The cast of the upcoming Netflix “Witcher” series is starting to fully take shape, as it was announced today that former ‘Harry Potter’ actress Anna Shaffer would be playing the role of sorceress Triss Merigold.
Shaffer played the love-struck Romilda Vane in ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ and both ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ films. She also has a long-running role in the British soap opera ‘Hollyoaks,’ and has appeared in the ‘Doctor Who’ spinoff series ‘Class.’ Shaffer joins Freya Allan (Ciri) and Anya Chalotra (Yennefer) as the three leading ladies of the show.
While the video game “Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt” had players choose which love interest the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia (played by Henry Cavill), would follow — either Yennefer or Triss — the books have Geralt in an on-again/off-again relationship with Yennefer, but not Triss. Triss is a young, powerful sorceress who is infatuated with Geralt (at one point she and Geralt do hook up, but it’s something Geralt regrets … and he wasn’t totally in charge of his faculties when they did).
The remaining cast seems to be all but filled now, as Netflix also released the names and characters of most of the remaining members of the show. If you’re familiar with the books, the character list should give you more to be excited about than the actors themselves.
Lars Mikkelsen is playing the sorcerer Stregobor, and since we know Millie Brady is playing Renfri, at least one of the episodes will explore how Geralt became known as the Butcher of Blaviken.
While Joey Batey is set to play Jaskier (or Dandelion for those unfamiliar with the books), the casting of Royce Pierreson as the powerful sorcerer Istredd, one of Yennefer’s other lovers, means the “Shard of Ice” story is in play.
Finally, because the show (as showrunner Lauren Hissrich has said) will be based solely on the books, we know it will focus on Ciri. The casting of Jodhi May as Queen Calanthe (Ciri’s grandmother) and Adam Levy as Mousesack (or Ermion, again, if you haven’t read the books) means we could see how Geralt and Ciri’s lives become intertwined. Sadly, no word yet on casting for Pavetta (Ciri’s mother) or Duny (Ciri’s father … who is also someone else, but we’ll keep it spoiler free).
Rounding out the cast are Eamon Farren as Cahir, Maciej Musiał as Sir Lazlo, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte as Dara, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson as Eist, MyAnna Buring as Tissaia, Mimi Ndiweni as Fringilla Vigo, and Therica Wilson-Read as Sabrina.