The Epic Rise And Fall: 6 Stars Who Dared To Enter Damien Chazelle's 'Babylon' (2022)

Step into the colossal, chaotic world of 1920s Hollywood, a place defined by outrageous excess and the ruthless ambition of its stars. Damien Chazelle’s *Babylon* (2022) is not just a film; it is a sprawling, three-hour-plus epic that throws its all-star cast into the turbulent transition from the *Silent Era* to the age of the *Talkies*. Released during the 2022-2023 awards season, the movie serves as a polarizing, yet unforgettable, look at the *Hollywood Golden Age* and the personal destruction it wrought on those who chased its fleeting dreams, featuring career-defining performances by a trio of leads.

The film, an ambitious *epic period black comedy drama*, captures the raw, unbridled energy of *1920s Los Angeles* as the *studio system* began to consolidate its power. As of December 2025, the performances of the ensemble cast—especially the dynamic trio of Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, and Diego Calva—remain the central talking point, cementing their roles in one of the most visually stunning and divisive cinematic experiences of the decade. This is the complete profile of the stars who brought this scandalous era to life.

Complete Biography: The Stars Who Defined the Roaring Twenties in Babylon

The core of *Babylon*'s narrative rests on three figures—the established star, the rising sensation, and the ambitious outsider—all struggling to survive the technological revolution of sound film. The following are the full profiles and careers of the main cast members, highlighting their most recent projects and achievements.

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• Brad Pitt as Jack Conrad:
  • Full Name: William Bradley Pitt.
  • Born: December 18, 1963, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA.
  • Role in Babylon: Jack Conrad, a legendary, charming, and immensely popular silent film superstar who struggles to adapt to the arrival of sound and the new industry standards. His character embodies the tragic decline of the old guard.
  • Notable Works: *Thelma & Louise* (1991), *Se7en* (1995), *Fight Club* (1999), *Ocean's Eleven* (2001), *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button* (2008), *Once Upon a Time in Hollywood* (2019) (for which he won an Academy Award).
  • Recent Projects (2024/2025): Pitt reunited with George Clooney for the action comedy *Wolfs* (2024/2025) and is heavily involved as a producer through his company, Plan B Entertainment. He is also set to star in the Formula 1 racing film, *F1*.
• Margot Robbie as Nellie LaRoy:
  • Full Name: Margot Elise Robbie.
  • Born: July 2, 1990, in Dalby, Queensland, Australia.
  • Role in Babylon: Nellie LaRoy, an aspiring, volatile, and scandalous actress who rockets to stardom in the *Jazz Age* with her uninhibited screen presence, only to be challenged by the rigid demands of the *talkies*. Her performance was widely praised for its raw energy.
  • Notable Works: *The Wolf of Wall Street* (2013), *I, Tonya* (2017), *Birds of Prey* (2020), and the titular role in the global phenomenon *Barbie* (2023).
  • Recent Projects (2024/2025): Following the massive success of *Barbie*, Robbie continues her work as a producer with her company, LuckyChap Entertainment, and is attached to several high-profile acting and producing projects, including a new *Pirates of the Caribbean* film.
• Diego Calva as Manny Torres:
  • Full Name: Diego Calva Hernández.
  • Born: March 16, 1992, in Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Role in Babylon: Manny Torres, a Mexican immigrant and ambitious film assistant who, through sheer determination and a knack for problem-solving, rises from the fringes of Hollywood to become a powerful studio executive, bridging the gap between the *Silent Era* and sound.
  • Notable Works: *I Promise You Anarchy* (2015), and the Netflix series *Narcos: Mexico* (2021). His role in *Babylon* earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.
  • Recent Projects (2024/2025): Calva is a rising star in Hollywood, leveraging his *Babylon* success into international projects like the upcoming film *Bird Box Barcelona* and the series *Midnight Family*.
• Jean Smart as Elinor St. John:
  • Full Name: Jean Elizabeth Smart.
  • Born: September 13, 1951, in Seattle, Washington, USA.
  • Role in Babylon: Elinor St. John, a powerful, cynical, and highly influential newspaper columnist and gossip reporter who acts as the chronicler of Hollywood’s excesses and the ultimate arbiter of a star's fate.
  • Notable Works: *Designing Women* (1986–1991), *Frasier*, *Fargo*, *Watchmen*, and the critically acclaimed series *Hacks* (2021–present), for which she has won multiple Emmy Awards.
• Jovan Adepo as Sidney Palmer:
  • Full Name: Jovan Adepo.
  • Born: September 6, 1988, in Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England.
  • Role in Babylon: Sidney Palmer, a talented Black jazz trumpet player who finds success in the new age of sound film, but faces intense compromises and racial discrimination within the rigid *studio system*.
  • Notable Works: *Fences* (2016), *The Leftovers*, *When They See Us*, and *Watchmen*.
• Li Jun Li as Lady Fay Zhu:
  • Full Name: Li Jun Li.
  • Born: 1983, in Shanghai, China.
  • Role in Babylon: Lady Fay Zhu, a glamorous, mysterious, and multi-talented performer, often a title writer for silent films, whose character is an amalgamation of real-life queer and non-white stars of the era.
  • Notable Works: *Quantico*, *The Exorcist*, and *Wu Assassins*.

