Who plays Celia Wilson in The Serpent? The traveling English character only appears in one episode of the 2021 Netflix show but connects to an inciting incident involving the serial killer subject, Charles Sobhraj (Tahar Rahim). Celia is portrayed by Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, who is the daughter of a famous actor.
The Serpent series premiere establishes the context for Sobhraj's crimes. He works as a con artist/jewels dealer with girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc (Jenna Coleman), and swindled hippies that he meets in Southeast Asia. When 21-year-old Teresa Knowlton (Alice Englert) arrives from America, she meets Celia at a Bangkok, Thailand hostel en route to a Tibetan monastery to study Buddhism. In a cruel twist of fate, Teresa also meets Sobhraj's parter-in-crime, Ajay Chowdhury (Amesh Edireweera), and ultimately becomes The Serpent's first murder victim.
In The Serpent, Teresa and Celia initially decide to split a room together as "Coyote" by Joni Mitchell plays over an extended sequence. The Netflix show frames Englert's character as a wide-eyed individual, while Serkis' Celia comes across as a marijuana-happy traveler with more life experience. The young women bond while exploring Bangkok, and later get invited to a party by Ajay, who doesn't make a strong impression upon Celia. When Teresa explains that she's going to become an "actual nun" and wants to embrace the moment, she heads off to her dark fate with Ajay and splits with her concerned friend, Celia. So, how do you know Serkis, and what else has she appeared in?
Serkis is the daughter of actor and director Andy Serkis, who famously portrayed Gollum in The Lord of the Rings franchise and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes reboot movies, along with playing Ulysses Klaue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2010, Ruby made her movie debut appearing alongside her father in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, and then portrayed a "Cute Young Hobbit" in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which was followed by a role as "Girl in Laketown" in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Serkis had a minor role as Young Christina in the 2016 National Treasure TV series, and then received her big break by starring as Lavinia in the 2020 Netflix series The Letter for the King.
Serkis displays incredible star power in both The Letter for the King and The Serpent, all the while showing different sides of her skill set. The English actress seems capable of headlining a historic epic, but also exudes a natural presence while portraying a young free spirit. In The Serpent, she arguably steals each of her several scenes with Englert - a more experienced actress and the daughter of filmmaker Jane Campion - but unfortunately doesn't receive any additional screen time beyond the first episode. Serkis will next appear alongside Rhys Ifans and Game of Thrones actor Alfie Allen in La Cha Cha, a dark comedy that was filmed during the COVID-19 lockdown.