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Meet the Cast of BBC's The Serpent

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

Jan 5 2021

On the first day of 2021, BBC dropped a new true-crime series called The Serpent into our laps, and between the psychedelic '70s styling, questionable wigs, and harrowing storyline, we're already gripped.

The eight-part series follows diplomat Herman Knippenberg as he pieces together a string of crimes linked to Charles Sobhraj, a serial killer posing as a gems dealer in Bangkok. The short story is that Sobhraj and his girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc (played by Victoria's Jenna Coleman) went on a crime spree in Thailand, Nepal, and India in 1975 and 1976, thus becoming the chief suspects in a series of murders of young Western travellers and cementing Sobhraj's title as Interpol's most wanted man.

The Serpent started streaming on 1 Jan., and if the trailer is anything to go by, it's going to be a good series. We recommend you catch up ASAP, but first, keep reading to find out who's stepping into the chilling shoes of Sobraj, Leclerc, and more.

Image Source: BBC Pictures

Tahar Rahim as Charles Sobhraj

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.

Image Source: BBC Pictures

Jenna Coleman as Marie-Andrée Leclerc

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.

Image Source: BBC Pictures

Billy Howle as Herman Knippenberg

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.

Image Source: BBC Pictures

Ellie Bamber as Angela Knippenberg

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.

Image Source: BBC Pictures

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Amesh Edireweera as Ajay Chowdhury

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.

Image Source: BBC Pictures

Mathilde Warnier as Nadine Gires

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."

Image Source: BBC Pictures

Fabien Frankel as Dominique Renelleau

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

Image Source: BBC Pictures

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