Fans ofThe RoomandThe Disaster Artistmay have been surprised to see Greg Sestero appear in the Netflix horror seriesThe Haunting of Bly Manor. In the new series from creator Mike Flanagan, Sestero can be seen in the very first episode seated at the table as Flora’s fiancé. Undoubtedly, many of us who’ve seenThe Roomcouldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh, hi Mark!” as soon as Sestero appeared on the screen. As it turns out, Flanagan is also a fan of the cult classic movie along with Sestero’s book about its creation, and it was this appreciation that led to the seemingly-random cameo.
Talking about his involvement withThe Haunting of Bly Manor,Greg Sesterorevealed that Flanagan was such a big fan of the book that he had actually approached Sestero years ago about turningThe Disaster Artistinto a movie. Unfortunately for Flanagan, James and Dave Franco had already started the process by that point. Still, it was just a matter of time before Flanagan found another way to use Sestero, resulting in his role in the popular Netflix series.
“So, my first time everdoing a horror conventionkind of thing, [Flanagan’s] wife Kate Siegel came up and was super cool, and said, ‘My husband would like to give you a cameo.’ I thought it was a joke. But it’s funny, because now I can’t say thatThe Roomdidn’t get me acting work, because it finally paid off and put me in something that’s good.”
WhileThe Roomwould become a cult hit, Sestero would become more well-known with mainstream audiences when the movie adaptation ofThe Disaster Artistwas released to great success. Directed by James Franco, it stars Franco as Tommy Wiseau alongside brother Dave as Sestero. The acclaimed movie earned James the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his portrayal of Tommy and it was up for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards. Flanagan was right to see the potential in the story, even if the Francos were just one step ahead of him.
Meanwhile, Flanagan has also been doing just fine with his acclaimed work in the horror genre. He createdThe Haunting of Hill HouseforNetflixin 2018, based on the classic Shirley Jackson novel of the same name. Rare for a horror series, the show was universally praised by both critics and viewers. Last year, he also released the Stephen King adaptationDoctor Sleepto great reviews, and following Stanley Kubrick’sThe Shiningis certainly no easy feat.
The Haunting of Bly Manorhas no storyline connection toHill House, but the series does bring back many of the same actors. Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Carla Gugino, and Catherine Parker are all back, but in different roles. Amelia Eve, T’Nia Miller, Rahul Kohli, Tahirah Sharif, and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth also star. The series is streaming now on Netflix. You can read the rest of Sestero’s interview speaking about his involvement withThe Haunting of Bly ManoratNerdist.
