Yes, You Really Did See The Guy From The Room In The Haunting of Bly Manor

The Haunting of Bly Manor is horrifying for a number of reasons but one of the biggest shocks comes within the first five minutes of the episode with a highly unexpected cameo from none other than Greg Sestero. If you recognized the buff brunette suited and booted soon-to-be groom whose pre-wedding night jitters are calmed by a mysterious stranger (Carla Gugino) and her gothic ghost story — that acts as the framing device for the entire season — that's because he's the star of one of the most notorious cult films of all time: The Room. 

In The Room, Sestero plays Mark and has become just as well known as the film that made his name. That's partly in thanks to his bestselling book — and the Oscar nominated movie of the same name — The Disaster Artist. But if you didn't notice Sestero in the opening and closing moments of The Haunting of Bly Manor here's what to keep your eyes peeled for. 

When the story begins, we see a rehearsal dinner for Sestero's character and his bride. Later, the wedding party sits by the fire and we see Sestero, the brunette in the tux who is only credited as "Fiancé," but whose fiancé is he? Well, that's maybe one of Bly Manor's biggest shocks.

Sestero plays the "Fiancé" of none other than grown up Flora Wingrave (Christie Burke), one of the children from the main ghost story. Here, she's older and has fallen in love with.. well, Mark from The Room. So how did Sestero end up in the series? According to a chat between Sestero and Nerdist's Lindsey Romain, Flanagan is a huge fan of the cult movie and even wanted to adapt Sestero's book. 

"So, my first time ever doing a horror convention kind of thing, [Flanagan's] wife Kate Siegel came up and was super cool, and said, 'My husband would like to give you a cameo.'" Sestero said. "I thought it was a joke. But it's funny, because now I can't say that The Room didn't get me acting work, because it finally paid off and put me in something that's good." 

There we have it. Confirmation that Sestero's cameo was real and intentional, and that Flanagan is a huge fan of The Room. Bye, Mark!