Odie Nears Final Casting with Latest Additions

As Odie continues coming together here in Austin, we’re excited to announce several new additions to the cast: Matt Harmatuk as Mr. Anderson, Ben Jumper as Doug, Daniel Freeberg as Moose, Kristen Prince as Trixie, and Mirtha Martinez as Miss Vaughn.

This group adds a real layer of texture to the world of the film. Odie has always depended on character more than plot mechanics. The people our protagonist meets over the course of his day are not background color. They are the story. Each one reveals something about survival, dignity, absurdity, or grace, and these roles help define the emotional shape of the film in very different ways.

Matt Harmatuk will play Mr. Anderson, the site manager at the new shelter and one of the film’s most important supporting roles. When Odie first meets him, Anderson comes off like a no-nonsense older man who has seen everything and does not have much patience left for excuses. But as the story unfolds, he becomes something more surprising: a figure of authority with real depth, humor, weariness, and ultimately compassion. It is a role that asks for presence without overstatement. The character has to feel believable the second he appears, and strong enough to carry some of the film’s most meaningful late scenes. Matt felt like a natural fit for that balance, and we’re excited to have him in the film. Mr. Anderson is one of the characters who helps define what Odie is really about.

Mirtha Martinez will play Miss Vaughn, the seasoned shelter staffer who becomes one of the last people standing between Odie and the future he has spent the whole day chasing. She has authority, toughness, and a clear sense of the rules, but the role only works if there is still humanity underneath all that structure. Miss Vaughn is not written as cruel. She is written as somebody who has seen too much, heard too much, and still shows up. Mirtha felt right for that kind of presence.

Kristen Prince joins the film as Trixie, one of the more memorable people in Odie’s orbit. Trixie is tough, sharp, territorial, and impossible to ignore. She lives in a hidden camp with Gerald and Donny, operating with the kind of practical intelligence that comes from surviving one day at a time. She is funny, abrasive, and always calculating the value of what is in front of her. Kristen brings a strong point of view to the role, which is exactly what a character like Trixie needs. She cannot feel generic for even a second.

Ben Jumper joins the cast as Doug, one half of a chaotic street duo Odie crosses paths with later in the day. Doug has the loose, slightly fried energy of somebody who has been outside too long and still manages to find a way to laugh through it. He is shady, funny, unpredictable, and weirdly welcoming all at once. The role works best if it feels specific and human rather than cartoonish, and Ben brings the kind of face and energy that makes Doug immediately feel like a real guy you might actually run into in some forgotten corner of the city.

Daniel Freeberg will play Moose, Doug’s running mate and partner in bad decisions. Moose is impulsive, reckless, and just unstable enough to make every interaction a little dangerous and a little funny. He brings a different kind of energy than Doug, more physical, more combustible, and together the two create one of the film’s more chaotic detours. Moose could easily become too much in the wrong hands, but the role really needs someone who can make him feel grounded in the world of the movie while still letting him be a genuine wild card. Daniel gives us that.

What continues to excite us as the cast comes together is how much this film depends on truthfulness. These are not decorative roles. Every person Odie meets changes the way the audience understands his world. Some offer help. Some create obstacles. Some reveal how absurd, fragile, or unforgiving the system can be. But all of them matter.

We’re proud to have Matt, Ben, Daniel, Kristen, and Mirtha joining the cast of Odie, and we’re looking forward to sharing more as the film moves closer to production.