Do you hear that? It’s the sound of vampires returning to pop culture prominence.
While the early 2010s were filled to the brim with vampire media, such as the Twilight franchise or the famous CW show, The Vampire Diaries, we started to trail off a little over the last couple of years. Now, it’s returning with full force in 2022. We have AMC’s Interview with a Vampire coming out, as well as Showtime’s Let The Right One In.
But, there’s another show that’s already here, and that’s Vampire Academy. Based on the book series of the same name, the supernatural young-adult series is coming to Peacock and is the second adaptation of the novels, with the first being the 2014 film which, admittedly, was not good. Now, we get to see the next adaptation, and the new cast. Here is where you might have seen the Vampire Academy cast before.
Sisi Stringer (Rose Hathaway)
Starting off with our star for Vampire Academy, we have Sisi Stringer as Rose Hathaway, a half-vampire/half-human hybrid who is classified as a dhampir, and is known to be one of the strongest students within her class at the academy. Playing Rose is Sisi Stringer, who is relatively new to Hollywood and has a few roles prior to her starring part in Vampire Academy.
Her biggest thus far was having a part in Mortal Kombat, and she had a part in the film Children of the Corn. But, this will be her first big role in a television show and I can’t wait to see what she does next after filling Rose Hathaway's shoes. Talk about a role to get famous for.
Daniela Nieves (Lissa Dragomir)
Next up on the list, we have Lissa Dragomir in Vampire Academy, a vampire who is a part of a royal bloodline but has no interest in the politics of actually being a royal. However, she is thrust into a role she never wanted when someone in her family dies suddenly. Playing Lissa is Daniela Nieves, who has had a few roles in TV and movies prior to her part in Vampire Academy.
Her biggest roles thus far have been a main part on the Nickelodeon show, Every Witch Way, as well as WITS Academy. She’s also had part in Latinx TV shows, such as a her work in El Rostra de Analia. She also had a recurring part in the show Five Points in 2018, and had a role in the film, Sex Appeal.
Kieron Moore (Dimitri Belikov)
Moving on, we have Dimitri Belikov, someone who is meant to guard the royals (known as Moroi vampires) and has a strong moral code in Vampire Academy. He is played by Kieron Moore, who has appeared in several TV shows prior to his part in Vampire Academy.
He portrayed Dylan in the binge-able Netflix series, Sex Education, and had a recurring role in the TV miniseries, Masters of the Air. He also had guest roles in shows such as Netflix’s fantasy, The Sandman, and Emmerdale. It’s exciting to see him get such a starring role in a series like Vampire Academy, especially when he’s had both fantasy and young-adult genre experience among his credits in the past.
André Dae Kim (Christian Ozera)
Moving on, we have one of my personal favorite characters of the books, Christian Ozera. In Vampire Academy, Christian is another royal vampire who is smart as heck and has a huge part to play in the upcoming show. Within the series, he is played by Andre Dae Kim, a young actor who has had plenty of roles in television prior to his part in the new Peacock series.
Most people probably recognize André Dae Kim from his role on Degrassi: The Next Generation, as well as Degrassi: Next Class, which really brought him a lot of recognition. He also portrayed Dylan Edwards on Salvation. Among his other roles, he’s had several guest spots in TV shows like Schitt’s Creek, American Gods, Private Eyes, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and The Hardy Boys. He also had a recurring guest spot on the popular Netflix series, Locke & Key, which has come to an end with Season 3.
J. August Richards (Victor Dashkov)
While we do have a lot of young adults on this list – which is typical, since Vampire Academy is a young adult fantasy series – there is one particular older cast member that you must know, and that is J. August Richards, who portrays Victor Dashkov. Victor quite possibly is going to end up being everyone’s favorite character, because his sweet heart makes up for his fierce personality. A vampire noble, all he wants is to make sure that his family is safe, as well as the Moroi vampires as a whole.
I mean, how can you not love him? You need someone great to portray someone like that, and in Vampire Academy, that role is taken over by Richards, as mentioned before. Many people probably know J. August Richards the most from his time on the series Angel, a spinoff of the horror show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where he played Charles Gunn.
But, Richards has plenty of other work that you might recognize him from, as well. He also portrayed Deathlock on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and was a part of the main casts of several TV shows, including Conviction, Raising the Bar, Notorious, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, Council of Dads, and more. He also had a recurring part in the HBO Max series, Generation.
Anita-Joy Uwajeh (Tatiana Vogel)
Next up on the list, we have Tatiana Vogel in Vampire Academy. Taitana is another Moroi vampire, a quiet girl who is able to slip and slide her way into the royal court because no one ever considered her to be a real threat. She is portrayed by Anita-Joy Uwajeh in the show, and the young actress has quite a few roles that you might recognize her from.
She had guest roles in shows such as Transporter: The Series, Not Safe For Work, and the FX hit comedy, Atlanta, which is premiering its fourth season soon. However, her biggest role thus far was playing Josie on the TV series, Lucky Man. She’s also done some work in National Theatre Live, where she appeared in both King Lear and Cyrano De Bergerac. It’s exciting to see her take on such a big role as Vampire Academy.
Mia McKenna-Bruce (Mia Karp)
Moving on, we now have Mia Karp in Vampire Academy, and someone who is a bit of a social climber and will do anything possible to get into the royal court among her peers.
She is played by Mia McKenna-Bruce, who has appeared in many TV shows before this. She had a main role in the series Tracy Beaker Returns, and The Dumping Ground, as well as The Dumping Ground Survival Files and The Dumping Ground: I’m…, all portraying the same character, Tee Taylor. She also had a main role in the series Get Even.
As of 2022, McKenna-Bruce also had a role in the Netflix film, Persuasion, and in 2021, she was a part of Last Train to Christmas.
Rhian Blundell (Meredith)
Any time I ever see the name Meredith, I always think of Merida from Pixar’s Brave, but honestly, Meredith in Vampire Academy is just as badass. In the Peacock series, she is played by Rhian Blundell, who is relatively new to Hollywood, with some minor roles in projects such as Torchwood: Believe and Doctor Who: The Dread of Night. Be prepared to love a girl who speaks her mind.
Jonetta Kaiser (Sonya Karp)
Moving on, we now have Sonya Karp in Vampire Academy, who is played by Jonetta Kaiser. Sonya doesn't care about the politics of the world, and really wants nothing to do with the royals and would rather spend her days reading (same, girl).
Kaiser has done some big TV roles prior to her part in Vampire Academy. She portrayed Heather in Two Sides, as well as Kara in Breakwater. Besides that, she’s guest-starred in shows like Me Time with Frangela and Millennials (I). She also had a role in the film, Root Letter.
Andrew Liner (Mason Ashford)
Last but not least, we have Mason Ashford in Vampire Academy, someone who is directly competing with Rose throughout the series to achieve the goal of becoming the number one Guardian-in-training, often butting heads with our protagonist. But, you want to know what else Mason is all about? Rose, and the fact that he sorta maybe has a little crush on her, but we’ll get into that later on in the series.
Playing Mason is Andrew Liner, someone who has had experience in television before. He guest-starred on the TV series, Better Things, but his biggest role thus far was playing Rodney in the TV show, grown-ish.
Vampires are back and they are better than ever. And, with this cast, I’m sure Vampire Academy is going to be a smash-hit for Peacock. Now, if you don’t mind me, I’m going to go and reread the whole series because I need to in order to catch up with all these characters.
