Politics, tense situations and somewhat-inept UK politicians: that’s right, a new Netflix thriller is upon us, and it’s set to be our summer watch.
Called Hostage, it stars Suranne Jones as the Prime Minister of the UK (a woman, hooray!) who finds her life turned upside-down when her husband is kidnapped and held to ransom during a meeting with the French President.
The series was written by Matt Charman, aka the brains behind Oscar-winning film Bridge of Spies, so we know it’s going to be good. But who’s set to star? Let’s unpack.
Abigail Dalton, played by Suranne Jones
The Prime Minister of the UK. Charman calls her “an embattled British PM in the middle of a fight for her country and her family — she’s fierce, ruthless, and you can’t take your eyes off of her.”
Jones, who plays her, is a veteran of UK TV. Born in Manchester in 1978, she got her start playing Karen McDonald on Coronation Street until 2004. Since then, she’s gone onto appear in shows like Unforgiven (2009), Doctor Foster, which catapulted her to national prominence, and Vigil. She also played the lead role in Gentleman Jack, the BBC historical drama about the life of Ann Lister.
Vivienne Toussaint, played by Julie Delpy
The French President – also, pleasingly, a woman. She’s more of a pragmatist than Abigail, but she finds herself being blackmailed as the series goes on, too. She has a choice to make: does she go to the far-right, and embrace the anti-immigrant narrative, or does she stick to her principles?
“She starts off as someone who isn’t flirting with the extreme right, and she slowly starts to go there – which is something you see happening a little bit to everyone in the centre; they’re not necessarily ideologically far right, but they’re feeling they have to flirt with it, to comply with the perceived demands of the electorate,” Delpy told the Guardian about the role.
Delpy herself is a French-American actor, who was born in Paris to actor parents. At the age of 14, she was ‘discovered’ by director Jean-Luc Godard, who launched her film career. She was nominated for her first Cesar Award two years later, and gained international attention for her role in the 1990 film Europa Europa.
Since then, she’s gone onto direct, write and act in more than 30 films, including 1997’s An American Werewolf in Paris and 1991’s Voyager.
Matheo Lewis, played by Corey Mylchreest
A shady character with ominous motives. Mylchreest, who plays him, is best known for playing the role of King George III in the Bridgerton spinoff series Queen Charlotte. Born in London in 1998, he studied at RADA and appeared in the premiere episode of Netflix’s The Sandman. Most recently, he played one of the starring roles in the Netflix film My Oxford Year.
Kofi Adomako, played by Lucian Msamati
A member of Abigail’s government, who is left floundering after the kidnapping. Msamati himself is an English-Tanzanian actor. Born in London to Tanzanian parents and raised in Zimbabwe, he started his career as a voice-over artist and after-dinner speaker before founding a theatre company, Over the Edge, in Harare.
Since then, he’s gone onto have multiple stage and screen roles. He was the first black actor to play Iago at the Royal Shakespeare Company, in a 2015 production of Othello; on TV, he’s appeared in Spooks, Game of Thrones, Doctor Who and Ltuher, among others. Most recently, he’s appeared as Ed Dumani in Sky Atlantic’s gangster series Gangs of London.
Dr Alex Anderson, played by Ashley Thomas
The husband of Abigail. In an interview with the Guardian, Jones describes their marriage as “happy, it’s assured, they’re supportive of each other.”
Thomas is a British actor and rapper. Born in Hammersmith, he was involved in the early grime scene under the name Bashy, and featured in the 2010 Gorillaz song White Flag along with Kano. In 2013, he stepped away from music to focus on acting; currently, he’s appearing on Channel 4 show In Flight.
Max, played by James Cosmo
We don’t yet know too much about Max, but Cosmo, who plays him, is a Scottish actor. Born in 1947 in Dunbarton, he’s appeared in many iconic films - including 1995’s Braveheart, Trainspotting and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. On TV, he played Jeor Mormont in Game of Thrones, and Farder Coram in the BBC adaptation of His Dark Materials. In 2017, he even went into the Big Brother house, and finished fourth.
Adrienne Pelletier, played by Jehnny Beth
Similarly, we don’t know much about the character of Adrienne, though judging by her name, she’s part of the French delegation.
Beth, who plays her, is a French actor and musician. Born in 1984 in Poitiers, she shot to fame as half of the indie rock band John & Jehn, and as the lead singer of post-punk band Savages. She’s collaborated with artists including Noel Gallagher, Gorillaz and Bobby Gillespie, and in recent years, has also pivoted to acting.
Hostage is streaming on Netflix from August 21
