Your Handy Guide to the Many Characters of AMC's The Terror

The Irish actor has taken on some iconic roles over the years — Mance Rayder on Game of Thrones, Aberforth Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 — and his commanding presence is perfectly suited for Captain John Franklin. The Navy legend is tasked with leading the crews aboard the British Royal Navy's ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror as they seek the Northwest Passage in uncharted territory. While likable, his inability to admit failure is a major point of contention between him and second-in-command Francis Crozier.

Oh, and he's the one with the monkey, obviously.

This poor dude, you guys. Captain Francis Crozier (played by The Crown's Jared Harris) doesn't crave glory. He doesn't need recognition. He just wants the love of his life to accept his marriage proposal and to ensure all his men live to see the next day. Alas, the Naval explorer is cursed with roadblock after roadblock in the form of Franklin, who both forbids his niece from marrying Crozier, as well as refuses to admit that he's steered their ships down a dangerous, frigid path. Send him warm thoughts.

After suffering for years as a character on Outlander, Menzies decided to stick with the trend and play Commander James Fitzjames in The Terror. Fitzjames is cocky as hell and a Grade A suck-up to Franklin, but it becomes clear around episode three that he doesn't necessarily have the guts to back up his snide trash talk.

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Yes, that's Professor Quirrell under all that scruff! The Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone actor plays Ian Hart, who is a close confidante of Crozier's and basically an ice whisperer.

Dr. Henry Goodsir has the distinction of being the most decent character in this show by far. The surgeon appears to be the only one with any true empathy (with the exception of Crozier), even when he's tasked with slicing and dicing the deceased members of the ship. He's played by Paul Ready, who's appeared in the TV series Bodyguard and Motherland, as well as the 2017 film The Death of Stalin.

Henry Collins (Mr Selfridge's Trystan Gravelle) makes a big splash — literally — in the first episode when he volunteers to jump into the ocean and remove a piece of ice lodged in the ship's propeller. He's popped up here and there since then, which is understandable when you see the zombie water ghost of a former colleague floating towards you in the Arctic, you know?

As the only woman holding it down out there in the midst of all the ice and chewed-up corpses is Lady Silence, played by The New World's Nive Nielsen. She's The Terror's most intriguing character, especially since she stops speaking altogether following the death of her father (hence the nickname). Does she control the ice monster? Is she helping it? We can't wait to find out.

Cornelius Hickey (The Man with the Iron Heart and Suffragette's Adam Nagaitis) is the Irishman who bonds with Crozier in episode two when he's sent to fix a hole in the captain's quarters by Irving as punishment for hooking up with another crew member. They end up sharing a drink and reflecting on the discrimination they've faced in England over the years, and in a pretty hilarious (and gross, admittedly) third episode scene Hickey proves just how scrappy he can get.