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Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Court of Thorns and Roses book series.
With Hulu’s upcoming A Court of Thorns and Roses TV show, one of the hardest characters to cast will be Nesta Archeron. Nesta is the eldest sister of the Archeron family, and her relationship with her younger sister, the protagonist Feyre, is strained at best. Though she and the third sister Elain, don’t play a huge role in the first Court of Thorns and Roses book, their roles expand later on. Plus, her troubled relationship with her sister defines so much of Feyre’s backstory, so it’s crucial to get the casting for Nesta right.
That, however, will be more challenging than it might seem. Nesta is a complicated character. In fact, she’s often downright unlikable. Even in her better moments, she’s still reserved to the point of rudeness, stiff and standoffish even with those she loves. It all obscures the fact that Nesta is perhaps the one Archeron sister who feels the most, and she hides it by putting up a wall of icy cold. Any actor cast in the role of Nesta has to be all of that, but also still have the ability to make the audience empathize with her, particularly as her arc begins to evolve. Here are 10 actresses who could pull off the challenging job of playing Nesta in the Court of Thorns and Roses cast.
10 Sophie Turner
In truth, this list could arguably start and end with Sophie Turner. Nesta is often described in the Court of Thorns and Roses books as a queen without a crown: regal, reserved, and ice-cold. It’s hard to think of a character this more accurately describes than Game of Thrones‘ Sansa Stark, whom Turner played for years. Sophie Turner has shown she can deliver an absolutely cutting line without batting an eye, a skill that is vital to play Nesta, whose tongue is sharp as a blade. Sophie Turner fully holds Nesta’s elegant grace and sharp features, and while exactly matching looks is of lesser importance than acting talent, it certainly doesn’t hurt.
9 Natalie Dormer
Another Game of Thrones alumnus would also be a strong choice to play Nesta in A Court of Thorns and Roses. Natalie Dormer’s Margaery Tyrell may not have been as outwardly reserved as Sansa Stark, but she had a wicked sting behind her smiles. She’s also shown her toughness in projects like The Hunger Games movies. Dormer has an on-screen presence that brooks no nonsense, which is perfect for Nesta Archeron.
8 Anya Taylor-Joy
Anya Taylor-Joy is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses and with good reason. She may be young, but she has the talent and old soul of someone who has been in the industry for years, and her striking looks set her apart from her peers. There’s an almost ethereal quality to Taylor-Joy, and that could translate well to the way Nesta carries herself separate and removed from the rest of the world. Her range is impressive, beginning with The Witch and pulling off such varied projects as Last Night in Soho, New Mutants, and The Queen’s Gambit, among others.
7 Saoirse Ronan
Saoirse Ronan already made it onto the Feyre fan-casting for A Court of Thorns and Roses, but she’s talented enough to just as easily step into the role of Nesta. Appropriate for Nesta, Ronan has a knack for playing characters who are tough and self-sufficient, sometimes to the point of pushing others away, such as Jo March in Little Women. But Ronan also has the range to pull off Nesta’s transformation in what would ostensibly be later seasons of A Court of Thorns and Roses, when she loosens up–for Nesta, anyway–and becomes her sister’s ally.
6 Maya Hawke
Maya Hawke may be best known to most audiences for her turn as the quirky, anxious Robin Buckley on Stranger Things, but her talent runs well beyond being able to only portray eccentrics. A character like Nesta Archeron is the sort of challenging role that can propel a young, up-and-coming actor’s career to new heights. Hawke certainly has it in her to play a more serious, complex role. She was fantastic as Jo March in the 2017 BBC adaptation of Little Women, and her turn as Flannery O’Connor in Wildcat and work in Maestro were praised. A Court of Thorns and Roses could be the perfect next step for her.
5 Thomasin McKenzie
Though she’s only 23 years old, Tomasin McKenzie has the poise of someone much older on the screen. Her breakout role in Taika Waititi’s JoJo Rabbit showed that McKenzie had the talent to step into complex subject matter and propel every scene. But it’s her leading role in Last Night in Soho that really shows she has what it takes to play Nesta. Her character, Eloise, has a wildly transformational arc, starting out as a meek and mousy girl scared of her own shadow to someone with dangerous desires. That’s not how Nesta’s story unfolds in A Court of Thorns and Roses, but it certainly shows McKenzie has the range to pull off a big character transformation and make it stick.
4 Hunter Schafer
Hunter Schafer broke out in a big way with her role as Jules in the award-winning TV series Euphoria. While on the surface, Jules and Nesta don’t appear to be much alike, Jules has a stubborn streak that often sees her refusing to allow anyone to tell her what to do or how to think, sometimes to a fault. It’s a trait that Nesta shares in A Court of Thorns and Roses. Jules is also capable of strong emotions, and if Hunter Schafer could just internalize those, it would make her perfect for Nesta in the Court of Thorns and Roses TV show. Plus, her sharp features lend themselves to Nesta’s overall vibe.
3 Clare Foley
Clare Foley is perhaps the least well-known name on this list, but that makes her inclusion all the more exciting as there won’t be any preconceived notions or leftover influence from previous roles. She’s best known for playing a younger version of Ivy Pepper in the first three seasons of Gotham. Initially, Ivy tends to turn people off, and she also bristles when being told what to do. Foley also played the creepy child antagonist Ashley in 2012’s Sinister. While Nesta is far from a villain in the Court of Thorns and Roses books, she’s certainly an antagonist at times. Even when she joins Feyre, she’s still prickly and prone to hurting others with her difficult personality. Foley could be well suited to inject her experience into the role.
2 Sadie Sink
While some may have expected the second Stranger Things alum on this list to be Millie Bobby Brown, that would be too easy a choice–and also not the right one for Nesta. As Max, Sadie Sink’s take on the character has always been that she was a little cooler and more sarcastic than the rest, even before her great tragedy. After the death of Billy, Max pushes everyone and everything away, retreating inside herself and shutting her emotions off from the world. Sink’s ability to play characters who are cold to others while still gaining the audience’s sympathy is exactly what’s needed to properly do justice to a character as complex–and at times infuriating–as Nesta.
1 Kaya Scodelario
At 31 years old, Kaya Scodelario may be a little older than the target age for Nesta. But it still works, as Nesta carries herself with the calculated observational skills of someone much older. Scodelario’s projects have ranged from the YA sci-fi of The Maze Runner series to playing the deeply unlikeable Cathy in the Gothic romance Wuthering Heights. That sort of flexibility is necessary for playing Nesta. Unlike her other sisters, Nesta was old enough to clearly remember when the family had money, and it shaped her personality in ways it didn’t Feyre and Elain. Her life is further split as her story in A Court of Thorns and Roses unfolds and she evolves. Anyone who steps into the role of Nesta has to be prepared to play all facets of the character, and Scodelario certainly has the range to do it justice.
