Outer Banks’Madelyn Cline has become a breakout star thanks to her lead role in the Netflix hit drama adding to her already impressive list of movies and TV shows. However, Outer Banks is far from Madelyn Cline’s first gig. Her first role was the 2009 short Milites Christi, and she made her feature film debut two years later in 23rd Psalm: Redemption. Since then, Cline has appeared in a number of notable TV shows in smaller roles including Stranger Things, Vice Principals, and The Originals. While those have all been supporting roles, they have been significant in exposing her to a wide audience thanks to the popularity of those series.


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Up until recently, Madelyn Cline’s career was characterized by smaller parts in movies and TV shows but her casting in Netflix’s hit show Outer Banks along with her role in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story has put her on the path for more substantial parts. In her early career, Cline often found herself playing somewhat generic high school teen parts, commiserate with her age and experience but with The Outer Banks and roles since, it’s clear that Madelyn Cline will appear in larger projects as more significant characters. Even Cline’s smaller parts are worth analyzing and her filmography is filled with well-known series and acclaimed films.

This Is The Night (2021)

Madelyn Cline as Sophia in This Is the Night.

This Is the Night is available to stream on Netflix.

This Is the Night comes from The Purge franchise creator James Delmonaco, but this more personal and dramatic film does not quite live up to the high heights set up by his horror films. The film follows a family on Staten Island in the 1980s as they each try to solve their personal problems the night of Rocky III’s premiere. Youngest son Anthony Dedea (Lucius Hoyos) is trying to summon the courage to ask out his longtime crush Sophia Larocca, played by Madelyn Cline. Cline does a fine job with her limited screen time, but it’s a fairly generic part in a film that didn’t make real waves.

Boy Erased (2018)

Madelyn Cline as Chloe in Boy Erased.

Boy Erased is available to rent on Apple TV+.

Joel Edgerton, best known for his acting roles, directs Boy Erased, a biographical drama based on Garrard Conley’s memoir of the same name. The film sees Jared Eamons (Lucas Hedges) sent to a gay conversion therapy camp by his religious parents. Madelyn Cline plays Chloe, Jared’s girlfriend before he is able to publicly admit his sexuality. It’s a small but important role that serves to show how long Jared has been dealing with his identity struggles. Far from coming across as the classic cheerleader girlfriend-type, Chloe is understanding and empathetic to Jared’s situation though she exits the movie before the real plot at the conversion camp begins.

Vice Principals (2016-2017)

Madelyn Cline as Taylor Watts speaking in front of a group of students in Vice Principals.

Vice Principals is available to stream on Max.

Danny McBride and Walton Goggins star in Vice Principals, a comedy series from Eastbound and Down creators McBride and Jody Hill. Eastbound and Down may be the better show of the two but Vice Principals is still an outrageous and hilarious story, though with a darker mean streak. Madelyn Cline appears in three episodes as head cheerleader Taylor Watts at the high school in the series. Cline does an excellent job as an upbeat and type-A student who slides easily into the wild and laugh-a-minute style of the show. Vice Principals is filled with great side characters and Taylor stands out with the best.

The Originals (2017)

Madelyn Cline as Jessica in The Originals.

The Originals is available to stream on Netflix.

The Originals is a spin-off of the CW vampire series The Vampire Diaries. This series follows the Mikaelson siblings, the “original” vampires who were the first generation to be created. The Mikaelsons become embroiled in the supernatural politics of New Orleans, a town they founded. Madelyn Cline appears in three episodes of season 4 as Jessica, a French Quarter witch who is picked to be sacrificed for the Harvest ritual, though she is resurrected afterward. Cline plays Jessica as a normal young witch in her first appearance but after her resurrection, becomes traumatized and guarded for having gone through the ritual.

Stranger Things (2017)

Abigail Cowen, Madelyn Cline and Chelsea Talmadge in Stranger Things

Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix.

Stranger Things season 2 introduced a new face with Madelyn Cline’s character Tina – a Hawkins High School student and member of Carol Perkins’ (Chelsea Talmadge) popular girl clique. Tina was the girl who hosted a party in the second season’s pop culture reference-packed Halloween episode 2, “Trick Or Treat, Freak” in which she dressed up as pop star Madonna. Tina also appeared in the Stranger Things season 2 premiere “Madmax” ogling Hawkins High newcomer Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) with her friends. Madelyn Cline is only briefly on screen, but she makes a memorable impression in her perfectly period-accurate getup and over-the-top reaction to Billy.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

Whiskey looking mortified in Glass Onion

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is available to stream on Netflix.

Madelyn Cline finally branches out from her high school teen roles in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery as Whiskey, Duke Cody’s (Dave Bautista) anti-feminist girlfriend and Twitch streamer assistant. It’s a very tongue-in-cheek role that is a welcome addition to the Knives Out franchise’s colorful cast of characters. Cline is very funny as a status-obsessed but ultimately innocent tagalong to Miles Bron’s (Edward Norton) murder mystery dinner. Whiskey is confident and self-absorbed, but Cline never makes her seem like an unpleasant person. Her interactions with the much more intelligent Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) are particularly hilarious as her naivety bumps up against his exceptional wit.

Outer Banks (2020-Present)

Madelyn Cline as Sarah in Outer Banks

Outer Banks is available to stream on Netflix.

Madelyn Cline’s breakout role and one of Netflix’s best teen series, Outer Banks stars Cline as Sarah Cameron. Called the “Kook Princess” but with a heart aligned with the Pogues, Sarah bridges both groups on the island and gets herself involved with John B. (Chase Stokes) and the search for a hidden treasure. This is Cline’s most significant role to date, and she handles romance, action, mystery, and comedy in equal measure. Each season of the show becomes grander and grander with twisting plot lines that begin to spiral into the absurd but Madelyn Cline’s solid performance at the center of the show ensures it never loses its bearings.