Huzzah! The Great has returned for Season 2 and the fans are quite happy, indeed. An occasionally true story about the life of Catherine the Great and her famous rule of Russia, The Great has been a runaway hit for Hulu and a hilarious comedy.
With a cast so large, it’s only inevitable that you’ve seen Hulu's The Great cast before. From its stars, Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, all the way down to the serfs and the priests, these actors have been all over the place. If you’re wondering why that face looks so familiar, you’ve most likely watched them in another film or TV show. This is where you’ve seen The Great cast before.
Elle Fanning (Catherine the Great)
Playing the the impeccable Empress in The Great is Elle Fanning, a young actress who has been around in Hollywood for quite some time and shows off her acting skills in this hilarious role. There’s an array of movies and TV shows you might have seen her in, from her beginnings in Hollywood to now.
In movies, she appeared in the drama film, I Am Sam, alongside her sister, Dakota Fanning, the J.J. Abrams movie, Super 8, the family drama, We Bought A Zoo, Ginger and Rosa, and starred as Princess Aurora in Disney’s Maleficent fantasy films. She’s also starred in several other smaller independent films, such as A Rainy Day in New York by Woody Allen, The Beguiled by Sofia Coppola, and more.
Fanning has also had some guest appearances in several television shows before as well, including House, CSI: Miami, Judging Amy and more. But The Great is her first major television role - and an amazing role it is, indeed.
Nicholas Hoult (Peter III of Russia)
Next up, we have Nicholas Hoult, who plays the legendary overthrown Emperor of Russia, Peter III. Hoult has starred in a variety of films, so it’s no wonder you’ve probably seen him before.
With film, he was in the dramedy film, About A Boy, the Greek-mythology inspired film, Clash of the Titans, played Hank McCoy in X-Men: First Class - a role he reprised in many of the other X-Men films - starred in Jack the Giant Slayer, was in the zombie movie, Warm Bodies, had a supporting role in Mad Max: Fury Road, played Earl of Oxford in The Favourite, and J.R.R. Tolkien in Tolkien. Talk about a diverse resume. As of 2021, he starred in the Angelina Jolie movie, Those Who Wish Me Dead.
Hoult has also had some experience in TV prior to his role in The Great. Alongside several guest appearances in TV shows, he had a main role as Tony Stonem in Skins for two seasons, and played Bradley Fisher in Star.
Phoebe Fox (Marial)
For the Empress’ best friend, The Great had to go with an amazing actress to portray Marial, and they went with Phoebe Fox. For some time, she was mainly in theater and worked on several plays in England, but soon broke into the movie and TV scene.
Fox has made appearances in both movies and television. In terms of movies, she appeared in A Poet in New York, War Book, the horror movie The Woman in Black: Angel of Death, The Aeronauts and more. With television, she played the role of Grace Watkins in the fantasy series, Switch, the Duchess of Savoy in The Three Musketeers, and has made appearances in a variety of British television shows.
Sacha Dhawan (Count Orlo)
Arguably, Count Orlo is one of the masterminds behind Catherine’s takeover of Russia and for good reason, and he is played by Sacha Dhawan. The actor has been in plenty of movies and TV prior to his role on The Great, from adventure movies to drama shows.
He played Neville Landless in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, had a minor appearance in After Earth, and has had other small roles in movies. He’s kept most of his talents to television.
He played Ali Pantajali in Out of Sight, Leo Nixon in The Last Train, Azmat Madari in Weirdsister College, Manmeet in Outsourced, Paul Jatri in Last Tango to Halifax, Davos in Iron Fist on Netflix, and several other television shows. He’s also the current Master in Doctor Who, becoming the youngest actor ever to do so. It’s no wonder he ended up coming to Hulu for The Great with that amount of television work.
Charity Wakefield (Georgina Dymova)
I’m not the biggest fan of Georgina from The Great, but I think we can all agree that she is a cunning character, and played by the talented Charity Wakefield. Prior to her role in the Hulu original series, Wakefield also has plenty of TV experience under her belt, as well as film.
While she has had minor appearances in films such as Vivaldi, the Red Priest, The Raven, and others, she’s also had bigger roles in movies like Serena starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, and Kill Switch.
However, Wakefield has done far more work in television. She starred as Marianna Dashwood in Sense & Sensibility, Ethel Bennett in Casualty 1900s, Cassandra King in The Player, Leah Walker in Bounty Hunters, and many other guest roles as well.
Gwilym Lee (Grigor Dymov)
For every Emperor, there must be the Emperor’s best friend, and that’s exactly who Grigor is on The Great, played by Gwilym Lee. Lee has appeared in many movies and TV shows, from crazy modern musicals to murder mysteries.
