The Queen’s Gambit is currently the hottest show on Netflix. It has captivated viewers the world over with its gorgeous visuals, impeccable editing, exciting chess, and perhaps most important of all, its touching story filled with memorable characters.
A story is nothing without a good cast of characters at the helm. Luckily, The Queen’s Gambit contains an amazing cast that was more than up to tackling the acting challenges that the story presented. Some of the performers are quite famous, whereas others are more unknown. With that said, they have all starred in some truly great movies and TV shows throughout the years.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Matthew Lewis, Russell Lewis, and Christiane Seidel in Godless (2017)
If someone loved The Queen’s Gambit, then they absolutely have to check out Godless. This Western about an all-female town was also created, written, and directed by Scott Frank, and it contains many actors and actresses who would eventually star in The Queen’s Gambit.
These include Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Benny Watts) as Whitey Winn, Matthew and Russell Lewis (Matt and Mike) as Donnie Devlin, and Christiane Seidel (Helen Deardorff) as Martha Bischoff.
Anya Taylor-Joy in The Witch (2015)
Really, one could pick anything starring Anya Taylor-Joy and it’s bound to be a winner. She burst onto the scene in the last half of the 2010s by starring in many notable films. Her first – The Witch – may also remain her best.
Directed by Robert Eggers, The Witch made big waves in 2016 thanks to its unique period setting, authentic Puritan dialogue, and the foreboding atmosphere that it presents. Taylor-Joy plays Thomasin, a teenager who is blamed for causing supernatural events around her Puritan family’s farm.
Bill Camp in The Night Of (2016)
Despite appearing in just one episode (two if you count the very brief glimpse we get in episode two), Mr. Shaibel plays an enormous role in the story. For one thing, he’s the one who teaches Beth how to play chess.
But more importantly, he’s the one that inspires her to return to chess after her breakdown and keeps her tethered to her humble roots. Bill Camp did a wonderful job in portraying the stern janitor, and he does an equally wonderful job playing a detective in HBO’s crime drama The Night Of.
Marielle Heller in A Walk Among The Tombstones (2014)
In episode two, Beth is adopted by the Wheatley family. Mr. Wheatley seemingly wants nothing to do with her, and Mrs. Wheatley is a drunk who uses Beth for financial gain. Her flaws aside, Mrs. Wheatley is nevertheless a loving maternal figure who encourages Beth in her pursuits and helps her along the way by acting as her agent.
Playing Mrs. Wheatley was Marielle Heller, who directed the 2019 film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. In 2014, she appeared as a kidnapping victim named Marie in the Liam Neeson-led A Walk Among the Tombstones.
Harry Melling in The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Playing Beth’s friend and prospective boyfriend Harry Beltik is Harry Melling. Melling is most famous for playing Dudley in the Harry Potter movies, but everyone has seen those. What some may not have seen is the Coen brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
Also released through Netflix, the movie serves as a Western anthology. Melling plays Harrison, an armless and legless man who recites poetry as a sideshow act – and who is eventually replaced by a chicken.
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd in Medici (2016-19)
Beth falls in love with a man named Townes. She meets Townes at the Kentucky State Championship, and he later gets a job as a photojournalist working the chess circuit. Playing Townes is an English actor named Jacob Fortune-Lloyd.
Fortune-Lloyd hasn’t appeared in many TV shows or movies – perhaps his most substantial work can be found in the Italian programMedici. He appears in seven episodes of the show’s second season, playing Francesco Salviati.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster in Love Actually (2003)
Everyone will probably remember Thomas Brodie-Sangster as the little kid from Love Actually – no matter what he does as an adult, he will forever be tied to that British Christmas classic. Released in 2003, the movie is an ensemble that tells various stories of love around the Christmas season.
Brodie-Sangster plays a young boy named Sam, who develops a crush on one of his schoolmates. He learns the drums so he can play with her during the school’s Christmas pageant.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster in Nowhere Boy (2009)
Brodie-Sangster grew up, but he didn’t stop acting (obviously). While everyone knows Love Actually and Game of Thrones (on which he plays Jojen Reed) few people tend to remember Nowhere Boy.
This biopic concerns the early life of John Lennon and how his first band, The Quarrymen, eventually transformed into The Beatles. Aaron Johnson plays Lennon while Brodie-Sangster plays his longtime friend and eventual bandmate, Paul McCartney. They both do exceptionally well, despite having enormous shoes to fill.
Christiane Seidel in Boardwalk Empire (2010-14)
Aside from Godless, Christiane Seidel briefly starred in the acclaimed HBO drama Boardwalk Empire. Starring the always incredible Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire is a period crime drama concerning the life and criminal ascendency of Nucky Johnson (renamed Nucky Thompson for the show), an Atlantic City political boss and racketeer.
The “boardwalk” refers to Atlantic City, a hub of drinking, gambling, and prostitution during the Prohibition era. Seidel plays a Norwegian immigrant named Sigrid Mueller who serves as a nursemaid to Nelson’s daughter.
Rebecca Root in The Danish Girl (2015)
One of the chapel leaders, a woman named Miss Lonsdale, is played by actress Rebecca Root. Root nearly got her big break by starring as the transgendered Lili Elbe in 2015’s The Danish Girl.
Elbe was an early recipient of sex reassignment surgery, officially transitioning in 1930. Unfortunately, her body rejected the uterus and developed a serious infection, and Elbe died just three months after receiving the surgery. Root almost landed the role of Elbe, but it eventually went to Eddie Redmayne. Root ended up playing Elbe’s nurse.
