who are the actors in ghostbusters frozen empire: cast list

The actors in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire include returning stars Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and Mckenna Grace, alongside original cast members Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson. Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, and James Acaster join the story as new characters.

This guide names the principal cast, explains who each actor plays, and separates the newer Ghostbusters from the franchise veterans. It also covers the film’s main supporting roles and answers common questions about its cast, so you can identify the people behind the characters without confusing them with earlier films.

Who are the actors in ghostbusters frozen empire?

The main cast combines the Spengler family and their allies with actors from the original Ghostbusters films. The returning newer-generation cast includes Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor, and Logan Kim. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts return as familiar characters from the earlier movies.

The principal newcomers include Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, and James Acaster. Nanjiani plays Nadeem, whose family history connects him to the movie’s supernatural threat. Oswalt plays a researcher, Lind plays a ghost named Melody, and Acaster plays a specialist who works with the Ghostbusters’ equipment.

Here is a quick cast-and-character reference:

Actor	Character	Role in the story
Paul Rudd	Gary Grooberson	Teacher and member of the Ghostbusters team
Carrie Coon	Callie Spengler	Mother of Phoebe and Trevor
Mckenna Grace	Phoebe Spengler	Young Ghostbuster and central character
Finn Wolfhard	Trevor Spengler	Phoebe’s older brother
Celeste O’Connor	Lucky Domingo	Friend of the Spenglers
Logan Kim	Podcast	Phoebe’s friend and fellow enthusiast
Kumail Nanjiani	Nadeem Razmaadi	New ally with a family connection to the threat
Emily Alyn Lind	Melody	A ghost who forms a bond with Phoebe
Bill Murray	Peter Venkman	Original Ghostbuster
Dan Aykroyd	Ray Stantz	Original Ghostbuster and paranormal expert
Ernie Hudson	Winston Zeddemore	Original Ghostbuster and team supporter

The Spengler family and their closest allies

Paul Rudd as Gary Grooberson

Paul Rudd plays Gary Grooberson, a science teacher who became part of the Ghostbusters’ household in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. In this film, Gary is more than a helpful adult or occasional researcher. He is a partner to Callie and a steady presence for Phoebe and Trevor as the family adjusts to life in New York.

Gary brings practical curiosity to the team. He is willing to investigate strange events, but he also has to reckon with the risks of letting the younger Ghostbusters take part. That tension helps make his role feel like both a franchise adventure and a family story.

Carrie Coon as Callie Spengler

Carrie Coon plays Callie Spengler, the daughter of original Ghostbuster Egon Spengler and the mother of Phoebe and Trevor. Callie began the previous film as someone who had little connection to her father’s work. She now lives with the consequences of that legacy and the unusual responsibilities her children have taken on.

Callie’s perspective matters because the supernatural business affects the whole family, not only the people carrying proton packs. She is protective of Phoebe and Trevor, while also trying to make a home for them in a city full of Ghostbusters history. Coon gives the character a grounded role amid the movie’s supernatural spectacle.

Mckenna Grace as Phoebe Spengler

Mckenna Grace returns as Phoebe, a bright, analytical teenager who has become one of the team’s most capable members. Her interest in science and the paranormal is closely tied to her grandfather Egon, whose equipment and research shaped the family’s path. Phoebe’s intelligence helps her examine problems that more experienced adults may overlook.

In Frozen Empire, Phoebe’s story also focuses on belonging and independence. She wants to be treated as a serious Ghostbuster, but she is still a young person whose family sets limits on what she can do. Her friendship with Melody adds another layer, since Phoebe must decide how much trust to place in someone who is not alive.

Finn Wolfhard as Trevor Spengler

Finn Wolfhard plays Trevor, Phoebe’s older brother. He is part of the family’s Ghostbusters life, but his interests and relationships do not always match Phoebe’s intense focus on the work. Trevor is often more concerned with fitting in, making connections, and finding his own place in the group.

The contrast between the siblings gives the film room to show two different ways of growing up around a famous family legacy. Trevor is not simply Phoebe’s helper; he has his own perspective and decisions. Wolfhard returns to the role after playing Trevor in Afterlife.

Celeste O’Connor as Lucky Domingo

Celeste O’Connor returns as Lucky Domingo, a friend of the Spengler family who was introduced in the previous film. Lucky knows the danger involved in ghostbusting, but she is also drawn to the energy and purpose of the team. Her presence helps connect the family’s new life to the friends they made outside it.

Lucky is one of the people who can relate to the younger characters without being part of the Spengler family. That makes her useful in scenes where Phoebe and Trevor need a peer’s perspective. O’Connor’s return keeps continuity with the earlier story rather than introducing a completely new circle of friends.