With movies, Lee has appeared in films like The Tourist, played Brian May in the Rami Malik film, Bohemian Rhapsody, portrayed Ned in Top End Wedding, and has had other minor appearances in smaller films.
In television, Lee starred as James Hunter in Animal Ark, played Reverend Henry Hameson in Land Girls, DS Charlie Nelson in the murder mystery series, Midsomer Murders, and played Samuel Catell in Jamestown.
Adam Godley (Archbishop “Archie”)
Archie is certainly one of those characters that you want to hate, but in my personal opinion, he’s grown on me from watching The Great. Playing Archie is Adam Godley, an actor more known for his stage work for several years. He’s appeared in stage productions such as June Moon, The Rivals, Anything Goes and more.
However, he's also an incredible screen actor. He appeared as Mr. Trench in the romantic comedy, Love Actually, Mr. Teavee in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Father Ybarra in The X-Files: I Want to Believe, voiced Lord Bilge in The Missing Link stop-motion film, and many other roles.
Godley has also had a prominent television career, with almost too many roles to talk about. Some of his highlights include playing John Trenchard in Moonfleet, Elliot Schwartz in Breaking Bad, Demyan Lukich in A Young Doctor’s Notebook alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm, Nigel Alexander Nesbitt in Suits, Captain Emile Cross in Powers, Pogo in Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy cast, and many others. I can’t wait to see what comes next for the Archbishop.
Douglas Hodge (General Velementov)
Next up, we have General Velementov, the supposed man with a plan to fight against Russian invaders. Playing Velementov is Douglas Hodge, who has appeared in several movies and television shows prior to his role in The Great.
With movies, Hodge has appeared in Vanity Fair, Robin Hood, Diana, Serena, Red Sparrow, played Alfred Pennyworth in Joker, and appeared as Tater Brown in the Netflix film, The Devil All the Time starring Tom Holland.
In television, Hodge has had several guest appearances in shows like Me and My Girl, Only Fools and Horses, and many others. Hodge has had recurring roles as well, including shows like Screen Two, The Scold’s Bridle, Unforgiven, Secret State, The Night Manager, Catastrophe and more. One of his biggest roles was playing Bartholomew Rusk in the horror series, Penny Dreadful.
Belinda Bromilow (Aunt Elizabeth)
Aunt Elizabeth is a kind yet strange woman who cares for Peter and Catherine dearly, and she is portrayed by the lovely Belinda Bromilow. While Bromilow has appeared in some movies, she’s mainly kept her talents to television.
She’s had appearances in many TV shows such as The Rage in Placid Lake, a recurring role in Talk to Me and Packed to the Rafters, and main roles in Spirited and Doctor Doctor as Betty Bell. I can’t wait to see what she does next - or, more importantly, what Aunt Elizabeth does next in The Great.
Bayo Gbadamosi (Arkady)
Next up, we have Arkady, one of the Emperor’s friends and many allies, played by Bayo Gbadamosi. Gbadamosi is relatively new to screen acting, with The Great among his most recent credits.
He has also appeared in Doctor Who, Casualty, and This Time with Alan Partridge in guest roles, but later on had a main role as Kariem Gat Wich Machar in War of the Worlds. The Great is his next big main role in television, and hopefully, more will come soon after.
Florence Keith-Roach (Tatyana)
The wife of Arkady in The Great is Tatyana, a bit of a dummy but deep down has good intentions for Peter and her husband. Playing Tatyana is Florence Keith-Roach, a young actress whose first major role is The Great.
However, she has appeared in other TV shows before in smaller appearances, such as Frenching the Bully, Cockroaches, and others. She also had a minor part in the film, Juliet, Naked. Hopefully soon, we might get to see more of her in other roles.
Danusia Samal (Lady Antonia Svenska)
Lastly, we have Danusia Samal, who plays Lady Antonia Svenska, one of the more elite and snobby nobles who basically hates anyone that isn’t from Russia - including the Empress.
Like some of her other co-stars, Danusia Samal is still on the rise in her career, with just a handful of roles prior to her part in The Great. Samal has appeared in the TV series, Tyrant, as Ru’A, had a minor role in the Scarlett Johansson movie, Ghost in the Shell, and has appeared in a couple of film shorts as well.
With so many amazing actors and actresses, it’s not surprising that they have been in plenty of other projects before The Great - and will most likely be in much more afterwards. It almost makes me want to gift a Hulu subscription to my friends just so they can watch The Great and admire the hilarity this cast brings.
Hopefully, we get a Season 3 of The Great. Until then, I shall raise my goblet in celebration of this great show. Huzzah!
