Cory Michael Smith Lands Leading Role in Jeremy Saulnier’s New A24 Thriller 'October'

After collaborating with Succession’s Jesse Armstrong on Mountainhead, the swiftly produced billionaire satire for HBO, and receiving rave reviews for his work on Saturday Night, Cory Michael Smith has secured his first major leading role in a feature film — October, a new genre picture from A24 directed by Jeremy Saulnier.

Saulnier previously worked with the studio on Green Room, his gritty 2016 horror thriller starring Patrick Stewart and Anton Yelchin.

Details about Smith’s character in October remain under wraps, with no official plot information released. Sources describe it as a fugitive thriller set during Halloween. Saulnier will direct from his own screenplay, with A24 handling production and financing.

Smith stars as Ven Parish, the world’s wealthiest man, in Mountainhead. Prior to this, he received perhaps his career-best reviews for his portrayal of Chevy Chase in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, depicting the behind-the-scenes moments leading up to the first taping of Saturday Night Live.

Saulnier, also a Cannes prize-winner, most recently directed Rebel Ridge, Netflix’s Critics’ Choice Award-winning action thriller starring Aaron Pierre. The film achieved Netflix’s third-biggest debut of 2024, breaking first-week viewership records and ranking among the platform’s most-watched movies in its opening week behind Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.

Saulnier is known for films such as Hold the Dark, Blue Ruin, and HBO’s True Detective. He is represented by CAA, Untitled, and Granderson Des Rochers.

Smith is represented by UTA and Circle Management + Production.