The latest true crime phenomenon that has people glued to their screens is Netflix’s The Serpent — the gripping story of serial killer Charles Sobhraj who murdered more than a dozen people, with the help of his girlfriend Marie Andrée-Leclerc, in Asia in the 1970s.
The Serpent strays from the traditional crime doco path and is instead a compelling eight-part limited drama series that brings the debaucherous tale to life through superb acting and some wicked 70s costumes.
If you’re keen to see more of the very talented cast of The Serpent, read on to discover what other projects they have appeared in.
Tahar Rahim
French actor Tahar Rahim plays The Serpent’s titular character, but you might also recognise him from the 9/11 drama The Mauritanian in which he plays terrorism suspect Mohamedou Ould Slahi. The 39-year-old actor earned a Golden Globe nomination for his powerful performance in the film, for which he lost 9kg and learned two new languages — Hassaniya Arabic and Classical Arabic.
Rahim has also starred as Malik El Djebena in the 2009 award-winning French movie A Prophet and as FBI Agent Ali Soufan in The Looming Tower.
Jenna Coleman
British actress Jenna Coleman stars as Marie-Andrée Leclerc, Sobhraj’s Canadian girlfriend.
The 34-year-old actress has appeared in the soap opera Emmerdale as Jasmine Thomas, as Clara Oswald in Doctor Who and as Queen Victoria in Victoria. She also starred as Joanna Lindsay in the crime miniseries The Cry, and as Katrina Clark in 2016’s rom-com Me Before You.
Billy Howle
British actor Billy Howle plays Herman Knippenberg — the Dutch diplomat who investigated Sobhraj’s heinous crimes. Now 76, Knippenberg actually served as a creative consultant on the Netflix series.
Howle, meanwhile, has appeared as Leonard Vole in The Witness for the Prosecution as well as in Christopher Nolan’s epic historical film Dunkirk. His other credits include On Chesil Beach, The Seagull and in Netflix’s Outlaw King.
Ellie Bamber
Ellie Bamber played Angela Knippenberg, the wife of Herman.
The 24-year-old actress began performing at the age of 12 and has been seen in the BBC series The Trial of Christine Keeler as Mandy Rice-Davies. Bamber has also appeared in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Nocturnal Animals, and the video for Shawn Mendes’ song, There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back.
Amesh Edireweera
Amesh Edireweera appears in The Serpent as Ajay Chowdhury, Sobhraj’s friend who was widely believd to have helped the serial killer with his crimes.
It seems that Edireweera is something of a newcomer, with The Serpent being his first screen credit, alhough we are sure the offers are now pouring in for the talented performer.
The actor has previously “trodden the boards” however, in a prodution of Shakespeare Live: The Tempest.
Mathilde Warnier
French actress Mathilde Warnier plays Nadine Gires, Sobhraj and Leclerc’s neighbour in Thailand who discovers the couple’s murderous activities and works with Knippenberg to amass evidence against them.
Warnier has previously been seen in 2011’s Au fil de la nuit in 2011, French comedy-drama series A Very Secret Service and the 2017 Dynasty reboot.
