“One More Shot.” That’s the mantra haunting Mickey “The Celt” Harney (Orlando Bloom), a retired boxer lured back for a title fight he was never meant to have. The catch? He must lose a dangerous amount of weight in a brutally short time. Holed up in a claustrophobic Las Vegas hotel room, Mickey embarks on a torturous, illegal weight cut under the guidance of Boz (John Turturro), a trainer with a dubious moral compass and a bag of pharmaceutical tricks. As his body deteriorates, so does his mind, blurring the lines between discipline and self-destruction.

This isn’t a sports movie about glory; it’s a psychological thriller about the physical and spiritual cost of ambition. Director Gavin O’Connor (Warrior, The Way Back) crafts a visceral, unflinching portrait of a man starving himself for a chance at redemption. The ring is the destination, but the real fight happens in the suffocating silence of that room, where every drop of sweat, every skipped meal, and every pill is a desperate gamble with his health, his family, and his life.

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The Cut Actor and character names

1. Orlando Bloom as Mickey “The Celt” Harney

Mickey is a man haunted by past victories that feel like failures. Bloom delivers a raw, physically transformative performance, shedding both muscle and vanity to portray a athlete on the precipice of a breakdown. His journey is a visceral descent, captured in trembling hands, sunken eyes, and the agonizing ritual of the sauna suit and spit cup. The charisma that once filled arenas is now a flicker of light in a gaze clouded by deprivation and doubt.

Bloom’s commitment anchors the film’s terrifying realism. He trained for over a year, working with professional boxers and nutritionists to understand the brutal science and psychology of weight cutting. His performance is a silent scream of pain and determination, making Mickey’s quest equally inspiring and horrifying to witness.

2. John Turturro as Boz

Boz is the cynical architect of Mickey’s downfall, a man who sees fighters not as people but as weight classes and paydays. Turturro is magnetic and menacing, delivering folksy wisdom that masks a deeply unscrupulous nature. He’s a toxic cocktail of enabler and manipulator, pushing Mickey past every ethical and physical boundary with the calm assurance of a man who’s never had to throw a punch himself.

Turturro creates a uniquely unsettling antagonist. His Boz isn’t a monster; he’s a product of a brutal system, a man who justifies his methods with the cold logic of the gambling world. His relationship with Mickey is a twisted symbiosis, a dance between desperation and exploitation that drives the film’s tense core.

3. Caitríona Balfe as Caitlin Harney

Caitlin is Mickey’s estranged wife, a woman who loved the man but fears the fighter. Balfe brings a powerful, grounded resilience to the role, portraying a woman torn between her love for Mickey and the terrifying reality of his obsession. Her pleas for him to stop are the film’s moral conscience, a voice of sanity drowned out by the roar of the crowd only Mickey can hear.

Balfe’s performance provides the emotional stakes. Her scenes with Bloom are heartbreaking battles of their own, filled with a history of love and loss. She represents the life Mickey is sacrificing everything for, yet seems to be pushing further away with every pound he loses.

4. Clare Dunne as Mother

Mickey’s mother is a portrait of quiet despair, watching her son slowly disappear from a distance. Dunne conveys a lifetime of worry and powerlessness in a few potent scenes, her silent prayers more devastating than any outburst. She is the ghost at the feast, a reminder of the innocent boy who first put on gloves.

Dunne’s role, though smaller, is crucial. She embodies the familial toll of a fighter’s life, the person who bears the weight of the worry long after the fans have gone home. Her presence is a gut punch of reality in the midst of the Vegas haze.

5. Gary Beadle as Donny

Donny is Mickey’s longtime cutman and the only voice of genuine concern in his corner. Beadle brings a weary, paternal warmth to the role, a man who has stitched up Mickey’s face but now fears he can’t fix what’s breaking inside. His experience tells him this cut is a disaster, but his loyalty keeps him in the room.

Beadle is the heart of the support system. His conflict is palpable; the hands that stop bleeding are forced to administer the very practices that are causing the internal damage. He represents the conflict between the old-school code of the gym and the sport’s dangerous modern extremes.

6. Andonis Anthony as Paolo

Paolo is the sleek, untouchable champion Mickey is scheduled to fight. Anthony embodies effortless athleticism and condescending privilege, a villain not through malice but through sheer, dismissive arrogance. He is the immovable object to Mickey’s perishable force, a reminder of the youthful vigor Mickey is desperately trying to reclaim.

Anthony’s physical presence is a constant threat. He is the embodiment of the goal, the shiny trophy that justifies the suffering. Their eventual confrontation is less a boxing match than a collision of two opposing realities: natural talent versus desperate will.

7. Mohammed Mansaray as Lupe

Lupe is a young, hungry sparring partner who looks at Mickey with a mix of reverence and ambition. Mansaray perfectly captures the naivety and ferocity of a newcomer, a stark contrast to Mickey’s worn-down body. Their sparring sessions are brutal metaphors for the passing of the torch.

Mansaray’s character serves as a mirror to Mickey’s past self—full of hope and unaware of the physical price still to be paid. He is a reminder of the cyclical nature of the sport, where today’s prospect is tomorrow’s desperate veteran.

8. Ed Kear as Manny

Manny is a veteran fighter who failed his own weight cut, now reduced to a cautionary tale and a hanger-on in the gym. Kear is hauntingly authentic, a ghost in the locker room whose slurred speech and shaky hands show Mickey the potential aftermath of his journey.

Kear’s performance is a silent, powerful testament to the film’s central theme. He doesn’t need a monologue; his broken physique is the most effective argument against the path Mickey is on.

9. Oliver Trevena as Jay & Kaine Zajaz as Bobby

Jay and Bobby are Boz’s slick, amoral associates who handle the “supplements” and logistics. Trevena and Zajaz create a duo of chilling banality, treating Mickey’s health like a business transaction. They represent the parasitic ecosystem that feeds off a fighter’s dreams.

Their characters are the modern face of boxing’s underbelly—well-dressed, connected, and utterly devoid of empathy. They are the mechanics in the machine that grinds fighters down, making the systemic corruption feel real and immediate.

10. James Wright as Audience Member

In a brief but symbolically important role, Wright represents the faceless crowd. His reactions—the roar, the gasp, the collective thirst for violence—are a reminder of the audience’s complicity. They cheer for the spectacle, never knowing the brutal cost paid backstage to make it happen.

This role, though small, is a crucial part of the film’s fabric. It implicates everyone watching the film itself in the cycle of demand that drives athletes to these extremes.