Jon Bernthal is set to work with Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle on First Man, playing one of the few men to set foot on the moon. Since his time on The Walking Dead, Bernthal has continued to stay busy. Most recently, he’s found a lot of success playing Frank Castle aka The Punisher for Marvel and Netflix, with his solo spinoff The Punisher debuting later this year. At the same time, though, Bernthal has continued to build his film résumé.

In years past, Bernthal has worked with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio on The Wolf of Wall Street, David Ayer and Brad Pitt on Fury, Denis Villeneuve and Emily Blunt on Sicario, and Gavin O’Connor and Ben Affleck on The Accountant. This year alone, he’s teamed with Edgar Wright on Baby Driver and Taylor Sheridan for Wind River, and next up will be Chazelle.

Tracking-Board is reporting that Bernthal has joined the cast of First Man, Chazelle’s next directorial effort. He is set to play West Point and MIT graduate and former Air Force Colonel Dave Scott. He was a crew member of Apollo 9 in 1969, but finally got to walk on the moon a few years later with Apollo 15.


The addition of Bernthal gives Chazelle a very impressive cast for First Man. Ryan Gosling is set to play the lead role of Neil Armstrong, while the likes of Corey Stoll, Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, and Shea Whigham join Bernthal in filling out the astronaut crew. They will also be joined by The Crown breakout star Claire Foy, who will be playing Armstrong’s wife. With possibly his most talented cast to date, Chazelle has everything he needs to deliver another hit.

As for Bernthal, joining First Man continues to put him in prestigious projects where he can make a lasting impression in (potentially) little screen time. He will continue to be known as Punisher moving forward – assuming the solo series is as big of a hit as his performance was in Daredevil season 2 – but taking smaller roles like these should pay off again. They not only keep his name and face in the public conscious, but also keeps him associated with acclaimed films that are worth checking out.

Since this is an Armstrong biopic, the filming commitment could be rather minimal for Bernthal and give him further flexibility to do other smaller roles, while also leaving his schedule largely open for more of The Punisher. At the very least, he gets to once again work with established and talented directors and actors.

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