Rachel Brosnahan in Manhattan season 2, image courtesy of WGN America
18. Rachel Brosnahan
Why you should know her: You probably recognize Brosnahan from the Netflix series House of Cards. As a call girl who gets entangled in Frank’s fateful scheme to ruin Senator Peter Russo, she transcends clichés, playing Rachel Posner as neither a gullible victim nor a devious femme fatale; in fact, thanks to her, Rachel is one of the show’s few characters who actually feels like a human being. Her season two arc, in which Rachel attempts to start fresh, provides a gratifying dose of heart amid the political intrigue and cynicism. When she tearfully tells Lisa that she doesn’t want her around, it stings as much as any of Frank’s snide barbs. (Of course, this makes her unceremonious demise in season three all the more upsetting.)
Brosnahan had a more substantial role on WGN America’s sadly short-lived Manhattan, a period drama about the creation of the atomic bomb. Her character, Abby Isaacs, hits some similar notes as Rachel Posner (confined against her will, secret lesbian relationship), but Brosnahan displays a versatility that House of Cards never allowed her, deftly fluctuating between demure and assertive, wholesome and jaded.
Upcoming projects: She has roles in a couple of films, Dianne Dreyer’s Change in the Air and Campbell Scott’s Joan Didion adaptation A Book of Common Prayer, which stars Christian Hendricks and Allison Janney. Most intriguing, however, is The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a pilot for Amazon written by Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. Brosnahan is cast as the lead, a woman who becomes a stand-up comedian after her husband skips town, and it sounds like a good opportunity for her to let loose.