The Serpent: Exactly Who’s Joining the Cast of BBC One’s New True Crime Series

Tahar Rahim is a French actor best known for his role in the Hulu Original series The Looming Tower. This time around, he's portraying The Serpent's main man, Charles Sobrhraj, as he commits a string of crimes against unsuspecting Western travellers.

Jenna Coleman is no stranger to the small screen, with previously recurring roles in period drama Victoria and Doctor Who. In The Serpent, Coleman is stepping into the chic (and terrifying) shoes of Sobhraj's girlfriend and literal partner in crime, Marie-Andrée Leclerc.

British-born actor Billy Howle plays the diplomat turned detective who unwittingly stumbles into Sobhraj's intricate web of crimes. Prior to The Serpent, Howle starred in Dunkirk and Outlaw King — but perhaps most notably, he also played Rey's father in Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.

Ellie Bamber, who you may recognise from The Trial of Christine Keeler and Les Misérables (the BBC One miniseries, not the stage production), plays Herman Knippenberg's multilingual wife in The Serpent.

Relative newcomer, Amesh Edireweera joins the cast of The Serpent as Ajay Chowdhury, who's Sobhraj's right hand man. Basically, he's the guy who lures in Sobhraj's unsuspecting victims.

Mathilde Warnier is best known for her role in the Amazon Prime Original Series, The Widow, but she also had a cameo on Netflix's soap series, Dynasty as Juliette Carrington. In her own words, her character in The Serpent, Nadine, is "a young, quirky, brave, and bored-by-life French girl . . . [who] befriended her seemingly lovely neighbours, Charles Sohbraj and Marie-Andrée."

Another newcomer, Fabien Frankel appears in The Serpent as Dominique Renelleau, who is one of Sobhraj's associates.