Who stars in The Queen's Gambit cast, and why do they look so familiar? Based on Walter Tevis' eponymous 1983 novel, the seven-episode limited series features a heavy-duty lead performance from a rising star, along with spectacular production design and direction. Given the primary '60s setting, audiences may be curious about performers who changed their look to match the times.
Written and directed by Scott Frank (Godless), The Queen's Gambit follows the life of a chess prodigy named Beth Harmon. She spends her formative years at the Methuen Home for Girls, and befriends a custodian who teaches her to play chess in the basement. At night, Beth consumes "vitamins" (later revealed to be tranquilizers) so that she can hallucinate and make strategic moves on a ceiling chess board. As a teenager, Beth moves in with her adoptive parents and struggles with dependency issues while transforming into a celebrity within the world of competitive chess.
The Queen's Gambit stars one of the entertainment industry's most promising actresses, who arguably delivers the best performance of her career thus far. The Queen's Gambit supporting cast features a prominent real-life film director as Beth's adoptive mother, and an Emmy-nominated actor appears in a small yet impactful role.
Anya Taylor-Joy As Beth Harmon
Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Beth Harmon, a child chess prodigy who struggles with addiction problems as an adult. Taylor-Joy starred as Thomasin in The Witch and Casey Cooke in the Unbreakable trilogy. She recently portrayed Emma Woodhouse in Emma and Illyana Rasputin in The New Mutants.
Marielle Heller As Mrs. Alma Wheatley
Marielle Heller co-stars as Mrs. Alma Wheatley, Beth's adoptive mother. Heller is best known for directing The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. As an actress, she has appeared in MacGruber, A Walk Among the Tombstones, and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
Harry Melling As Harry Beltik
Harry Melling appears as Harry Beltik, Beth's friend and admirer. Melling is best known for portraying Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter movie franchise. He recently appeared as Merrick in The Old Guard and Roy in The Devil All the Time.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster As Benny Watts
Thomas Brodie-Sangster portrays Benny Watts, a world-class chess player and Beth's close friend. Brodie-Sangster is best known for portraying Newt in the Maze Runner franchise. He also appeared as Sam in Love Actually, First Order Officer in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, and Whitey Winn in Godless.
Moses Ingram As Jolene
Moses Ingram appears as Jolene, Beth's friend from the Methuen Home for Girls in Kentucky. The Queen's Gambit marks the TV debut for Ingram. She'll soon make her movie debut as Lady Macduff in Joel Coen's Macbeth adaptation.
Bill Camp As Mr. Shaibel
Bill Camp portrays Mr. Shaibel, a custodian at the Methuen Home for Girls who teaches Beth how to play chess. Camp portrayed Radburn in 12 Years a Slave and Detective Garrity in Joaquin Phoenix's Joker. He earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his performance as Dennis Box in The Night Of.
Chloe Pirrie As Alice Harmon
Chloe Pirrie appears as Alice Harmon, Beth's birth mother. Pirrie portrayed D.I. Karen Hall in Temple and Isabella Knightley in Emma. She also portrayed Gwendolyn Harris in the Black Mirror episode "The Waldo Moment."
The Queen's Gambit Supporting Cast
Isla Johnston as Young Beth: Isla Johnston portrayed Fiona in National Treasure: Kiri and Sarah Kemp in Doctors.
Annabeth Kelly as Five-Year-Old Beth: Before appearing in The Queen's Gambit, Annabeth Kelly made her TV debut in The Little Francis.
Christiane Seidel as Helen Deardorff: The head of the Methuen Home for Girls. Christiane Seidel portrayed Sigrid Mueller in Boardwalk Empire and Martha in Godless.
Rebecca Root as Miss Lonsdale: A chapel leader at the Methuen Home for Girls. Rebecca Root portrayed Judy in Boy Meets Girl and Dr. Addis in Last Christmas.
Akemnji Ndifornyen as Mr. Fergusson: An employee at the Methuen Home for Girls. Akemnji Ndifornyen portrayed Machiavelli in Leonardo and Nathan Bailey in Doctors.
Patrick Kennedy as Allston Wheatley: Beth's adoptive father. Patrick Kennedy portrayed Leon Tallis in Atonement and Lt. Charlie Waverly in War Horse.
