Unlike The Witcher, Netflix's last big fantasy series, Shadow and Bone is more of a Game of Thrones-type ensemble piece, featuring an enormous cast. Some of the actors may look familiar, while others you may be seeing for the first time. Let's run down all the movies and TV shows starring Shadow and Bone actors so you know where else to watch them.
The cast of Shadow and Bone runs the gamut of oscreen experience. Some of the leads are complete newcomers, like Calahan Skogman, who plays Matthias. Others, like Kevin Eldon, who plays the small role of The Apparat, have decades-long careers, but not in drama. (FYI, Eldon is best known for UK improv comedy series and voiceover work in Dangermouse.)
The show's diverse lineup of cast members means Shadow and Bone doesn't have the quintessential anglophilic "Where Do I Know That Actor From?" feel to it. (It also avoids the "What Other Netflix Shows Have They Starred In?" game, which has also started to become a trend.) In tracking down the other series and movies in which these actors have starred, fans will also discover some never-before-seen performances, which is always fun. Here's a rundown of where you've seen (or should see) these actors:
Doubtlessly, Shadow and Bone will be how most people are introduced to Jessie Mei Li. But before she landed the lead role in Netflix's new series, she was part of the cast of National Theatre Live: All About Eve. In this staged production of the original 1950s film, Mei Li starred alongside Gillian Anderson (The Crown) and Lily James (Rebecca). Fans who want to check it out can see it via The National Theater at Home's streaming service.
Fans will next see Mei Li in Last Night in Soho, which was supposed to arrive in 2020 before being delayed due to COVID-related shutdowns. She'll appear alongside Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit), Matt Smith (The Crown), and the late Dame Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones). The film is expected to arrive in theaters in the latter half of 2021.
Much like his main co-star Mei Li, Archie Renaux is a relative newcomer. Before Shadow and Bone, his most prominent role was in the 2020 UK series Gold Digger, on which he appeared alongside Julia Ormond (Legends of the Fall) and current Shadow and Bone co-star Ben Barnes. The six-episode thriller is streaming on Acorn TV.
Renaux will next appear in the highly-anticipated superhero film Morbius from Sony's live-action Spider-verse, due out in January 2022. He'll co-star with Jared Leto (Suicide Squad), Jared Harris (Chernobyl), Michael Keaton (Batman), and Matt Smith.
The lead of the Six Of Crows portion of Shadow and Bone's cast has quite a few titles under his belt. Freddy Carter was most recently seen in the Batman prequel Pennyworth over on Epix, streaming via Amazon Prime. Before that, he appeared in the Channel 5 series 15 Days (in Welsh with subtitles), which is available via BritBox and Season 1 of Free Rein on Netflix.
Amita Suman got her start like most British actors do, appearing on the long-running Doctor Who (streaming on HBO Max) and the even longer-running Casualty (streaming on BritBox). But her most significant role to date before Shadow and Bone was in Season 2 of The CWs' series The Outpost. All three seasons are streaming for free on The CW's website.
Like Mei Li, Kit Young's big breaks came via National Theater Live, although in his case, the stage plays he participated in were Shakespearean ones. He was in the acclaimed Julius Caesar alongside a murderer's row of talent, including Ben Whishaw (James Bond), Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones), and Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton). He also starred as one of the leads in A Midsummer Night's Dream alongside Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones). Both are available via the National Theater at Home service.
Fans of fantasy may recognize Danielle Galligan from Game of Thrones; she was a minor character in Season 8 in the post-Battle of Winterfell dinner. She was also in SyFy's short-lived Krypton, which is available on The CW Seed. Before Shadow and Bone, her most prominent role was in Cold Courage, which is currently streaming on AMC+.
Before she was in Shadow and Bone, Daisy Head landed a major role in the third and final season of Harlots, streaming over on Hulu. She was also a major presence in ITV's 2018 TV series Girlfriends (streaming on Amazon Prime), on which she starred alongside Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey), Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter), and her current Shadow and Bone co-star Zoe Wanamaker. But her most prominent role to date was in Guilt, on which she starred as Grace Atwood, an American exchange student accused of murdering her flatmate. All episodes are currently streaming on Freeform.
Zoë Wanamaker's career spans 50 years, starting in 1971. A lot of her earliest stuff from the 1970s and 80s, like Richard III and Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill, can't be found on streaming, unfortunately. But more recently, she's appeared in everything from Prime Suspect alongside Helen Mirren in the 1990s (on Hulu) to Harry Potter in the 2000s (now streaming on Peacock), to Agatha Christie's Poirot (also on BritBox) and Mr. Selfridge (via Amazon Prime) in the 2010s. She was even in Killing Eve's most recent season (streaming on Hulu).
The face most fans will likely recognize from Shadow and Bone is General Kirigan, played by Ben Barnes. From The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (streaming on Disney+) to Sons of Liberty (streaming on Amazon Prime), Barnes has been in tons of stuff from fantasy to history. He's also appeared in Westworld (streaming on HBO Max), Marvel's The Punisher (streaming on Netflix), and Gold Digger (on Acorn TV).
Shadow and Bone premieres with eight episodes on Netflix on Friday, April 23.
