismenia Mendes, newcomer Shazi Raja, Lee Tergesen, comedian Jo Firestone, Ryan Woodlee, Stephen Lin, and Peter Friedman from The Path. There are brief cameos from Orange Is The New Black's Kimiko Glenn, Lena Dunham, and Taylor Louderman, who played Wendy in Peter Pan Live! It's a diverse ensemble of talented actors who help create one intimate setting after another.
Ben Sinclair
The star and co-creator of the series, Sinclair has been making High Maintenance since 2012. He has won two Writer's Guild of America awards for the short form series.
Heléne Yorke
Lainey is a character who originated in the original web series and is played by Yorke, who you know from Masters of Sex and The Night Before. She also starred in Bullets Over Broadway and American Psycho on Broadway.
Max Jenkins
As Lainey's co-dependent roommate is Jenkins, who you may remember from The Mysteries of Laura.
Amy Ryan
You know her best as Holly from The Office, and she also appeared in Birdman, In Treatment, as well as The Wire.
Dan Stevens
The former Downton Abbey actor and upcoming Beauty and the Beast star briefly reprises his role from the original series as a coworker of Amy Ryan's character.
Yael Stone
The Orange Is The New Black star appears in the webseries and one episode on HBO as a charming dog walker.
Bridget Moloney
Moloney was in the webseries' first episode as Quinn. A lot has changed with her character by the time she returns on HBO.
Greta Lee
In one of the most memorable episodes in Season 1 of the original webseries, the actress plays "Homeless Heidi," a role that she revives on HBO in a hilarious and somewhat meta episode. You may also know her from Sisters or Inside Amy Schumer.
Michael Cyril Creighton
You may recognize this actor from Spotlight or as Patrick from the original High Maintenance web series as well.
Hannibal Burress
The comedian and Broad City star cameos briefly as himself.
Rebecca Naomi Jones
The actress, who appears in the final episode of High Maintenance, starred in the Broadway musicals American Idiot, Hedwig and the Angry Itch, and Passing Strange, as well as several episodes of Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll.
The fact that High Maintenance cast so many local New York actors to tell realistic New York stories makes the show so realistic and watchable. I'm not saying that "the city is a character" or anything corny like that, but the show is grounded in a way that is very special, and the cast is an essential part of that.
Image: David Russell/HBO
