After four long years, Black Mirror is finally back to distract us all from our real-life dystopia with haunting peeks into the terrifying possibilities of a society dependent on tech. Charlie Brooker, the creator of the British anthology series, went on a self-imposed (and well-timed) break during the pandemic, meaning this is our first batch of standalone episodes in the "post-COVID" era. The five new episodes span several genres, including true crime, space adventure, horror, and a super-meta Netflix (er, I mean Streamberry) show within a show, while surprisingly taking place more in alternate versions of the past rather than a distant future. Still, the series is just as full of shocking twists and existential dread as you remember.
Since it's an anthology, each season includes a huge cast of current and future A-listers, with previous seasons featuring stars like Daniel Kaluuya, Jon Hamm, Bryce Dallas Howard, Michaela Coel, Mackenzie Davis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Miley Cyrus. Read on to meet the stellar cast of season 6 of Black Mirror.
Joan Is Awful
Annie Murphy as Joan
"Joan Is Awful" follows the titular Joan, an everyday woman who comes home after a rough day and discovers the global streaming platform Streamberry has made a prestige TV drama adaptation of the entire day that just occurred.
Murphy is best known for her Emmy-winning performance as Alexis Rose on the heartwarming sitcom Schitt's Creek. The Canadian actress has also appeared in the series Kevin Can F**k Himself, Russian Doll, Murderville, The Plateaus, Beauty and the Beast, and Rookie Blue. She's also served as a voice actor for animated shows including Crank Yankers, Fairfax, and American Dad!.
Instagram: @annefrances
Salma Hayek as TV Joan
Salma Hayek Pinault plays a fictionalized version of herself, who then portrays Joan on the Streamberry show. Hayek is a renowned actress who received an Oscar nomination for portraying painter Frida Kahlo in 2003's Frida. She first rose to stardom in her native Mexico through her roles on the Un Nuevo Amanecer, Teresa and El Callejón de los Milagros, before moving Hollywood and starring in films including Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Fools Rush In, Wild Wild West, In the Time of the Butterflies, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Her recent projects include the films Beatriz at Dinner, Marvel's The Eternals, House of Gucci, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Magic Mike’s Last Dance.
Instagram: @salmahayek
Avi Nash as Krish
Joan’s fiancé, Krish, is played by Nash, an American actor who's best known for playing Siddiq in The Walking Dead. He has also appeared in the HBO series Silicon Valley, the recent Apple TV+ series Silo, and the films There There, Hosea, Barry, Learning to Drive, It's a Man's World, Amateur Night, and Postal Jerks.
Instagram: @iamavi_nash
Himesh Patel as TV Krish
The TV version of Krish is played by Patel, who recently received his first Emmy nomination for playing Jeevan in the dystopian HBO Max series Station Eleven. The British actor is also known for starring in the films Yesterday, Tenet, Don't Look Up, and Enola Holmes 2, as well as the series Avenue 5, Ten Percent, The Luminaries, Damned, and EastEnders.
Instagram: @himeshjpatel
Rob Delaney as Mac
Joan's ex-boyfriend Mac is played by Delaney, an American actor and comedian who previously co-wrote and starred in the Prime Video rom-com Catastrophe. The screen and voice actor has also appeared in the films Deadpool 2, Bombshell, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Last Christmas, and The Hustle, as well as the shows The Power, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Life After Beth, and Key and Peele. He's also author of the memoir A Heart That Works.
Instagram: @robdelaney
Ben Barnes as TV Mac
The TV version of Mac is played by Barnes, a familiar face to Netflix fans as he plays General Kirigan (a.k.a. The Darkling) on the fantasy series Shadow and Bone. The British actor and musician is also known for starring in the Chronicles of Narnia film franchise, the Netflix antihero series The Punisher, and HBO's sci-fi series Westworld, as well as the films Stardust, The Perfect Wedding, Dorian Gray, Killing Bono, and Seventh Son. (He's
Instagram: @benbarnes
Loch Henry
Samuel Blenkin as Davis
Davis, an aspiring filmmaker, travels to the sleepy Scottish town of Loch Henry with his girlfriend Pia, to start work on a nature documentary. However, the couple quickly find themselves drawn to a local story involving shocking events of the past.
