Who Plays Caroline in ‘Cruel Intentions’ Show? 5 Fun Facts About Actress Sarah Catherine Hook

Have you watched the newest adaptation of Cruel Intentions yet? The show is based loosely on the iconic 1999 movie, and stars newcomers Zac Burgess and Sarah Catherine Cook as cheming step-siblings Lucien Belmont and Caroline Merteuil, respectively. Since the show’s debut in November 2024, fans can’t get enough of Sarah’s portrayal of Caroline, inspired by Kathryn Merteuil, the character from the original movie played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Based on Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ classic novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, this adaptation marks the first time the scandalous tale has been brought to the small screen. The original 1999 film starred Reese Witherspoon as Annette, who became entangled in a twisted bet between step-siblings Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe) and Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar).

“I was a huge fan of Cruel Intentions the film, and I was in seventh or eighth grade when I was introduced to it by a group of cool older girls,” Sarah said during an interview with Town and Country Magazine. “Until that point, I’d been watching the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, so it was a transitional film for me—as I think it was for a lot of people—and I became obsessed. When I heard they were doing a TV series, I nearly fell out of my chair. My whole life, everyone’s said I look like Reese Witherspoon, but when I heard they wanted to see me for the Sarah Michelle Gellar role, that was a twist.”

Prime Video’s modernized adaptation moves the story to a college in Washington, D.C., swapping the New York prep school setting of the film. This time, the scheming step-siblings are named Lucien and Caroline, who will go to any lengths to maintain their social dominance. The cast also features Savannah Lee Smith, Sara Silva, John Harlan Kim, Khobe Clarke, Sean Patrick Thomas and Brooke Lena Johnson.

“Sarah [Goodman] and Phoebe [Fisher, the show’s creators] chose to set it in Greek life because it’s like our version of a royal court; it’s this place where elites live, and outsiders have always known about it, but don’t actually know what goes on,” she added.

So, who exactly is Sarah, and where might you recognize her from? Scroll through our gallery below to learn more about the Cruel Intentions actress:

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