Cast and Characters
- Michael Stuhlbarg as Lawrence "Larry" Gopnik; an actor relatively unknown to film audiences, Stuhlbarg was cast on the strength of his theatrical work in New York. He initially auditioned for the prologue but was called back to read for the parts of Arthur and Larry, eventually being cast in the lead role.
- Richard Kind as Arthur Gopnik
- Sari Lennick as Judith Gopnik; Lennick was inspired by the confidence the Coens had in her; they consulted her on the character details and allowed her to make the character her own.
- Fred Melamed as Sy Ableman
- Aaron Wolff as Danny Gopnik
- Jessica McManus as Sarah Gopnik
- Alan Mandell as Rabbi Marshak
- Adam Arkin as Don Milgram
- George Wyner as Rabbi Nachtner
- Amy Landecker as Mrs. Vivienne Samsky; in an interview with actress Landecker, she said that the first name of Mrs. Samsky is in fact Vivienne and was based on a real neighbor of the Coen brothers
- Katherine Borowitz as Mimi Nudell
- Allen Lewis Rickman as Velvel
- Yelena Shmulenson as Dora
- Fyvush Finkel as Traitle Groshkover
- Simon Helberg as Rabbi Scott Ginsler
- Andrew S. Lentz as Mark Sallerson
- Jack Swiler as Howard Altar (boy on bus)
- Tim Harlan-Marks as Hebrew school bus driver
- Benjy Portnoe as Ronnie Nudell
- Brent Braunschweig as Mitch Brandt
- Ari Hoptman as Arlen Finkle
- Michael Lerner as Solomon Schlutz
- David Kang as Clive
- Steve Park as Clive's father
- Peter Breitmayer as Mr. Brandt
Open auditions for the roles of Danny and Sarah were held on May 4, 2008, at the Sabes Jewish Community Center in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, one of the scheduled shooting locations for the film. Open auditions for the role of Sarah were also held in June 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
Read more about this topic: A Serious Man
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“Of all the characters I have known, perhaps Walden wears best, and best preserves its purity. Many men have been likened to it, but few deserve that honor. Though the woodchoppers have laid bare first this shore and then that, and the Irish have built their sties by it, and the railroad has infringed on its border, and the ice-men have skimmed it once, it is itself unchanged, the same water which my youthful eyes fell on; all the change is in me.”
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