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Who plays Alina Starkov in Shadow and Bone?
1 May 2021, 17:55
Jessie Mei Li is the actor who plays Alina in Shadow and Bone - find out their age, Instagram and other TV work.
If you're just getting started on new Netflix series Shadow and Bone, you may be wondering where you recognise some of the cast from.
Read more: Who is in the cast of Shadow and Bone on Netflix?
The lead character - Alina Starkov - is played by Jessie Mei Li, an actor from Brighton, England.
Jessie has appeared in a number of other shows and theatre productions, but Shadow and Bone is their first major TV role.
Who is Jessie Mei Li?
Jessie, 25, is an actor from Brighton.
As well as Shadow and Bone, Jessie played Lara in Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho, and also starred in a stage production of All About Eve.
Speaking about their character to Heart.co.uk ahead of the series launch, Jessie said: "When we meet Alina she is just your average soldier in the army, where she is different is that she is mixed race.
Read more: How many episodes of Shadow and Bone are there?
"She is half Ravkan and half Shu in this world, which has meant that she's been ostracised and pushed away her whole life, she’s been told she looks like the enemy.
"She has grown up to be quite feisty but also very vulnerable, wanting to be quite gentle to show she’s not the enemy.
There is inherent strength and power from the moment you see her as a little one."
Is Jessie Mei Li on Instagram?
You can follow Jessie on Instagram @jessie_mei_li.
Shadow and Bone's Jessie Mei Li discusses her character Alina Starkov
What is Shadow and Bone about?
Shadow and Bone centres around solider and cartographer Alina Starkov - who, after learning that she has the power to summon sunlight, becomes the possible key to destroying dangerous 'shadow fold' in the fictional country of Ravka.
Speaking about the plot, Jessie said: The story takes place in the Grishaverse, which is a world similar to our own. The only difference is, in this world, there are people who have magic powers.
"The country where the Ravka and Alina lives is split in two by this enormous expanse of shadows that are filled with monsters. The people of east Ravka are essentially imprisoned on all sides by the fold and the neighbouring countries.
"They’re prisoners in their own country, and in order to save themselves they need to destroy this shadow fold. That's where Alina comes in when she discovers she has this mythical power to summon sunlight."
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