Blenkin is a British actor who originated the role of Scorpius Malfoy in the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. He has since appeared in the Netflix fantasy series The Sandman and The Witcher: Blood Origin, the Wes Anderson film The French Dispatch, FX's Atlanta, and other shows including Dracula, Peaky Blinders, Pennyworth, Grantchester and Doctors.
Myha'la Herrold as Pia
Davis' girlfriend and fellow filmmaker Pia is played by Herrold, a rising actor who's best known for starring as Harper Stern in the HBO drama Industry. She has also appeared in the films Bodies Bodies Bodies, Premature, Plan B, and The Honeymoon, as well as the Prime Video anthology Modern Love.
Instagram: @mmyhala
Daniel Portman as Stuart
Davis' hometown friend Stuart is played by Portman, a Scottish actor who's best known for playing loyal squire Podrick Payne in the HBO megahit Game of Thrones. The actor has also appeared in the series The Control Room and Vigil, as well as the films Karen Pirie, Robert the Bruce, In the Cloud, The Journey, Wasteland 26: Six Tales of Generation Y and Outcast.
John Hannah as Richard
Stuart's father Richard is played by the prolific Scottish actor Hannah, who made his big break playing Matthew in the 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral. He's also best known for playing Jonathan Carnahan in The Mummy franchise, and has appeared in series including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Spartacus, Damages, Transplant, and The Last of Us.
Instagram: @iamjohnhannah
Monica Dolan as Janet
Davis' mother is played by Dolan, a BAFTA- and Olivier Award-winning stage and screen actress. Notable roles among her extensive list of credits include the series Appropriate Adult, Call the Midwife, W1A, Catastrophe, A Very English Scandal, Vanity Fair, and Wolf Hall, as well as the films Empire of Light, Cyrano, The Dig, Rialto, and Never Let Me Go. She also previously appeared in the Black Mirror season 5 episode "Smithereens," as CS Linda Grace.
Beyond the Sea
Aaron Paul as Cliff Stanfield
Cliff Stanfield is a quiet astronaut in an alternate-reality version of 1969, who is two-years into his six-year mission in deep space with a wife and son back on Earth. He and fellow astronaut David have to wrestle with the consequences of an unimaginable tragedy.
Paul is best known for playing Jesse Pinkman in the acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad, a role he later reprised in the sequel film El Camino and the prequel spin-off Better Call Saul. He also voiced Todd Chavez in the Netflix animated series Bojack Horseman, and has also appeared in the shows Westworld, Truth Be Told, Big Love, The Path, and Veronica Mars. Fun fact: Paul previously made a voice cameo in the Black Mirror season 4 episode "U.S.S. Callister," which starred his Breaking Bad co-star Jesse Plemons.
Instagram: @aaronpaul
Josh Hartnett as David Ross
Hartnett plays David, the other astronaut on the two-man mission and a golden boy who also has family back home on Earth. The Minnesota native and film veteran has acted in dozens of popular movies including The Virgin Suicides, Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, 40 Days and 40 Nights, The Black Dahlia, Sin City, and Valley of the Gods. He also recently appeared in the series Penny Dreadful and Exterminate All the Brutes.
Kate Mara as Lana Stanfield
Cliff's wife Laura is played by Mara, who previously starred as journalist Zoe Barnes in Netflix's first hit original series House of Cards. The actress has also appeared in the series Class of '09, 24, American Horror Story, Pose, Entourage, A Teacher, and Nip/Tuck, as well as the films Brokeback Mountain, 127 Hours, We Are Marshall, Fantastic Four, The Martian, and Call Jane.