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Townes: Beth's crush. Jacob Fortune-Lloyd portrayed Francesco Salviati in Medici and Sith Fleet Officer in Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker.
Millie Brady as Cleo: Beth's party friend. Millie Brady portrays Aethelflaed in The Last Kingdom. She has also appeared in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
Marcin Dorociński as Vasily Borgov: Beth's top chess rival. Marcin Dorociński portrayed the title character in Jack Strong and Ladislav Vanék in Anthropoid.
Janina Elkin as Mrs. Borgov: Vasily's wife. Janina Elkin portrayed Irina in Foreign Body and Monika in Short Term Memory Loss.
Sergio Di Zio as Beth's father: Beth's birth father. Sergio Di Zio portrayed Oly in The Boondocks Saints and Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti in Flashpoint.
Dolores Carbonari as Margaret: A resident at Methuen Home for Girls. Dolores Carbonari portrayed Sara in Cesare. Netflix's The Queen's Gambit marks her TV debut.
Matthew Dennis Lewis as Matt: Matthew Dennis Lewis portrayed Donnie Devlin in Godless and Seth Rhodes in Blue Bloods.
Russell Dennis Lewis as Mike: Russell Dennis Lewis portrayed Daryl Devlin in Godless and Steve Rhodes in Blue Bloods.
Ryan Wichert as Hilton Wexler: Ryan Wichert has appeared in The Redeeming and The Keeper.
Jonathan Failla as Dick Evans: Jonathan Failla portrayed Marc Boland in You are Wanted.
Sophie McShera as Mrs. Graham: Sophie McShera portrayed Daisy Mason in Downton Abbey and Drisella in Cinderella.
Richard Waugh as Mr. Bradley: Richard Waugh portrayed Edward Foster in RoboCop and Herb Ertlinger in Schitt's Creek.
Marian Meder as Mr. Espero: Marian Meder portrayed Sawatzki Darsteller in Look Who's Back.
William Horberg as Toby: The Queen's Gambit marks the TV debut for William Horberg. He's also one of the executive producers.
Eloise Webb as Annette Packer: Eloise Webb portrayed 10-year-old Ella in Lily James' Cinderella and Young Carol in The Iron Lady.
Nicky Goldie as Mrs. Blocker: Nicky Goldie portrays Aunt Flo in Call the Midwife.
John Schwab as Mr. Booth: John Schwab portrayed Lang Jeffries in Trust.
Michel Diercks as Duhamel: Michel Diercks portrayed Weber in Mission of Honor.
Hugo Grimm as Hellstrom: Hugo Grimm portrayed Hannes Zoller in Zoo Doctor: My Mom the Vet.
Sam Gilroy as Tim: Sam Gilroy portrayed Michael Dimonda in Billions and Michael in Impostors.
Alexander Albrecht as Manfredi: Alexander Albrecht portrays Frederic in Little Birds.
Jeremy Mockridge as Friedman: Jeremy Mockridge portrayed Fred in Wild Chicks in Love and Wild Chicks and Life.
Samantha Soule as Miss Jean Blake: Samantha Soule portrayed Charlotte Temple in Godless and Anna Carrera in Outer Banks.
Pablo Scola as Manuel: Pablo Scola has appeared in The Ministry of Time and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Will The Queen’s Gambit Get A Season 2?
Given the immense popularity of the show's single available season, the question of whether The Queen's Gambit season 2 is on the way has been circulating throughout the property's fanbase for some time, but a second season would be pretty unlikely. The Queen's Gambit is based on a novel of the same name, but since the book doesn't have any sequels, there wouldn't be any more source material for the TV show to adapt. Of course, that hasn't stopped other shows and movie franchises from moving the story along with original content. But given how long it took The Queen's Gambit to be conceptualized and produced, it would require quite a lot of effort to pull the whole process off again while also writing a completely original story. The Queen's Gambit season 2 could certainly find interesting ways to keep exploring the compelling characters set up in season 1, but it would also risk ruining what is already a complete arc. As is often the case, it might be best to let The Queen's Gambit lie, as it's already accomplished what it set out to do.