If your only familiarity with Charles Dickens is his traditional holiday classic, A Christmas Carol, FX’s new, six-episode adaptation of his 1861 novel, Great Expectations, might be a perfect entry point into exploring more of the influential Victorian era author’s work. In fact, with Ridley Scott, Tom Hardy, and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight signed on as executive producers and an esteemed ensemble at the forefront, we have a good feeling that you can expect this miniseries to be, indeed, great. With that in mind, let’s see who is playing who in the Great Expectations cast and where else you may know them from.
Fionn Whitehead (Pip)
The lead character of Great Expectations, Pip — an orphan given the chance to assume an upper class lifestyle — is played by Fionn Whitehead, who has starred in stories originating from the Victorian Era before, namely modern reimagining of The Picture of Dorian Gray from 2021 and the 2022 Emily Brontë biopic, Emily. The English actor broke out in Christopher Nolan’s WWII-set spectacle, Dunkirk, before leading Netflix’s interactive Black Mirror spin-off, Bandersnatch, and starring in the trippy 2021 sci-fi thriller, Voyagers, most notably.
Olivia Colman (Miss Havisham)
Taking Pip under her wing as part of vengeful plot is Miss Havisham, played by Olivia Colman, who is best known for her Academy Award-winning role as Queen Anne in The Favourite (her follow-up collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos after The Lobster) and Emmy-winning role as Queen Elizabeth II on Netflix’s The Crown (after previously earning nominations for The Night Manager and Fleabag). The Norwich native has also put in memorable performances in Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz, Steven Knight’s Tom Hardy-led experimental drama Locke, 2020’s The Father, and, more recently, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as the voice of Mama Bear.
Shalom Brune-Franklin (Estella)
Miss Havisham’s hardened adoptive daughter, Estella, is played by Shallom Brune-Franklin, who landed a small role in the MCU (College Girl #1 in Thor: Ragnarok) before she was in Netflix’s short-lived medieval fantasy drama, Cursed, in 2020. The actor also had a recurring role on Epix’s War of the Worlds TV show, a major part on HBO Max’s The Tourist, and is set to star in a series spin-off of Dune for the the platform as well.
Ashley Thomas (Jaggers)
Guiding Pip through London’s shady, upper-class world is corrupt lawyer and businessman, Jaggers, which is only the latest literary role portrayed by Ashley Thomas, who was Othello in a 2016 short called Dear Mr. Shakespeare: Shakespeare Lives and starred on a series based on Beowulf. Like Whitehead, the English actor is also part of the Black Mirror universe — having appeared in one of the anthology series’ best episodes, “Fifteen Million Merits” — starred on 24: Legacy, and was the male lead on Amazon Prime horror TV show, Them, in 2021.
Johnny Harris (Magwitch)
As escaped convict Magwitch, we have Johnny Harris, who last starred in a Steven Knight-produced miniseries-adaptation of a Dickens classic for FX when he played Franklin Scrooge in 2019’s A Christmas Carol. He is otherwise known for Guy Ritchie’s 2008 comedic crime thriller, RocknRolla, Steven Spielberg’s 2011 historical epic, War Horse, and his lead role in the 2017 boxing drama, Jawbone.
Hayley Squires (Sara Gargery)
Playing Pip’s older sister, Sara Gargery, is Hayley Squres, who last starred in a literary miniseries adaption when she appeared alongside Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes in Apple TV+’s The Essex Serpent — based on Sarah Perry’s fantasy novel — in 2022. The two-time BAFTA nominee (for 2017’s I, Daniel Blake and 2021’s Adult Material) was previously seen starring opposite another MCU star — Benedict Cumberbatch — in Amazon’s The Electrical Life of Louis Wain and in horror movies In Fabric and In the Earth, to point out a few highlights.
Owen McDonnell (Joe Gargery)
Sara’s husband, Joe, is played by Owen McDonnell, who is best known for movies like the 2015 drama Swung and the 2022 Netflix rom-com, Love & Gelato, more recently. Audiences may recognize the Irish actor best, however, from his role in Killing Eve as Niko Polastri.
Laurie Ogden (Biddy)
One of the few truly wise and caring people Pip can confide in is Biddy — Laurie Ogden’s biggest role to date, following her feature-length debut in the British historical drama, The Colour Room, opposite Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor. Her previous acting credits include a few short films and an episode of The Show Must Go Online, which is a weekly, online reading of Shakespeare’s entire bibliography.
Matt Berry (Mr. Pumblechook)
Joe Gargery’s uncle, Mr. Pumblechook, is the latest in a rare handful of dramatic roles for Matt Berry, following his appearances in movies like Moon and Snow White and the Hunstman and vocal performance on The Book of Boba Fett as 8D8. As one of the U.K.’s most prominent comedic talents, he is better known for the sci-fi parody, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, stealing the show in the I.T. Crowd cast, his BAFTA-winning lead role on Toast of London, and FX’s series adaptation of the cult favorite horror-comedy, What We Do in the Shadows.
Tristan Gravelle (Compeyson)
As Magwitch’s former partner, Compeyson, we have Tristan Gravelle, whose last major role in a literary adaptation was for Amazon Prime’s Tolkien-inspired series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which was also his follow-up to one of the best TV shows on Shudder, A Discovery of Witches, which is inspired by Deborah Harkness’ “All Souls Trilogy.” Before then, he starred in a 2011 movie about a defamatory theory about Shakespeare called Anonymous and the original British version of the TV show, Utopia.
Rudi Dharmalingam (Wemmick)
Jaggers’ assistant, Wemmick, is played by Rudi Dharmalingam, who made his feature film debut with an uncredited role in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them before appearing on an episode of the sci-fi anthology series Electric Dreams and the 2019 Netflix original sci-fi movie, In the Shadow of the Moon. He went on to lead the psychological TV series drama Wakefield — which aired in the States on Showtime — and sci-fi drama, The Lazarus Project.
Did taking a look at this cast’s past accomplishment give you “great expectations” for FX’s new period miniseries? See if your anticipation is met by streaming Great Expectations on Hulu.
