What the cast of GLOW look like IRL

Whether you’re a longtime fan of Marc Maron’s stand-up or podcast (WTF with Marc Maron), this we can all agree on: his dad vibes are A+ on GLOW. Of what season two has in store for his character, Sam, Maron tells Deadline, “This season, you can kind of create a broader emotional universe for this guy. This is a guy that needed to grow up and never had to, on some level.”

One thing Sam gained on season one of GLOW: a daughter, played by newcomer Britt Baron. Prior to the series, Baron, who hails from White Plains, New York, appeared on episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and the Criminal Minds spinoff, Beyond Borders.

Have you tried to do Bash’s announcer voice anytime in the last year or so? Turns out, a lot of his commentary from season one was improvised. In June 2018, Lowell told TV Insider that he was allowed to “go off the leash to say whatever I feel like,” despite the fact that the wrestling matches were specifically choreographed by GLOW wrestling coach Chavo Guerrero Jr.

It didn’t take long for Young to make the move to GLOW from the set of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, where she was an assistant for Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna. Young tells Entertainment Weekly, “I saw on Deadline about the show and along with it, a picture of the original GLOW. I saw Emily Dole who plays Mt. Fiji and thought: ‘You know what? There might be a role for me on this show.’”

Fun fact: between the first and second season of GLOW, Noel had a small role in Black Panther, playing Xoliswa, a member of the Dora Milaje. She’s listed in the cast for GLOW season two, but it’s anyone’s guess if Cherry returns as Junkchain. Recall: in the season one finale, Cherry quits the show to star in a cop drama owned by the same station.

As Cherry’s husband who’s also the show’s (fake) referee, Salahuddin is a source of calm for everyone. In 2017, the actor had a brief role in the Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer comedy, Snatched. He’s also written episodes of The Last O.G., a comedy series created by Jordan Peele and John Carcieri.

Welfare Queen finished season one as the official GLOW champion after a last-minute story change by Sam. Unlike some of the leads, Stevens is a professional wrestler in real life, better known as Amazing Kong (and at one point, Kharma in the WWE). In 2017, Stevens and other GLOW cast members made cameos in Katy Perry’s “Swish Swish” music video.

Long before GLOW, Tohn competed on a little show called American Idol, making it as far as the top 36. She’s since appeared on episodes of CSI: NY, Rules of Engagement, Castle, and The Good Place, along with her work as Melanie on GLOW.

In real life, the face behind Britannica has been in the music business for more than a decade. Her newest album, Yesterday Was Forever, is her first in five years, and the release was funded by a Kickstarter campaign. Since 2012, Nash has dabbed into the acting world here and there, appearing on films like Greetings from Tim Buckley and Powder Room.

Gatewood is no stranger to showbiz. In real life, she’s one half of a comedy duo with Rebekka Johnson (see next slide), who portrays Ethel’s counterpart, Edna. In recent years, the two have produced web series and have also made time for a podcast as The Apple Sisters, along with fellow comedian Sarah Lowe.

Of how their real-life work has influenced their screen time on GLOW, Johnson told Yahoo in 2017, “The show sort of culminates everything that Kimmy and I have been working towards in our professional lives. Outside of wrestling, which we didn’t know how to do before we started the show!” Fun fact: Gatewood and Johnson auditioned as a duo for the show.

For three seasons, Mani portrayed Shama “Trenton” Biswas of fsociety on Mr. Robot. If you’re still trying to catch up on episodes, we won’t reveal the details of Trenton’s season three exit. In addition to GLOW, Mani has appeared on episodes of The Good Place, Search Party, and the 2016 comedy Don’t Think Twice.

Rankin, a Scottish-born, Juilliard-trained actress, appeared in two films (The Meyerowitz Stories, The Greatest Showman) the same year GLOW premiered on Netflix. Season two will be no different, with the release of the Netflix rom-com Irreplaceable You and the comedy, In a Relationship, co-starring Emma Roberts and Insecure hunk Jay Ellis. 2019 will be even better: Rankin will appear alongside Elisabeth Moss, Amber Heard, and Cara Delevingne in the drama, Her Smell.

Last Autumn, it was announced that actress Shakira Barrera was joining the cast for GLOW season two, playing someone named Yolanda, “a Mexican-American dancer/stripper and out-and-proud lesbian.” Barrera’s resume includes episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, Rosewood, Faking It, East Los High, and Lethal Weapon.

As Harry Crane on Mad Men, Sommer was easy to hate. As Mark on GLOW, Sommer is also easy to hate, mostly because he cheats on Debbie with Ruth on season one. FWIW, he was also pretty awful in LOVE. Won’t someone give Rich Sommer a Nice Guy role for once?

Following GLOW season one, Rich travelled to a different era, playing a young Picasso for National Geographic’s Genius anthology series, which just aired this past spring. (Antonio Banderas played Picasso at an older age.) In 2015, Rich also had a small role on True Detective, but it was the season with Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn, so you probably missed that one.