Instagram: @katemara
Auden Thronton as Jessica Ross
David's wife Jessica is played by Thornton, a Texas native who has appeared on shows including This Is Us, Doubt, Royal Pains, Elementary, Forever, Blue Bloods, The Good Wife, and Pan Am. She's also starred in the films Palm Trees and Power Lines, Virtue, Beauty Mark, and Arlington Road.
Instagram: @audiethorn
Rory Culkin as Cappa
Cappa is played by Rory Culkin, the New York native actor and member of the Hollywood family that includes brothers Macaulay Culkin and Kieran Culkin. Rory has appeared in films including Richie Rich, Igby Goes Down, Signs, The Zodiac, Lymelife, Twelve, Scream 4, Hick, Intruders, and Columbus. He also had supporting roles in the recent series Waco, Castle Rock, City on a Hill, Halston, Under the Banner of Heaven, and Swarm.
Mazey Day
Clara Rugaard as Mazey Day
Rugaard plays the titular Mazey Day, a troubled starlet who's hounded by paparazzi while dealing with the consequences of a hit-and-run incident. The Danish actress previously starred as Neve Kelly in the British crime series The Rising, and has also appeared in the films Love Gets a Room, I Am Mother, Press Play, Teen Spirit, and Good Favour.
Instagram: @clararugaard
Zazie Beetz as Bo
Beetz plays Bo, one of the invasive paps trailing Bo, who also has a conscience under her tough exterior. The German-American actress rose to fame with the role of Van in Donald Glover's FX series Atlanta. She's since taken on a wide range of roles, including the action films Deadpool 2, The Harder They Fall, and Bullet Train; the comedy series Easy and History of the World: Part II; and the dramatic films Joker, Seberg, Still Here, Nine Days, and High Flying Bird.
Instagram: @zaziebeetz
Danny Ramirez as Hector
Fellow paparazzo Hector (above, center) is played by Ramirez, who recently joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. He has also appeared in the films Top Gun: Maverick, Assassination Nation, Look Both Ways, Chestnut, No Exit, and Tone Deaf, as well as the series On My Block, Tales of the Walking Dead, Gifted, and Orange is the New Black.
Instagram: @dannyramirez
Demon 79
Anjana Vasan as Nida
Vasan plays Nina, a meek sales assistant living in Northern England in 1979, who is told she must commit terrible acts to prevent disaster. The actor and singer is best known for starring in the Peacock series We Are Lady Parts and season 4 of the BBC America series Killing Eve, as well as appearing on an episode of Netflix's Sex Education. She has also appeared in the films Spider-Man: Far From Home, Cyrano, Mogul Mowgli, Cinderella, and Macbeth; and she recently won an Olivier Award for her portrayal of Stella in this spring's West End staging of A Streetcar Named Desire.
Instagram: @anjvasan
Paapa Essiedu as Gaap
Trickster Gaap is played by Essiedu, who's best known for his Emmy-nominated performance as Kwame in Michaela Coel's HBO miniseries I May Destroy You. The British actor's other credits include the series Gangs of London, The Lazarus Project, Anne Boleyn, The Capture, Press, and The Miniaturist, as well as the films Murder on the Orient Express and Men. He has also appeared in Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Hamlet and King Lear.
Instagram: @pessiedu
Katherine Rose Morley as Vicky
Nina's fellow sales assistant Vicky is played by Morley, a rising British actor who has also appeared in the series Last Tango in Halifax, The Mill, The Syndicate, Clink, Thirteen, Call the Midwife, Moving On, Cuffs, Vera, Love Matters and Little Crackers.
Instagram: @kathrosem
David Shields as Michael Smart
Smart, a conservative politician, is played by Shields, who previously portrayed Colin Tennant in the first season of The Crown. He has also appeared in the films Benediction, Judy, The Most Reluctant Convert, Una, and The Bad Education Movie, as well as the shows The Liberator, Treadstone, Doctor Who, and Doctors.
