The Help

Change begins with a whisper.

Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson is an African-American maid who has often offended her employers despite her family's struggles with money and her desperate need for jobs; and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is a young white woman who has recently moved back home after graduating college to find out her childhood maid has mysteriously disappeared. These three stories intertwine to explain how life in Jackson, Mississippi revolves around "the help"; yet they are always kept at a certain distance because of racial lines.

Emma Stone

(Skeeter Phelan)

Viola Davis

(Aibileen Clark)

Bryce Dallas Howard

(Hilly Holbrook)

Octavia Spencer

(Minny Jackson)

Jessica Chastain

(Celia Foote)

Ahna O'Reilly

(Elizabeth Leefolt)

Allison Janney

(Charlotte Phelan)

Anna Camp

(Jolene French)

Eleanor Henry

(Mae Mobley)

Emma Henry

(Mae Mobley)

Christopher Lowell

(Stuart Whitworth)

Cicely Tyson

(Constantine Jefferson)

Mike Vogel

(Johnny Foote)

Sissy Spacek

(Missus Walters)

Brian Kerwin

(Robert Phelan)

Wes Chatham

(Carlton Phelan)

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

(Yule Mae Davis)

Ted Welch

(William Holbrook)

Shane McRae

(Raleigh Leefolt)

Roslyn Ruff

(Pascagoula)

Tarra Riggs

(Gretchen)

Leslie Jordan

(Mr. Blackly)

Mary Steenburgen

(Elaine Stein)

Tiffany Brouwer

(Rebecca)

Carol Lee

(Pearly)

Carol Sutton

(Cora)

Millicent Bolton

(Callie)

Ashley Johnson

(Mary Beth Caldwell)

Ritchie Montgomery

(Bus Driver)

Don Brock

(White Bus Passenger)

Florence "Flo" Roach

(Maid #1)

Nelsan Ellis

(Henry The Waiter)

David Oyelowo

(Preacher Green)

LaChanze

(Rachel)

Dana Ivey

(Gracie Higginbotham)

Becky Fly

(Woman in Grocery Store)

Sheerene Whitfield

(Maid #2)

Cleta Elaine Ellington

(Donna The Receptionist)

Henry Carpenter

(Jameso)

John Taylor

(Missus Walters' Date)

Charles Cooper

(Tire Winner @ Ballroom #1)

Diana Cooper

(Tire Winner @ Ballroom #2)

Coyt Bailey

(Party Guest #3)

Wade Cottonfield

(Lead Singer of Band)

Kelsey Scot

(Sugar Jackson)

Amy Beckwith

(Bridge Club)

Sloane Fair

(Bridge Club)

Anna Jennings

(Bridge Club)

Lauren Miller

(Bridge Club)

Elizabeth Smith

(Bridge Club)

Mary Taylor Killebrew

(Bridge Club)

Kathryn Ursy

(Bridge Club)

Stephanie Ward

(Bridge Club)

Lamar Lott

(Bus Rider (uncredited))

Charles Orr

(Bellhop (uncredited))