The People

The cast of West of Greatness brings both authenticity and transformation to the screen.

LaEric Moore plays Jerome Betis Carmichael, a role defined by drive, warmth, and optimism. Jerome is the emotional heartbeat of the film, and LaEric’s performance feels deeply personal. As his physical transformation unfolds, so does a layered portrait of ambition, vulnerability, and quiet determination.

Zachary Van Zandt plays Terry Bridgeway, a character burdened by unspoken responsibility and internal pressure. Terry moves through the world with a guarded intensity, and Zach channels that weight with precision. His quiet moments say as much as his words, revealing someone desperate to hold his life together the only way he knows how.

Gordy Cassel portrays Jessica Priscilla Bridgeway, Terry’s sister, a woman living with the long-term effects of a traumatic brain injury that has impacted how her body moves and functions. Once a dancer, Jessica now yearns to move freely in her changed body, holding onto rhythm and memory as a form of resilience. Over the course of the film, she forms a quiet but profound connection with Jerome—two outsiders recognizing something tender in one another. Gordy approached the role with deep care, love, and responsibility—grounding the performance in extensive research and a commitment to portraying disability with authenticity and respect. Drawing from principles of disability justice, Gordy ensured Jessica’s experience was never reduced to stereotype, but instead expressed with dignity, complexity, and emotional truth. Through interviews and improvised moments, Jessica emerges as luminous, defiant, and achingly human. Her desire to be seen and understood becomes one of the most powerful arcs in the film.

Each actor embraced the physical demands of the story, undergoing real, visible transformations over the course of the film. What makes these performances stand out is not just commitment to character, but commitment to the process.