The Cinematic Excess: Babylon's Deep Dive into the Transition from Silent Films to Talkies

*Babylon* is more than just a historical drama; it is a meticulous recreation of a monumental shift in cinematic history: the seismic move from *silent films* to the *talkies* in the late 1920s. This technological leap, triggered by the success of films like *The Jazz Singer*, is the engine of the film’s plot, driving the rise and fall of its central characters.

The film masterfully showcases the immediate, brutal impact of this revolution. Silent film stars like Jack Conrad, whose acting style was tailored for exaggerated, expressive visuals, suddenly found their careers in jeopardy because their voices were deemed unsuitable, their accents were wrong, or their acting was too theatrical for the microphone. The scene depicting Nellie LaRoy’s first attempt at a sound film is a masterclass in cinematic chaos, highlighting the technical challenges and the sheer absurdity of the early sound recording process.

Damien Chazelle, known for his immersive, music-driven narratives like *Whiplash* and *La La Land*, utilizes this tumultuous period to explore his recurring themes of ambition, the cost of success, and the relationship between art and entertainment. The *production design* and *cinematography* by Linus Sandgren push the boundaries, creating a sense of overwhelming, intoxicating excess that mirrors the era’s reputation as the *Roaring Twenties*. The film's lavish budget was necessary to recreate the sprawling sets of *Paramount Pictures* and the massive parties that defined the era.

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Behind the Chaos: The Real-Life Entities and Themes That Inspired the Film

To achieve its profound *topical authority*, *Babylon* draws heavily on the real-life scandals, legends, and forgotten figures of early Hollywood. While the main characters are fictional, they are clear composites of famous personalities. This use of *intertextuality* makes the film a compelling watch for cinema historians.

Nellie LaRoy’s Scandalous Ascent: Margot Robbie’s character, Nellie LaRoy, is heavily inspired by Clara Bow, the original "It Girl" of the *Silent Era*, known for her wild lifestyle and ultimate inability to fully transition to sound due to a nervous breakdown and public scrutiny. Her character also echoes the tragic fate of stars whose private lives were mercilessly exposed by the press, a theme often covered by the cynical columnist Elinor St. John.

The Decline of Jack Conrad: Brad Pitt's Jack Conrad embodies the decline of figures like John Gilbert, a major silent film heartthrob whose career was famously derailed by the change to sound, often rumored to be due to a high-pitched voice—a classic piece of Hollywood folklore that *Babylon* directly addresses. Conrad's journey is a meditation on the fleeting nature of fame and the industry's ruthless disposal of yesterday’s heroes.

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The Struggle of Sidney Palmer and Lady Fay Zhu: The characters of Jovan Adepo and Li Jun Li introduce crucial themes of race and sexuality in early cinema. Sidney Palmer’s story highlights the systemic racism that forced Black artists to compromise their integrity for mainstream success, a struggle that was common for African-American jazz musicians and performers of the *Jazz Age*. Lady Fay Zhu, a queer, multi-talented Chinese-American performer, represents the marginalized figures who often had to hide their true identities or were typecast in exotic roles, a subtle nod to the censorship that would soon be codified by the *Hays Code*.

Ultimately, *Babylon* is a sprawling, maximalist film that uses the star power of its *ensemble cast* to explore the high-stakes, high-wire act of surviving a complete industrial and cultural transformation. It is an ode to the dreamers, the debauched, and the determined, whose legacy continues to shape the movies we watch today.