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Entertainment
Tom Bedford

Meet the Bastille Day cast: who's who in the crime thriller

Richard Madden and Idris Elba in Bastille Day

Fans of crime thrillers should check out Bastille Day, a British, French and Luxembourgian movie that stars alum from the likes of Luther, Citadel and Yellowstone.

After being added to the UK Netflix library, the movie stormed up the movie rankings, and has proven a hit in the country. It's also on Netflix in the US, but it's got a different name there: The Take.

With a big-name cast, it's a surprise that Bastille Day wasn't a bigger hit when it was released in 2016, but Netflix is rectifying that now. If you've watched the movie and want to know who was in it, or are tempted to check it out if the star quality is good enough, here's who's in it.

Idris Elba as Sean Briar

(Image credit: Studiocanal)

A CIA agent who's in hot water at his work, Sean Briar gets pulled into this case when he's sent to interrogate Michael Mason. Soon, though, he's evading attacks and trying to get to the bottom of the plot he's been thrust into.

One of the biggest screen stars in the world, it's hard not to have already seen Idris Elba in something. He began in British productions, most famously Luther, 28 Weeks Later and RocknRolla, and between them and his performance as Stringer in The Wire he became an icon.

Since then he's been in a long string of huge movies including the Thor side of the Marvel franchise, Prometheus, Pacific Rim, The Jungle Book, Star Trek Beyond, Beasts of No Nation, Molly's Game, THe Dark Tower, The Suicide Squad, Beasts and of course Cats.

Richard Madden as Michael Mason

(Image credit: StudioCanal)

When Bastille Day starts, Michael Mason is just a wandering low-level criminal with few ties or commitments. However when he steals the wrong handbag, he's dragged into a plot involving police corruption, a bank heist and potential terrorism.

Richard Madden has had a varied career but the Brit is perhaps best known for his action roles, starring as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones and Mason Kane in Citadel, and also having roles in Eternals, 1917, Bodyguard and Electric Dreams.

He's got variety too though, with roles in Cindarella, Lady Chatterly's Lover and Rocketman.

Charlotte Le Bon as Zoé Naville

(Image credit: StudioCanal)

Naville gets tricked into partaking in the plot by her boyfriend, but when Mason and Briar decide to use her connections to unravel the conspiracy, she's pulled back into it.

A Canadian actress, Charlotte Le Bon has been in several French and English productions. These include the TV shows Cheyenne & Lola, Calls and C'est comme ça que je t'aime and the movies Fresh, Anthropoid, The Hundred-Foot Journey and The Promise. She also directed the 2022 movie Falcon Lake.

Kelly Reilly as Karen Dacre

(Image credit: StudioCanal)

Working alongside Briar at the CIA is Karen Dacre, a senior agent for the agency. She's who Briar turns to when he needs some aid.

Kelly Reilly has seen a career surge since Bastille Day and you might recognize her from Yellowstone, in which she plays a starring role, though she's been in a lot more.

Reilly has also been in True Detective, 10x10, the movie adaptation of Sherlock Holmes and its sequel A Game of Shadows, Pride & Prejudice and Greek Salad. She's also set to be in the cast of the next Kenneth Branaugh Agatha Christie adaptation, A Haunting in Venice.

José Garcia as Victor Gamieux

(Image credit: StudioCanal)

Gamieux is the director of the DGSI, which is the French equivalent of the CIA, and as such he's in charge of stopping the criminal operations and also works as Dacre's contact at the agency. However, he knows more about the crimes than he's letting on.

French actor Garcia has played in few Hollywood productions beyond Bastille Day and Now You See Me, although he's provided voice acting for French localizations of many Pixar movies, but he's been in many French productions. These include Le Couperet, À fond and La vérité si je mens!

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