Meet the Cast of Shadow and Bone, Netflix's Adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's Beloved Books

The adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse novels [1] is one of the big TV stories of the year, and the cast of Shadow and Bone [2] are ready to bring the bestselling books to life! For the most part, the Netflix fantasy adventure [3] will be starring a group of up-and-coming actors who are just breaking onto the scene (although you'll definitely recognise a couple of familiar faces [4], too).

It's incredibly exciting to watch new actors taking on roles that so many people have already imagined, and we can't wait to see each of them when Shadow and Bone [5] arrives on Netflix on 23 April. In the meantime, learn a little bit more about all the major players in the cast.

Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov

Li, a relative newcomer, is playing the lead role of Alina Starkov, a soldier in a war-torn land who learns that she has incredible powers. This will be Li's first major project; her previous notable project was a National Theatre Live broadcast of the play All About Eve.

Ben Barnes as the Darkling

Barnes, who plays the powerful magician called the Darkling, is definitely the best known of the cast so far. He launched his career playing Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia film series, then went on to several costarring roles in TV shows, including Westworld and The Punisher.

Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker

British actor Carter will play Kaz Brekker, the street criminal protagonist of the Six of Crows portion of the story. This is Carter's first big-name project, although not his first leading role: he played Peter "Pin" Hawthorne in the Netflix TV drama Free Rein.

Amita Suman as Inej Ghafa

Suman, who has appeared in episodes of sci-fi shows such as Doctor Who and The Outpost, has landed her first series regular role as spy Inej Ghafa.

Kit Young as Jesper Fahey

Shadow and Bone [6] will be Young's first major project. Previously, he played Lysander in the National Theatre Live's 2019 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Archie Renaux as Malyen Oretsev

Renaux, like many of his castmates, is a relative newcomer. His role as Malyen will be his biggest role to date; previously, he appeared in the BBC miniseries Gold Digger, and he's set to have a role in the upcoming superhero movie Morbius.

Danielle Galligan as Nina Zenik

Galligan, who will be playing the magician ("Grisha") Nina, is a relative newcomer. Most of her resume, up until now, has been short films, although she did appear in episodes of Game of Thrones and Krypton.

Daisy Head as Genya Safin

Head, who will play Genya, has been working steadily, mostly in TV, for the past several years, most notably in BBC One's The Syndicate. You may also recognise her from the thriller Guilt or from the third season of the historical drama Harlots.

Calahan Skogman as Matthias Helven

Skogman's role as ex-witchhunter Matthias will be his acting debut: this is his first credited role aside from a couple of short films!

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