Logan Kim as Podcast

Logan Kim plays Podcast, Phoebe’s friend and a young paranormal enthusiast. His nickname reflects his fascination with strange events and his habit of documenting what happens. He brings humor and enthusiasm to the group, but he is also a loyal friend when the situation becomes dangerous.

Podcast’s curiosity makes him a natural companion for Phoebe, whose own interests can leave her feeling isolated from other teenagers. Kim reprises the role from Afterlife, giving the younger cast a familiar dynamic as the story moves to New York.

The returning original Ghostbusters

Bill Murray as Peter Venkman

Bill Murray returns as Peter Venkman, the witty, skeptical Ghostbuster first seen in the 1984 film. Venkman is known for his dry humor and his habit of responding to unusual situations with irreverence. His presence connects the new team directly to the original group.

Venkman’s appearances are part of the franchise’s handoff between generations. The older Ghostbusters bring experience and shared history, while the younger team faces a threat that belongs to its own adventure. Murray’s role is a supporting one within the larger ensemble.

Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz

Dan Aykroyd plays Ray Stantz, one of the original Ghostbusters and a longtime believer in the paranormal. Ray has remained deeply invested in ghosts and the equipment used to contain them. His knowledge makes him a valuable link between the original team’s research and the events surrounding the Spenglers.

Ray’s return also gives the story a direct connection to the first film’s scientific and supernatural ideas. Aykroyd helped establish the character as an enthusiastic investigator, and Ray continues to carry that sense of wonder into the newer movies.

Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore

Ernie Hudson returns as Winston Zeddemore. In the original film, Winston joined the Ghostbusters as a practical recruit, bringing a perspective that differed from the founders’ academic interests. The newer films show him as an established figure who can support the team and help preserve its work.

Winston’s role represents the practical side of the franchise’s legacy: Ghostbusting needs more than clever theories. It also requires people, resources, and the willingness to respond when a threat appears. Hudson’s return gives the original team a meaningful place in the story.

Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz

Annie Potts plays Janine Melnitz, the Ghostbusters’ longtime receptionist and an essential part of the original team’s history. Janine was not one of the first film’s field investigators, but she has always been closely connected to the business and its people. Her knowledge and relationships make her a natural bridge between the old team and the new one.

Potts has returned to Janine in multiple installments, so her appearance offers continuity beyond the original Ghostbusters themselves. Janine’s presence reminds viewers that the franchise’s legacy includes the people who kept the operation running, not only those who captured ghosts.

William Atherton as Walter Peck

William Atherton reprises Walter Peck, the official whose conflict with the Ghostbusters began in the 1984 movie. Peck’s return brings back a familiar source of friction: the question of who gets to regulate a dangerous, unusual business. His character’s history with the team gives that conflict an extra personal edge.

Peck is not a Ghostbuster, but he is part of the series’ recognizable supporting cast. His role underscores a recurring idea in these films: paranormal emergencies can create disputes between the people responding to a crisis and the institutions trying to control the response.

New characters who join the cast

Kumail Nanjiani as Nadeem Razmaadi

Kumail Nanjiani plays Nadeem Razmaadi, a New York resident whose family connection to an unusual object pulls him into the Ghostbusters’ case. The object is linked to an old supernatural danger, and Nadeem’s personal history becomes important as the team tries to understand what it has found.

Nadeem is not introduced as an experienced investigator. He has to learn what the object means and why his family has kept it. That makes him a useful audience stand-in: the Ghostbusters may recognize the signs of a paranormal crisis, but Nadeem has to understand how his own past fits into it.

Helpful distinction: Nadeem is connected to the story’s threat, but he is not one of the original Ghostbusters. His place in the cast is that of a new ally whose family history supplies a key piece of the mystery.

Emily Alyn Lind as Melody

Emily Alyn Lind plays Melody, a ghost who forms a connection with Phoebe. Their relationship complicates the simple rule that every ghost is an enemy to capture. Phoebe is interested in Melody as a person, while the Ghostbusters’ job requires them to consider whether a spirit is dangerous.

Melody’s role gives the film an emotional thread alongside its action. Phoebe’s friendship with her raises questions about loneliness, trust, and what it means to help someone who is already dead. Lind’s character is one of the story’s notable new supernatural figures.

Patton Oswalt as Dr. Hubert Wartzki

Patton Oswalt appears as Dr. Hubert Wartzki, a researcher associated with the New York Public Library’s extensive collection of unusual material. His expertise helps the Ghostbusters investigate the history and nature of a supernatural object. He provides information the team needs, rather than serving as a member of the field crew.

Wartzki’s scenes connect the film’s present-day emergency with the long record of paranormal events that came before it. The character is a specialist, so his contribution is rooted in research and interpretation. Oswalt’s casting also adds a familiar comic performer to the ensemble.

