Reina Hardesty

Last updated

Reina Hardesty
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress
Notable credits

Reina Hardesty is an American actress. Before portraying the lead role of Rebecca in the 2025 series Butterfly , she played supporting roles in StartUp , Brockmire and Greenhouse Academy , as well as supporting roles in the films What Comes Around and It's What's Inside .

Contents

Early life and education

Hardesty was born to Greg Hardesty and Manako Ihaya. [1] When Hardesty was 13 years old, her father, at the time a reporter for The Orange County Register , wrote a column about receiving a phone service statement with over 14,000 texts recorded in one month, most of which were from Reina's texting activity. [2] Television and print outlets in the US and Europe ran stories on Hardesty and her texting behavior, including a segment aired on the syndicated news and entertainment program Inside Edition . [3]

Career

Hardesty was cast in the Netflix original series Greenhouse Academy in 2016, joining an ensemble cast of regulars. [4] She followed the Greenhouse Academy role with the recurring role of Stella Namura on the Crackle series StartUp , [5] and in 2020 joined the final season of the IFC series Brockmire in the role of Beth, the daughter of Jim Brockmire. [6] Hardesty portrayed the character Joss Mardon, also known as Weather Witch, in the television series The Flash . [7] She appeared in multiple episodes during the show's fourth and fifth seasons. Hardesty also reprised the role in an episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow . [8]

In early 2020, Hardesty was cast in the role of Kit, the daughter of the American president, in the CW original series Maverick, [8] but the show's production was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving its future unclear. [9] Hardesty was also originally cast in a lead role in a spinoff of The Boys , but was one of multiple actors to leave the show in 2022 when the series showrunners changed their characters before the show aired. [10]

As Brit, the best friend of the lead character Anna in the 2022 Amy Redford film What Comes Around , Hardesty put in a performance that reviewer Marya Gates observed was so "dynamic" that it outshone the performance of the lead actress. [11] Hardesty appeared as Brooke in the 2024 film It's What's Inside , which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival and acquired by Netflix, but Rolling Stone reviewer David Fear noted that her character lacked sufficient development even when compared to the thin characterizations of the film's other roles. [12]

In 2025, Hardesty played the lead role of the assassin Rebecca in the Amazon series Butterfly . Writing for Collider, reviewer Jasneet Singh described Hardesty's performance as "impeccable". [13] Los Angeles Times television critic Robert Lloyd identified the performances of Hardesty and co-star Daniel Dae Kim as good points in Butterfly, while suggesting they would be more interesting to watch together in a different kind of series. [14]

References

  1. Hafner, Katie (May 25, 2009). "Texting May Be Taking a Toll". The New York Times . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  2. Hardesty, Greg (January 7, 2009). "My daughter racked up 14,528 text messages in one month". The Orange County Register . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  3. Hardesty, Greg (January 14, 2009). "My daughter's texting story goes global". The Orange County Register . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  4. Petski, Denise (July 27, 2016). "Jennifer Garner To Voice Mama Llama In Netflix Animated Series; 'Greenhouse' Tween Series Also Sets Cast – TCA". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  5. Martin, Annie (February 28, 2020). "'Maverick': Reina Hardesty to star in CW first daughter series". United Press International . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  6. Butler, Karen (April 1, 2020). "'Brockmire' star Reina Hardesty says humor helps bring sunlight". United Press International . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  7. Harjo, Noetta (May 1, 2019). "THE FLASH Recap: (S05E20) Gone Rogue". Geek Girl Authority. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Andreeva, Nellie (February 28, 2020). "'Maverick': Reina Hardesty To Headline The CW's First Daughter Drama, Two More Cast, Larry Teng To Direct". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  9. Low, Elaine (January 14, 2021). "CW Boss Mark Pedowitz Unpacks Pandemic's Anticipated Effect on Pilot Season". Variety . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  10. Andreeva, Nellie (April 25, 2022). "Reina Hardesty Exits 'The Boys' Spinoff Series". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  11. Gates, Marya (August 4, 2023). "Reviews: What Comes Around". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  12. Fear, David (October 2, 2024). "Is 'It's What's Inside' as Clever as It Thinks It Is?". Rolling Stone . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  13. Singh, Jasneet (August 11, 2025). "'Butterfly' Review: Daniel Dae Kim Leads Prime Video's Groundbreaking Spy Thriller Series With Wall-to-Wall Action". Collider . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  14. Lloyd, Robert (August 12, 2025). "South Korea-set 'Butterfly' packages family melodrama as an action-packed thriller". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved August 18, 2025.