Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light All Star Cast Announced by BBC

The BBC and MASTERPIECE PBS have announced additional casting for the upcoming series Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. The series is based on the final novel in Hilary Mantel’s trilogy and is currently being filmed in various locations in England and Wales.

The previously announced cast members, including Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Jonathan Pryce, Kate Phillips, and Lilit Lesser, will all be returning for the six-part series.

Joining the cast is Harriet Walter, known for her roles in Killing Eve along with Timothy Spall (Mr Turner, Spencer) as the Duke of Norfolk and Harry Melling (The Pale Blue Eye, The Queen’s Gambit) as Thomas Wriothesley.

Reprising their roles from Wolf Hall series one will be Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Queen’s Gambit, The Maze Runner) as Rafe Sadler, Joss Porter (The Undeclared War, Humans) as Richard Cromwell, James Larkin (Black Mirror, McMafia) as Master Treasurer Fitzwilliam, Richard Dillane (Argo, Pennyworth) as the Duke of Suffolk, Will Keen (Operation Mincemeat, His Dark Materials) as Archbishop Cranmer, and Hannah Steele (The Night Manager, Black Mirror) as Mary Shelton.

Also joining Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light are Alex Jennings (The Crown, This Is Going to Hurt) as Stephen Gardiner, Maisie Richardson-Sellers (The Undeclared War, Legends of Tomorrow) as Bess Oughtred, Lydia Leonard (Gentleman Jack, The Fifth Estate) as Lady Jane Rochford, Charlie Rowe (Rocketman, Vanity Fair) as Gregory Cromwell, Corentin Fila (Being 17, Notre-Dame) as Christophe, Tom Mothersdale (Bodies, Culprits) as Richard Riche, Karim Kadjar, (Leave to Remain, Mike) as Eustache Chapuys, Lucy Russell (A Spy Among Friends, Atlantic Crossing) as Lady Anne Shelton, Will Tudor (Industry, The Ipcress File) as Edward Seymour, Viola Prettejohn (The Crown, The Nevers) as Mary Fitzroy, Thomas Arnold (A Spy Among Friends, War & Peace) as Hans Holbein, Jordan Kouamé (Malpractice, Dope Girls) as Martin The Gaoler, Agnes O’Casey (Lies We Tell, Ridley Road) as Lady Margaret Douglas, Cecilia Appiah (Hijack, The Chelsea Detective) as Nan Seymour, Ellie de Lange (The Serpent, Arcadia) as Jenneke, Hubert Burton (Living, Jekyll and Hyde) as Thomas Howard the Lesser, Pip Carter (Spectre,1917) as Sir Geoffrey Pole, Josef Altin (Top Boy, Game of Thrones) as Thomas Avery, Sarah Priddy (Degenerates, Six Years Gone) as Lady Margery Seymour, Hannah Khalique-Brown (Barbie, The Undeclared War) as Dorothea, Amir El-Masry (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, SAS Rogue Heroes) as Thomas Wyatt, German Segal (The Undeclared War, The Red Ghost) as Olisleger, Summer Richards (Wild Bill, When She Was Good) as Catherine Howard, and Dana Herfurth (Love Addicts, One Trillion Dollars) as Anne of Cleves.

Director Peter Kosminsky says: “Casting Director Robert Sterne has done a truly extraordinary job assembling the most stunning cast with which I’ve ever had the privilege to work. Led by Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, they’ve been drawn by the quality of Hilary Mantel’s writing and Peter Straughan’s adroit adaptation. Shooting in Tudor locations all over England and Wales, it is our privilege to bring Hilary’s last novel to an international television audience.”

“Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light,” will reunite the creative team from the BAFTA and Golden Globe winning first series. The show will be directed by Peter Kosminsky, a seven-time BAFTA award winner known for his work on “The Undeclared War” and “The State.” The adaptation for television will be done by Peter Straughan, an Academy award nominee for his work on “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “Frank.” The series will be produced by Colin Callender’s Playground and Company Pictures.

In May 1536, Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife, is executed. Thomas Cromwell, a man without a powerful family or private army, emerges from the aftermath to continue his rise to power and wealth. Despite the moral complexities of the time, Cromwell navigates between doing what is right and surviving. However, with Henry VIII’s execution of his queen, no one is safe.

Cromwell’s imagination sees a new England in the future, ripe for innovation and religious reform. But as Henry’s regime faces rebellion, traitors, and the threat of invasion, Cromwell’s enemies begin to gather in the shadows. The question remains: how long can anyone survive under Henry’s cruel and unpredictable rule?

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light will depict the final four years of Cromwell’s life, from a self-made man to the most feared and influential figure of his time. Cromwell is a complex character, a politician, fixer, diplomat, and father who both defied and defined his age.

The series, a co-production between Playground and Company Pictures for the BBC and MASTERPIECE, will consist of six episodes. It will be directed by Peter Kosminsky, adapted by Peter Straughan, and produced by Lisa Osborne. The executive producers are Colin Callender and Noëlette Buckley for Playground, Peter Kosminsky, Lucy Richer for the BBC, and Susanne Simpson for MASTERPIECE.

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light will be distributed internationally by Banijay Rights. The series will air on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK, with further information to be announced. The first series is currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on the PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video Channel in the US.

Image Credit: Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Rafe Sadler and Joss Porter as Richard Cromwell (Image: Courtesy of BBC)