American Sweatshop: Cast, Release Date, Plot & Everything to Know

Daisy Moriarty is trying to hold her chaotic life together—navigating a dead-end job, fractured relationships, and a constant low hum of anxiety. Seeking an escape and a sense of validation, she plunges headfirst into the digital realm, initially finding community and purpose. But her quest for likes and followers quickly morphs into a harrowing addiction, pulling her into the exploitative underbelly of the internet. What begins as a distraction soon becomes a full-time job in a brutal, unseen economy where every click, share, and moment of screen time is mined for profit, and mental well-being is the ultimate cost.

This searing psychological drama holds a black mirror up to the modern condition, exploring the human toll of the attention economy. “American Sweatshop” is a terrifyingly relatable descent into a world where personal boundaries dissolve, self-worth is quantified by algorithms, and reality becomes a product to be packaged and sold. Daisy’s journey is a cautionary tale for the digital age, a gripping exploration of how the very platforms designed to connect us can become cages, meticulously designed to keep us scrolling, consuming, and slowly breaking apart.

American Sweatshop movie cast

1. Lili Reinhart as Daisy Moriarty

Lili Reinhart delivers a raw, unflinching, and career-best performance as Daisy Moriarty, a young woman whose search for connection leads her into a digital labyrinth. Reinhart masterfully charts Daisy’s transformation from a relatable, somewhat lost individual into a desperate content creator consumed by the metrics of her own existence. Her portrayal is a nuanced study of anxiety and addiction, capturing the frantic energy of chasing virality and the profound emptiness that follows when the notifications stop. Reinhart makes Daisy’s pain and isolation palpably real, holding a mirror to the audience’s own digital habits.

Reinhart ensures that Daisy is never merely a victim; she is a complex participant in her own exploitation, making her journey all the more tragic and compelling. Her performance brilliantly showcases the duality of online life—the curated, bright persona she presents to the world versus the crumbling, anxious reality behind the screen. Reinhart’s Daisy is the haunting embodiment of a generation trying to find itself in the flickering light of a phone, making her story both uniquely modern and universally human.

2. Daniela Melchior as Ava Lopez

Daniela Melchior is magnetic and unsettling as Ava Lopez, a seemingly successful and influential online guru who becomes Daisy’s mentor and gateway into the darker side of internet fame. Melchior brings a seductive, cult-leader charm to the role, portraying Ava as a figure who offers community and secrets to success, but whose help comes with manipulative strings attached. She is the embodiment of the toxic hustle culture that thrives online, a glamorous but hollow prophet of the digital age.

Melchior’s performance is crucial as the person who accelerates Daisy’s descent. She reveals the calculated machinery behind Ava’s seemingly effortless online persona, showcasing the cynicism and exploitation that fuels her empire. Ava represents the Faustian bargain of internet fame, and Melchior makes her both terrifying and irresistibly compelling, a perfect antagonist for the digital era who believes she is saving Daisy even as she destroys her.

3. Jeremy Ang Jones as Paul Hui

Jeremy Ang Jones brings a grounded, concerned energy to the role of Paul Hui, likely Daisy’s coworker, friend, or brother who watches her transformation with growing alarm. Jones portrays Paul as the voice of reason and a tether to the real world, his attempts to pull Daisy back from the brink often met with irritation and dismissal. He represents the offline relationships that fray and snap under the strain of digital obsession.

Jones’s performance provides the film’s moral and emotional center. His character’s helplessness and genuine care for Daisy create some of the most heartbreaking scenes, as he is forced to stand by and watch someone he loves be consumed by a force he doesn’t fully understand. He is the audience’s surrogate, and his journey from confusion to desperate action adds a critical layer of stakes and humanity to the narrative.

4. Josh Whitehouse as The Brand Manager

Josh Whitehouse appears as a slick, amoral Brand Manager or platform executive, a figure who represents the corporate engine of the attention economy. Whitehouse brings a cold, data-driven efficiency to the role, portraying a man who sees users not as people, but as metrics and revenue streams. His character is the embodiment of the system’s indifference, offering Daisy hollow opportunities that further exploit her vulnerability for corporate gain.

Whitehouse’s performance adds a layer of chilling, systemic antagonism. His interactions with Daisy are transactional, devoid of empathy, and focused solely on engagement numbers. He represents the faceless, profit-driven machine that designs the addictive features keeping users like Daisy trapped, making him a formidable and realistic villain in the story.

5. Tim Plester as The Enabler

Tim Plester brings a specific, gritty character energy to his role, likely as a fellow content creator deep in the grind or a moderator in a toxic online community. Plester’s character embodies the normalized desperation of the “sweatshop,” someone who has been in the game too long and has completely blurred the lines between their online persona and their crumbling reality. He is a ghost in the machine, a warning of what Daisy could become.

Plester’s performance provides a stark look at the long-term effects of this lifestyle. His character is likely jaded, cynical, and willing to do anything for a click, showing Daisy the dark endpoint of the path she’s on. He adds to the film’s atmosphere of digital decay and lost identity.

6. Christiane Paul as Joy Jones

Christiane Paul brings depth and concern to the role of Joy Jones, potentially a therapist, a concerned mother, or a journalist investigating the world Daisy is entering. Paul portrays a woman who possesses a clearer understanding of the psychological mechanisms at play, offering a perspective that is both analytical and deeply humane. She represents a potential path to awareness and recovery, or a voice trying to expose the system.

Paul’s performance offers moments of clarity amidst the chaos. Her character attempts to arm Daisy with knowledge about the algorithms and psychological tricks being used against her, making their scenes together pivotal moments of revelation and tension. She is a beacon of critical thinking in a world designed to discourage it.

7. Joel Fry as The Algorithmist

Joel Fry appears in a key supporting role, potentially as a tech worker or coder who provides insight into the literal programming behind the platforms. Fry could play a character with a moral dilemma, someone who helps Daisy understand how her behavior is being manipulated by design. His performance would ground the film’s themes in the chilling reality of intentional, coded addiction.

The Online World: Faith Delaney & Sean McGuiness

Faith Delaney brings a specific energy as Violet Smith, another user or content creator who might be a rival or a fellow victim in the online ecosystem. Sean McGuiness is critically cast as the Interviewer/Voyeur, a角色 that could range from a podcast host glorifying the grind to a sinister figure representing the audience’s complicit consumption of this digital trauma. His performance blurs the line between concerned observer and exploitative watcher, directly implicating the viewer in the cycle.

Why American Sweatshop Is a Must-See

• A Mirror to Modern Life: A terrifyingly relevant and psychologically astute examination of our relationship with social media and the attention economy.

• Lili Reinhart’s Powerhouse Performance: A raw, fearless, and award-worthy portrayal of digital addiction and mental health.

• Unflinching & Urgent: A gripping narrative that doesn’t shy away from the dark, exploitative realities of the online world.

• Incredible Ensemble Cast: A perfectly assembled group of actors who bring every facet of this digital ecosystem to life with chilling authenticity.

Log In. Break Down. American Sweatshop premieres in theaters September 19, 2025.