What We Do Is Secret (film) - Cast

Cast

• Shane West as Darby Crash, the leader and singer of the Germs. The film focuses on Darby and his mysterious "five-year plan", about which he gives only cryptic answers. The young Darby in the film's opening scenes is played by Jonathan Milliken.
• Bijou Phillips as Lorna Doom, the Germs' bassist and a close friend of Darby's.
• Rick Gonzalez as Pat Smear, the Germs' guitarist. He and Darby found the Germs together as high school friends, and he later also joins the short-lived Darby Crash Band.
• Noah Segan as Don Bolles, the Germs' most consistent drummer. He is accepted into the band after driving all the way from Arizona to join them and demonstrating considerable musical skill.
• Ashton Holmes as Rob Henley, Darby's homosexual partner who longs to be the Germs' drummer and thus vies with Don for Darby's approval.
• Tina Majorino as Michelle Baer Ghaffari, a close friend of Darby and the band. The real Baer Ghaffari was briefly the Germs' drummer, and co-wrote the story for What We Do Is Secret with director Rodger Grossman.
• Lauren German as Belinda Carlisle, who is briefly a formative member of the Germs but bows out due to a fear of performing. In reality Carlisle was briefly instated as the Germs' drummer, using the pseudonym Dottie Danger, but never actually played with the band due to a bout of mononucleosis. She was replaced by Becky Barton and went on to front The Go-Go's and become a solo artist. German had previously worked with West in the 2002 film A Walk to Remember.
• Keir O'Donnell as Chris Ashford, the Germs' manager. He reads Darby's lyrics while working at the record store Licorice Pizza and is impressed enough to manage the band, helping to get their debut single "Forming" pressed and negotiating gigs for them at The Masque.
• Sebastian Roché as Claude "Kickboy Face" Bessy, a music journalist for Slash who becomes an avid supporter of the Germs.
• Azura Skye as Casey Cola, who takes Darby in after his return from London and enters into a suicide pact with him, though she survives the attempt.
• Ozzy Benn as Captain Sensible, bassist for The Damned.
• Christopher Boyd as Dave Vanian, singer for The Damned. Sensible and Vanian are heckled by the Germs outside The Whisky and are present for their first live performance.
• Missy Doty as Amber, a middle-aged woman who dotes on Darby and becomes his manager, to the detestment of the other band members.
• Amy Halloran as Becky Barton/Donna Rhia, the Germs' original drummer. In reality Barton replaced the ill Belinda Carlisle, played three shows with the Germs, and played on the "Forming" single.
• Michele Hicks as Penelope Spheeris, a documentary film director who features the Germs in The Decline of Western Civilization.
• J.P. Manoux as Rodney Bingenheimer, a KROQ-FM disc jockey who features the Germs on his program "Rodney on the ROQ".
• Ray Park as Brendan Mullen, manager of The Masque who allows the Germs to play there and later books them at the Roosevelt Hotel.

Additional minor roles were played by Kylan James as The Damned's drummer Rat Scabies, Chris Pontius as Black Randy, Randi Newton as Germs fan Gerber, Anna Waronker as Joan Jett, Giddle Partridge as Dinah Cancer of Vox Pop and 45 Grave, and John Westernoff as Nickey Beat.

Two Los Angeles punk rock bands of the 2000s perform in the film as bands of the late 1970s. The Mae Shi perform as The Screamers in The Masque scene, playing a cover version of the Germs' "Sex Boy" with Rich Moreno playing the role of Tomata du Plenty. The Bronx perform as Black Flag, opening for the Darby Crash Band by performing "Police Story". The Bronx members Matt Caughthran, Joby J. Ford, James Tweedy, and Jorma Vik respectively play the roles of Black Flag members Dez Cadena, Greg Ginn, Chuck Dukowski, and Robo.