Hugh Dancy
(Daniel Deronda)

“Acting is not very good for relationships - but very good for when they are over.”

Hugh is one of Britain’s most up and coming celebrated actors. His mother is a publisher and father a philosophy professor. He himself is well educated having graduated from Oxford University with an English Literature and Language degree.

He has starred in films such as Ella Enchanted (2004) and King Arthur as well as on television in a wide range of programmes including Cold Feet and Madame Bovary. Most recently he’s been seen in acclaimed films Shooting Dogs and Elizabeth 1 for which he earned an Emmy nomination.

Romola Garai (Gwendolen Harleth)

Romola’s unusual name is a feminised version of 'Romulus', one of the twins said to have founded Rome. Her surname, Garai, hails from Hungarian descent.

Her big break came at school when she was talent spotted in a school play by a casting director looking for girls to play the younger incarnation of a character portrayed by Judi Dench in the ITV drama The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) (TV). After that role, she went to University to study English, but when her acting career took off she decided to leave. Romola has had roles in I Capture the Castle (2003), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004) and Vanity Fair (2004) with Reese Witherspoon.

Romola loves to travel and has visited Hong Kong, Singapore, Malta, Venice, Australia, Italy, Belgium and Indonesia. Phew!

Hugh Bonneville (Henleigh Grandcourt)

Hugh has been married since 1998 to Lulu, an artist, and they have one child. He's been on our screens since 1991 after training at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. His most memorable roles include the amiable Bernie in Notting Hill, Philip Larkin in Love Again and, alongside Kate Winslet, as John Bayley, in Iris (2001). He’s no stranger to the classics having appeared in Doctor Zhivago, Madame Bovary, Mansfield Park to name just a few.

If you ever suspect you've spotted Hugh being incorrectly credited, it's because he used his middle name 'Richard' for his early TV work in the 1990s. Since then, he's reverted to his real name, Hugh.

Jodhi May (Mirah Lapidoth)

Jodhi was born in 1975 and was in her first film, A World Apart, at the tender age of 12. Though she won a Cannes Film Festival award she continued with her education and went to Oxford University to read English

She’s been in major Hollywood movies, such as Last of the Mohicans and The House of Mirth as well as major TV series including Tipping the Velvet and she took the main character, Lizzie, in Stephen Poliakoff’s Friends and Crocodiles.

Jodhi's a multi-talented actress, showing off her language skills when, in 2002, she performed in the play 'Far Away' in Paris which was entirely recited in French.

Edward Fox (Sir Hugo Mallinger)

Edward Fox was given the OBE in 2002 for his services to acting, which deservedly rewarded his massive contribution to the profession. Since his dramatic training at RADA he’s appeared in classic films from A Bridge Too Far, all the way to Gandhi, and is perhaps best remembered for his roles as an assassin in Day of the Jackal and Edward VIII in Edward and Mrs Simpson.

Edward's family is famously full of well known actors such as his brother James Fox, daughter Emilia and nephew Laurence.

Although he's taken multi-faceted roles, Edward epitomises the cool English gentleman - which was possibly gleaned from his time serving in the Coldstream Guards.

Amanda Root (Mrs Davilow)

Amanda has her roots in classical acting, having appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company as both Juliet and Lady Macbeth. Her performances are known for their intelligence and subtly, as shown in The Forsythe Saga, Persuasion and the movie Jane Eyre.
She’s rarely off the television, seen in BBC dramas Waking the Dead, Holby City and Dangerfield as well as her main role in Mortimer’s Law.

What's perhaps quite as well known is that she was the voice of Sophie in the animated version of The BFG, with David Jason playing the Big Friendly Giant.

Greta Scacchi (Lydia Glasher)

Greta Scacchi (pronounced Skacky) was born to artistic parents - her mother was a dancer and her father a painter - and she grew up in the disparate settings of Milan, London and Australia. She’s had an illustrious career, famously appearing in Heat and Dust (1983), Presumed Innocent with Harrison Ford and The Player with Tim Robbins. She won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Tsarina Alexandra in Rasputin.

Surprisingly Greta was offered, but turned down, the Sharon Stone role in Basic Instinct!

Barbara Hershey (Contessa Maria Alcharisi)

"I am afraid of being lazy and complacent. I am afraid of taking myself too seriously."

Barbara was born and raised in Hollywood, but in a small bungalow rather than the lush surrounds of Beverly Hills. She started acting in 1968 with Doris Day in With Six You Get Eggroll. Her career has spanned movies, TV mini series and later the film Beaches (1988). She famously turned down the role of the bunny boiler (!) in Fatal Attraction and went on to win two Cannes Film Festival awards for Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988) with Jodhi May.

In her wilder, early days she changed her name from Barbara Hershey to Barbara Seagull for two years! She had a stormy relationship with actor David Carradine and had a child with him that they named 'Free'. Thankfully, they later changed his name to 'Tom'.

Celia Imrie (Mrs Meyrick)

Born in Guildford in 1952, Celia is married to actor Benjamin Whitrow star of another Andrew Davies penned adaptation - Pride and Prejudice.

Celia has a career spanning 30 years with a CV including The Borrowers, Nanny McPhee and Bridget Jones’ Diary as well as TV dramas Sparkhouse and Mr Harvey Lights a Candle. Celia is perhaps best loved for her wonderful comic timing in Acorn Antiques; she appeared with Victoria Wood in As Seen on TV and Dinner Ladies.

Not one for type-casting Celia also appeared in Star Wars 1: The Phantom Menace as fighter pilot Bravo 5!