The Birdcage - Cast

Cast

• Robin Williams as Armand Goldman - A gay nightclub owner who tries to play it straight when his son's fiancée brings her unsuspecting parents to meet him in South Beach.
• Nathan Lane as Albert - Armand's partner who pretends to be Val's mother by dressing up as, and pretending to be, a woman when the Keeleys arrive. He stars in the nightclub's shows as the drag queen "Starina." Although a man, he is Val's primary mother figure and has often referred to himself as a woman, due to his stage persona.
• Gene Hackman as Senator Kevin Keeley - Husband of Louise, father of Barbara, and future father-in-law to Val. He is a staunch Republican Senator with conservative social views who is running for re-election and staunchly opposes homosexuality and same-sex marriage. He co-founded the activist group, "Coalition for Moral Order," and struggles to preserve his political career after a close colleague dies while sleeping with a black underage prostitute.
• Dianne Wiest as Louise Keeley - Wife of Kevin, mother of Barbara, and future mother-in-law to Val. She is depicted as passively agreeing with her husband's very conservative positions on public morality and social issues, though they occasionally argue over differences of opinion.
• Dan Futterman as Val Goldman - Son of Armand Goldman and Katherine Archer. He wants to marry Barbara and has his father pretend to be straight when Barbara's parents come to meet them.
• Calista Flockhart as Barbara Keeley - Daughter of Senator Kevin and Louise Keeley, future wife of Val, and future daughter-in-law of Armand. She wants to marry Val, but when she learns that Val's father has a homosexual partner, she lies to her parents by telling them that Val's father is an artist and his mother is a housewife. Even though she has been raised in a conservative background, she loves Val's parents and offers to help Albert when he disguises himself as Val's mother.
• Hank Azaria as Agador - The Goldman's Guatemalan housekeeper. He too is flamboyantly gay, speaks with a Latin accent and a lisp, and serves as the butler, with the name Spartacus, for when the Keeleys come to visit. He detests wearing shoes and longs to work as a drag queen at The Birdcage.
• Christine Baranski as Katherine Archer - Val's biological mother (after having had a one night stand with Armand) and serial divorcee, having given Armand and his partner full custody of Val when he gave her money to start her own business. Despite having never met Val, she agrees to help him impress the Keeleys and marry Barbara.
• Tom McGowan as Harry Radman.
• Grant Heslov as National Enquirer photographer.
• Kirby Mitchell as Keeley's opportunistic chauffeur.