The Luminaries cast: Who is in the drama with Eve Hewson and Himesh Patel?

22 June 2020, 19:08 | Updated: 22 June 2020, 19:11

The Luminaries - Trailer

Who is Ali Hewson and who did Himesh Patel been play in EastEnders? The full cast of characters revealed...

New drama The Luminaries has already gripped the nation.

Set in New Zealand at the peak of the 19th century Gold Rush, the six-part drama is based on the bestselling novel by Eleanor Catton.

As well as a dramatic storyline, the show also features a huge cast of characters. Here are the actors you’ll see on screen and info about what else they have been in…

Who is in The Luminaries cast?

Himesh Patel as Emery Staines

Himesh Patel is playing Emery Staines who’s sailed to New Zealand from Britain in search of gold.

Soap fans will recognise Himesh for his role as Tamwar Masood in EastEnders which he played from 2007-2016.

The actor has since starred in Avenue 5, Damned, The Aeronauts and as Jack Malik in the film Yesterday.

Eva Green as Lydia Wells

French actress Eva Green stars as Lydia who is a brothel madam running a house in Dunedin.

She previously played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in James Bond Casino Royale and Vanessa Ives in Penny Dreadful.

Eva also played Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem in the Kingdom of Heaven and has appeared Tim Burton films such as Dark Shadows, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Dumbo.

Eve Hewson as Anna Wetherell

Anna is described as a young woman who’s travelled alone to New Zealand in search of a new life.

Irish actress Eve Hewson plays Anna and viewers might recognise her as Marian in Robin Hood, Nurse Lucy Elkins in The Knick and Carol in Bridge of Spies.

She is also U2 frontman Bono and activist Ali Hewson's daughter.

Ewen Leslie as Crosbie Wells

Lydia’s husband Crosbie Wells is played by Ewen Leslie in The Luminaries.

Ewan is an Australian actor who played Alistair Robertson in The Cry and also starred in The Gloaming, Fighting Season, Safe Harbour and Wild Kat.

Marton Csokas as Francis Carver

Marton Csokas plays Lydia’s love, an ex-convict who served ten years in jail.

Before The Luminaries, Marton has starred as Quinn in Into the Badlands, and as Skip Zakarian in Divorce.

Other credits include The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as Dr Ashley Kafka, Rogue, Klondike, Sons of Liberty, Xena: Warrior Princess and Noah.

Michael Sheasby as Walter Moody

Michael Sheasby plays Scottish lawyer Walter Moody who travels to New Zealand on the Godspeed.

Soap lovers will recognise Michael as Steve Carmody in Home and Away. He has since starred in Hacksaw Ridge and The Nightingale.

Matt Whelan as Cowell Devlin

Prison chaplain Cowell Devlin is played by Matt Whelan.

He has starred as Hugh Hefner in TV drama American Playboy and as DEA agent Daniel Van Ness in Narcos.

Yoson An as Sook Yongsheng

Sook Yongsheng also arrives in New Zealand to look for gold, but he also wants to murder Francis Carver to avenge his father.

Yoson An will has previously starred in Fresh Eggs and Dead Lucky. He will also star as Honghui in the upcoming live-action version of Mulan.

Gary Young as Quee Long

Played by Gary Young, Quee is also on the search for gold but faces more hurdles because he is Chinese and is not allowed to stake a claim in any of the best spots.

Gary played Yi Tien Cho in Outlander and has also starred as Zheng in the TV series Secret City. He’s also set to star in the live action remake of Mulan as Garrison Commander.

Who else stars in The Luminaries?

Other stars include Richard Te Are as Te Rau Tauwhare, Benedict Hardie as Alistair Lauderback, Erik Thomson as Dick Mannering and Mark Mitchinson as Thomas Balfour.

Joel Tobeck also plays Benjamin Lowenthal, while Byron Coll plays Charlie Frost, Paolo Rotondo plays Aubert Gascoigne and Callan Mulvey plays George Shepard.

Kieran Charnock stars as Edgar Clinch, Matt Sunderland as Joseph Pritchard and Erroll Shand as Harald Nilssen.

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