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, Episode 4, “San Junipero.” The episode was directed by up-and-coming British television director Owen Harris (he did a couple episodes of Misfits) and was written by the series’ mastermind, Charlie Brooker.
[STREAM BLACK MIRROR, “SAN JUNIPERO“ ON NETFLIX]
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Who They Are In Black Mirror: Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Kelly, a flirty vixen who comes to San Junipero for fun. She’s hellbent on not leaving any roots.
Where You Know Them From: British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw is one of the fastest rising starlets in Hollywood. She got her first big break playing Martha Jones’ sister Tish on Doctor Who. After a few false starts (including JJ Abrams’ doomed detective series Undercovers), Mbatha-Raw finally caught Hollywood’s eye with a double whammy of spell-binding performances in Belle and Beyond the Lights. She’s also clocked appearances in a number of Oscar-bait flicks (like Concussion and Free State of Jones), but she’s due to make a big splash when she appears as Plumette in the live action version of Beauty and the Beast and in Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle In Time.
Mackenzie Davis
Who They Are In Black Mirror: Mackenzie Davis plays Yorkie, an awkward, but romantic, visitor to San Junipero who quickly falls under Kelly’s spell
Where You Know Them From: Canadian actress Mackenzie Davis was “discovered” by indie director Drake Doremus. After appearing in his film, Breathe In, she was a romcom sweetheart opposite Miles Teller in That Awkward Moment. However you probably best know Davis as a punky computer geek. She’s the star of AMC’s Silicon Valley saga Halt and Catch Fire and helped save Matt Damon’s eponymous character in The Martian. She’s set to star in the Blade Runner sequel opposite Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford.
Billy Griffin Jr.
Who They Are In Black Mirror: Billy Griffin Jr. plays Davis, the nebbish video game nerd who tries to make a connection with Yorkie
Where You Know Them From: You know something? Billy Griffith, Jr. has not been in all that much. However, you might remember him as Corporal Grant, a sweet American soldier that Claire forms an attachment to during World War II, on Outlander.
