Hit Apple TV series For All Mankind has now got a spin-off in the form of Star City, which follows the same fictional history of the original show from the Soviet perspective.
Created by Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert and Ronald D Moore, the eight-part series is set in the 1970s inside the secretive military town that housed the Soviet cosmonaut programme.
It imagines a timeline in which the USSR not only beat the Americans to the moon but kept on going, weaving real Soviet history, such as state-arranged marriages for cosmonauts and missions landing wildly off-course in Siberia, into a tense political thriller.
Rhys Ifans and Anna Maxwell Martin lead the cast as the shadowy Chief Designer and the KGB’s head of surveillance. They’re joined by familiar For All Mankind characters in recast, younger form, including Agnes O’Casey as Irina Morozova and Josef Davies as Sergei Nikulov.
Read on for everything you need to know about the cast of Star City.
Star City cast guide: Full list of actors
Here are the main cast members and characters in Star City – read on below for more info about who they are and where you’ve seen the actors before.
- Rhys Ifans as the Chief Designer
- Anna Maxwell Martin as Lyudmilla Raskova
- Agnes O’Casey as Irina Morozova
- Alice Englert as Anastasia Belikova
- Solly McLeod as Sasha Polivanov
- Adam Nagaitis as Valya Markelov
- Ruby Ashbourne Serkis as Tanya Markelova
- Josef Davies as Sergei Nikulov
- Priya Kansara as Lakshmi
Rhys Ifans as the Chief Designer
Who is the Chief Designer? The nameless, shadowy genius behind the Soviet space programme.
Where have I seen Rhys Ifans? The Welsh actor is known for playing Otto Hightower in House of the Dragon and Spike in Notting Hill. He won a BAFTA TV Award for playing Peter Cook in Channel 4’s Not Only But Always, and has had roles in films including Enduring Love, Mr Nice, Anonymous, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The Amazing Spider-Man, Snowden, Official Secrets, Misbehaviour, The King’s Man, The Phantom of the Open, Nyad and Venom: The Last Dance. On TV he has also starred in Berlin Station and Elementary.
Anna Maxwell Martin as Lyudmilla Raskova
Who is Lyudmilla Raskova? Colonel Lyudmilla Raskova is the ruthless head of the KGB’s surveillance department at Star City.
Where have I seen Anna Maxwell Martin? A two-time BAFTA best actress winner for Bleak House and Poppy Shakespeare, Maxwell Martin is also known for playing Julia in Motherland and DCS Patricia Carmichael in Line of Duty. Her TV CV includes Death Comes to Pemberley, The Bletchley Circle, And Then There Were None, Good Omens, Code 404, A Spy Among Friends, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Until I Kill You, Ludwig and Unforgivable.
Agnes O’Casey as Irina Morozova
Who is Irina Morozova? A recent addition to the surveillance team at Star City, who was played by Svetlana Efremova in For All Mankind.
Where have I seen Agnes O’Casey? The Irish actress has had roles in Ridley Road, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, Dangerous Liaisons and Black Doves. Her film work includes The Miracle Club, Lies We Tell and Small Things Like These.
Alice Englert as Anastasia Belikova
Who is Anastasia Belikova? Anastasia is an untested cosmonaut, who was previously played by Rita Khrabrovitsky in For All Mankind.
Where have I seen Alice Englert? Englert has had roles in films including Ginger and Rosa, Beautiful Creatures and The Power of the Dog. Her TV credits include Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Top of the Lake, Ratched, The Serpent and Dangerous Liaisons.
Solly McLeod as Sasha Polivanov
Who is Sasha Polivanov? Sasha is a reckless cosmonaut.
Where have I seen Solly McLeod? McLeod has had roles in series including Outlander, The Rising, House of the Dragon, Tom Jones and Fear, as well as films such as Brothers Under Fire.
Adam Nagaitis as Valya Markelov
Who is Valya Markelov? Valya is a respected cosmonaut in the Soviet space programme.
Where have I seen Adam Nagaitis? Nagaitis has had roles in series including Happy Valley, The Terror, Chernobyl, Red Rose, The Gold, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, The Responder, The Agency and A Thousand Blows, as well as films such as ’71, The Inbetweeners 2, Suffragette and The Last Duel.
Ruby Ashbourne Serkis as Tanya Markelova
Who is Tanya Markelova? Tanya is Valya’s wife, who is struggling within the closed, surveilled world of Star City.
Where have I seen Ruby Ashbourne Serkis? The daughter of Andy Serkis and Lorraine Ashbourne, Ashbourne Serkis has appeared in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, National Treasure, The Serpent, Becoming Elizabeth, Shardlake, I, Jack Wright, Steve and Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
Josef Davies as Sergei Nikulov
Who is Sergei Nikulov? An engineer at Soviet Ground Control, previously played by Piotr Adamczyk in For All Mankind.
Where have I seen Josef Davies? Davies has had roles in series including Call the Midwife, Silent Witness, Chernobyl, The Crown, This Is Going to Hurt, Young Wallander, The Walk-In, Andor, The Hunt for Raoul Moat, Grace and Agatha Christie’s The Seven Dials Mystery, as well as films such as 1917, The King and Dumbo.
Priya Kansara as Lakshmi
Who is Lakshmi? A scientist working within the Soviet programme.
Where have I seen Priya Kansara? Kansara has had roles in films including Polite Society and Project Hail Mary, as well as series such as Bridgerton, The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself and Dope Girls.
Star City will premiere on Apple TV on Friday 29 May. Start your seven-day free Apple TV trial at Apple.
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