Christopher Nolan's Tenet stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson and Elizabeth Debicki in lead roles and a supporting cast mixing recognizable faces, Nolan movie veterans, and some newcomers. After a twenty-year development period, Nolan's high concept, time-bending sci-fi was released in cinemas as one of the first major blockbuster events post-lockdown. Complex, bold but deeply rewarding, Tenet is transformative, exciting film-making.
Washington plays the mysteriously-named The Protagonist, who is dropped into a mission to save the world from World War III by a clandestine organization, armed only with the word "Tenet" and some very specialist skills. Following a thread to save humanity and with the assistance of Robert Pattinson's talented fixer, Neil, he encounters the nefarious Sator, terrorists, and stunning new technology that can invert how objects move through time. Like Inception, the deeper The Protagonist goes, the more complex the web he finds himself entangled in.
Alongside the two main players - though Washington is involved the most of every character - is a supporting cast including art dealers, arms dealers, and billionaires on both sides of the moral spectrum. Played by some of Nolan's favorites and a host of newcomers to his movies, including BlacKkKlansman's Washington, the cast is as eye-catching as the effects. Here's a guide to the cast of Tent, and where you might recognize them from.
John David Washington As The Protagonist
The intriguingly-named The Protagonist holds the fate of the world in his hands in Tenet. He is played by John David Washington, son of Denzel, who was cast on the back of his exceptional performance in Spike Lee's BlackKklansman. Since then, he's appeared in The Old Man & The Gun and Ballers opposite Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Robert Pattinson As Neil
The secondary hero, Robert Pattinson's Neil is a supremely talented fixer with an imagination for heists and a physics master's degree. Pattinson needs little introduction having appeared first in Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire, graduating to the Twilight series and more recently starring in High Life and The Lighthouse. He will soon appear as Bruce Wayne in The Batman.
Kenneth Branagh As Andrei Sator
The recognizable, but unrecognizable chilling face of the enemy, Branagh plays rich, powerful and dangerous Andrei Sator, who holds the key to the truth of inversion. Branagh is a veteran of stage and screen, playing Inspector Poirot in Murder On The Orient Express, Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets and Commander Bolton in Nolan's Dunkirk.
Elizabeth Debicki As Kat
Married to Andrei Sator, art auctioneer Kat is at the mercy of his dangerous temperament and their volatile relationship provides an in for The Protagonist. She appeared as Ayesha in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and will play Princess Diana in the five and sixth seasons of The Crown on Netflix.
Himesh Patel As Mahir
Undoubtedly most known for his starring role as Jack Malick in Danny Boyle's Yesterday, Himesh Patel is a former British soap star who has also appeared in Disney's The Aeronauts and HBO's sci-fi Avenue 5. He plays Mahir, a fixer associated with Robert Pattinson's Neil who is key to the airport heist sequence.
Dimple Kapadia As Priya
Dimple Kapadia plays the Mumbai based arms dealer who is key to The Protagonist's introduction to the rich world of weapons. Kapadia has been a Bollywood fixture since debuting at the age of 14 and has been nominated for major film awards in every decade since the 1970s, appearing in American production Leela to acclaim in 2002.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson As Ives
Spotted only briefly in the marketing, Aaron Taylor-Johnson's charming soldier Ives turns up fairly late in the narrative, but plays a key role in the Tenet's final third. After breaking out in Kick-Ass (ironically after a bit-part in The Prestige's great competition The Illusionist), Taylor-Johnson has more recently been seen in Nocturnal Animals and Netflix's Outlaw King.
Tenet's Supporting Characters
Clémence Poésy as Laura - The first in the chain of The Protagonist discovering the truth about inversion and "time travel", Laura is a scientist who asses on key information early in the film. Poésy is probably most widely known for her role as Fleur Delacour in the Harry Potter movies and for In Bruges.
Sir Michael Caine as Sir Michael Crosby - The iconic actor and frequent Nolan collaborator (on The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Prestige and Inception among others) Caine plays an aristocrat key to introducing The Protagonist to Kat.
Martin Donovan as Victor - The Protagonist's first contact with the clandestine organization. Donovan played Martin Howard in Little Big Lies, Mitchell Carson in Ant-Man and Zaman Druce in Legends Of Tomorrow.
Fiona Dourif as Wheeler - A fellow soldier of Ives (and leader of Blue Team), Wheeler is played by Fiona Dourif who starred in The Black List and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.
On top of those named supporting characters, Laurie Shepherd plays Max, Kat and Sator's young son, and the likes of Yuri Kolokolnikov, Anthony Molinari, Andrew Howard and Wes Chatham play imposing-looking henchmen and heavies.