# Robert Longstreet
**Robert Longstreet** is an American actor and producer whose screen work runs from independent films of the 2000s and 2010s to television horror series and studio pictures. He is known for his roles in *[Midnight Mass](https://www.edgepedia.org/midnight-mass-miniseries)* (2021), *Sorry to Bother You* (2018), and *Take Shelter* (2011)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0519486/), and he has become a recurring collaborator of filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in *[The Haunting](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-haunting-tv-series) of Hill House*, *Midnight Mass*, and *The Fall of the House of Usher*[2](https://filmmakermagazine.libsyn.com/robert-longstreet). Published sources disagree on his birth date: IMDb gives 1962[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0519486/), while TVInsider gives July 15, 1975[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-longstreet/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Profession | Actor and producer; also credited as a writer, editor, and executive producer on early projects[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0519486/) |
| Birth year | 1962 per IMDb; 1975 per TVInsider (sources conflict) [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0519486/) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-longstreet/) |
| Signature television roles | Joe Collie in *Midnight Mass* (2021); Mr. Dudley in *The Haunting of Hill House* (2018); Mr. Longfellow in *The Fall of the House of Usher* (2023) [4](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/midnight-club-cast-mike-flanagan-flanaverse) • [5](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-98705/filmographie/) |
| Notable film roles | Anderson in *Sorry to Bother You* (2018); Jim in *Take Shelter* (2011); Lonnie Elam in *Halloween Kills* (2021); Special Agent Carlyle in *Judas and the Black Messiah* (2021) [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0519486/) • [6](https://www.fandango.com/people/robert-longstreet-407633/film-credits) |
| Studio films | *Aquaman* (2018) as Professor James and *The Old Man & the Gun* (2018) as Stephen Beckley, Jr., Esq. [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-longstreet/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0519486/) |
| Behind the camera | Story credit and executive producer credit on *Septien* (2011), in which he also played Ezra Rawlings [7](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/281270-Robert-Longstreet?isMiscCredit=False) |
## Early career and independent film
Longstreet's screen credits begin in the late 1990s. He acted in the comedy *The Week That Girl Died* (1998) and worked in television, including a part on *Dawson's Creek* (WB, 1997–2003)[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-longstreet/). Film work followed steadily through the 2000s and 2010s: *Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood* (2002), *The Great World of Sound* (2007), *Pineapple Express* (2008), *Septien* (2011), *Take Shelter* (2011), and *The Catechism Cataclysm* (2011), among many others[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-longstreet/). In *The Catechism Cataclysm* he played Robbie Shoemaker, a role he stepped into after the originally chosen actor left the film[8](https://www.shockya.com/news/2011/10/20/interview-robert-longstreet-and-steve-little-talk-the-catechism-cataclysm/).
The [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute)'s catalog lists his core independent features and shows the multi-hyphenate work of this period: *Septien* carries him as actor, story writer, and executive producer[7](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/281270-Robert-Longstreet?isMiscCredit=False). In a 2011 interview about *The Catechism Cataclysm*, director Todd Rohal's comedy shot largely on the Yakima River in Washington, he described the difference between location shooting on a river and the cramped interiors typical of low-budget films[8](https://www.shockya.com/news/2011/10/20/interview-robert-longstreet-and-steve-little-talk-the-catechism-cataclysm/).
A podcast profile describes him as a character actor who moves between independent film and genre work, with a gift for playing complex, wounded, or morally ambiguous characters[2](https://filmmakermagazine.libsyn.com/robert-longstreet).
## The Mike Flanagan collaboration
The role that brought him wider recognition was Mr. Dudley in *The Haunting of Hill House*, Flanagan's 2018 Netflix series, in which he appeared in six of the ten episodes[2](https://filmmakermagazine.libsyn.com/robert-longstreet) • [5](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-98705/filmographie/). He followed it with the role that reviewers most associate with him: Joe Collie in *Midnight Mass* (2021), the island drunk who never forgave himself after the accident that caused Leeza's paralysis[4](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/midnight-club-cast-mike-flanagan-flanaverse). Critics placed the character at the center of two of the series' strongest scenes, with the review site RogerEbert.com identifying him as "a local drunk with, wait for it, a dark past" in its series review[9](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/midnight-mass-tv-review-2021). He also took smaller parts in the series' resident-story segments, playing the Devil in "The Two Danas" and a detective in "The Wicked Heart"[4](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/midnight-club-cast-mike-flanagan-flanaverse).
He continued in the Flanagan orbit with *The Fall of the House of Usher* (2023), playing Mr. Longfellow in the first two episodes[5](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-98705/filmographie/). Along the way he picked up other genre roles, including Barry the Chunk in *[Doctor Sleep](https://www.edgepedia.org/doctor-sleep-2019-film)* (2019), Flanagan's Stephen King adaptation[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-longstreet/).
## Wider film and television work
Outside the Flanagan projects, Longstreet's credits span independent drama and major releases. In 2018 alone he appeared in [Boots Riley](https://www.edgepedia.org/boots-riley)'s *Sorry to Bother You* as Anderson[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0519486/), in *Aquaman* as Professor James[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-longstreet/), and in *The Old Man & the Gun* as Stephen Beckley, Jr., Esq.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0519486/). In 2021 he played Special Agent Carlyle in *Judas and the Black Messiah* and Lonnie Elam in *[Halloween Kills](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween-kills)*, a return of the character addressed in the 1978 original film[6](https://www.fandango.com/people/robert-longstreet-407633/film-credits). More recent credits include *The Civil Dead* (2023) as Arnold, *[The Threesome](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-threesome)* (2025) as Paul Brooks, and guest work on *The Creep Tapes*[6](https://www.fandango.com/people/robert-longstreet-407633/film-credits) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-longstreet/). Filmography databases list his credits in the range of dozens of films and series across a career that continues into the mid-2020s[10](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/name.php?name-id=641975317).
## References
1. [Robert Longstreet, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0519486/)
2. [Back To One: Robert Longstreet, Filmmaker Magazine podcast](https://filmmakermagazine.libsyn.com/robert-longstreet)
3. [Robert Longstreet, TVInsider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-longstreet/)
4. [Mike Flanagan Recurring Cast, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/midnight-club-cast-mike-flanagan-flanaverse)
5. [Robert Longstreet: Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-98705/filmographie/)
6. [Robert Longstreet Filmography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/robert-longstreet-407633/film-credits)
7. [Robert Longstreet, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/281270-Robert-Longstreet?isMiscCredit=False)
8. [Interview: Robert Longstreet and Steve Little Talk The Catechism Cataclysm, ShockYa](https://www.shockya.com/news/2011/10/20/interview-robert-longstreet-and-steve-little-talk-the-catechism-cataclysm/)
9. [Midnight Mass movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/midnight-mass-tv-review-2021)
10. [Robert Longstreet, Filmaffinity](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/name.php?name-id=641975317)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Le to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license