James Acaster as Lars Pinfield

James Acaster plays Lars Pinfield, a scientific specialist who works with the Ghostbusters’ research and equipment. The character helps show that the team’s operation has grown beyond the small group seen in the earliest movies. Paranormal work now involves technical knowledge, experiments, and support staff as well as field missions.

Lars is a supporting character, not one of the central Spenglers or original Ghostbusters. Acaster’s role gives the film another new face and strengthens its focus on the systems and science behind ghost containment.

How the cast fits together in the story

The ensemble has three main layers. First are the Spenglers and their close allies, who carry the emotional story forward from Afterlife. Second are the original Ghostbusters, who bring history and experience. Third are the new characters who help investigate the mystery and reveal why the latest threat has surfaced.

This structure helps the film welcome different kinds of viewers. Someone who knows the 1984 movie can recognize Venkman, Ray, Winston, and Janine. Someone who started with Afterlife can follow Phoebe, Trevor, Callie, Gary, Lucky, and Podcast. The new characters add another entry point without replacing either group.

The cast also reflects a difference in how the team works. The original Ghostbusters were a small operation with a limited staff. By Frozen Empire, their work has a larger presence, with additional research and technical support. That shift gives supporting characters like Wartzki and Lars a reason to appear.

Returning cast versus new cast

If you are trying to tell who is familiar and who is new, this table separates the main groups. It focuses on principal characters rather than every performer with a brief or background appearance.

Cast group	Actors	What they bring	Best for viewers who want
Spenglers and allies	Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim	Continuity from Afterlife and the family’s current story	The younger team and its relationships
Original Ghostbusters	Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts	Connections to the 1984 film and its characters	Franchise history and familiar faces
Other returning character	William Atherton	A familiar source of conflict from the original film	Callbacks to the earlier story
New characters	Kumail Nanjiani, Emily Alyn Lind, Patton Oswalt, James Acaster	Fresh relationships, research, and supernatural plot details	The new mystery and its supporting cast

Do you need to watch the earlier Ghostbusters movies first?

You can follow the basic plot of Frozen Empire without having seen every earlier film. The movie identifies the main Spengler family relationships and gives enough context for its central supernatural problem. Still, watching Ghostbusters: Afterlife first makes Phoebe’s family history and the younger team’s relationships easier to understand.

The original 1984 Ghostbusters is useful if you want to recognize the returning characters and understand why their appearances matter. It is not essential for identifying the main cast or following the new investigation. A practical viewing order is the 1984 film, then Afterlife, then Frozen Empire.

Common cast questions

Is Bill Murray in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire?

Yes. Bill Murray returns as Peter Venkman, one of the original Ghostbusters. Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson also return as Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore.

Who plays Phoebe in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire?

Mckenna Grace plays Phoebe Spengler. Phoebe is the daughter of Callie Spengler and the granddaughter of Egon Spengler. She is a skilled young member of the Ghostbusters team.

Who plays the ghost Melody?

Emily Alyn Lind plays Melody, the ghost who develops a connection with Phoebe. Melody is a new character in this film, not a returning Ghostbuster from an earlier movie.

Is Rick Moranis in the movie?

No. Rick Moranis, who played Louis Tully in the original films, is not part of the principal cast of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. His absence can be easy to confuse with the returns of other original cast members, including Murray, Aykroyd, Hudson, and Potts.

Is Sigourney Weaver in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire?

Sigourney Weaver, who played Dana Barrett in earlier films, does not appear as a principal cast member in Frozen Empire. The movie brings back several original characters, but not every familiar character returns in each installment.

Who plays the new character Nadeem?

Kumail Nanjiani plays Nadeem Razmaadi. His family history connects to an object that becomes central to the paranormal danger facing the team.

What to know before looking up the cast

Cast lists can mix actors, characters, and franchise cameos in ways that make a quick search confusing. The most useful distinction is between the original Ghostbusters, the Spengler-era team, and characters introduced for this film. The returning original actors do not all play the same kind of role; some are investigators, while others support the team in different ways.

Another common mix-up is treating every teenager in the movie as a Ghostbuster. Phoebe is deeply involved in the work, while Trevor, Lucky, and Podcast have distinct interests and levels of participation. Their relationships help shape the story, but each character has a different place in the group.

Finally, do not assume a performer’s appearance means their character is a full-time member of the team. Nadeem, Melody, Wartzki, and Lars matter to the plot, but each enters from a different direction: family history, a personal connection, research, or technical support. Keeping those roles straight makes the large cast easier to follow.

The cast of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire brings the Spengler family together with familiar original Ghostbusters and several new characters. Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd, and Carrie Coon lead the newer group, while Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson return as franchise veterans.

For the clearest picture of who is who, start with the Spenglers and their allies, then note which original characters return and which performers are new. If you want the full family backstory, watch Afterlife before the film.