Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Since the beginning, Black Mirror has been great at two things: delivering chilling social satire and casting brilliant actors. The names and faces you’re bound to see in any given episode range from stalwart stage and television favorites to up-and-coming stars of tomorrow.
Season Three of Black Mirror is upping the ante. In addition to giving us the same types of prestigious British actors as past seasons, Netflix has also cast some of the biggest names in film and TV. The result? Each episode of Black Mirror is now chockfull of faces you’ve seen before…even if you can’t always place their name.
Here’s your guide to the major players of Black Mirror season three, starting with Episode 2, “Playtest.” Directed by Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) and written by Black Mirror mastermind Charlie Brooker.
[STREAM BLACK MIRROR, “PLAYTEST” ON NETFLIX]
Wyatt Russell
Who They Are In Black Mirror: Wyatt Russell plays Cooper, an American backpacker whose fear of connecting with his mother pushes him to volunteer for an experimental video game in exchange for money back to the US. (Well, he’s also spying on the tech company to impress a pretty British girl.)
Where You Know Them From: Are you ready to have your mind blown? WYATT RUSSELL IS KURT RUSSELL AND GOLDIE HAWN’S SON.
Okay. That’s done. So, since Russell is Hollywood royalty, he has been sneaking into major theatrical productions for ages. However, he’s started to get the attention of critics in recent years. His two big turns? Everybody Wants Some!! and 22 Jump Street.
Hannah John-Kamen
Who They Are In Black Mirror: Hannah John-Kamen is Sonja, a beguiling British beauty whom Cooper hooks up with in London. She encourages him to spy on tech wizard Shou Saito’s latest invention.
Where You Know Them From: Genre fans might recognize John-Kamen’s face from two major fantasy productions. She had a “blink and you’ll miss her” moment as a First Order officer in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and was the one nice person Daenerys met when she was stuffed with the Dosh Khaleen on Season Six of Game of Thrones. John-Kamen has also appeared in Happy Valley and Killjoys. Her big moment is yet to come. She’s appearing in Steven Spielberg’s 2018 adaptation of Ready Player One.
Wunmi Mosaku
Who They Are In Black Mirror: Wunmi Mosaku plays Katie, the woman responsible for initiating Cooper into the program. She’s his human connection to the outside world while he’s in the game.
Where You Know Them From: Wunmi Mosaku is a British television regular. You might have caught her in cult hit In The Flesh or the glittering musical miniseries Dancing on the Edge. She’s also appeared in Philomela and Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Ken Yamamura
Who They Are In Black Mirror: Ken Yamamura plays the elusive tech wizard Shou Saito.
Where You Know Them From: Japanese actor Yamamura has kind of only been on the scene for a few years and oddly his biggest claims to fame are in big budget American films. He was Takashi in Gareth Edward’s reimagining of Godzilla and played the young Silver Samurai in The Wolverine.
