Kate Winslet stars in the bold new political drama.

By James Hibbs

Published: Sunday, 03 March 2024 at 10:00 AM


While we’re still a little way off from seeing darkly comic political drama The Regime here in the UK, with the series expected to debut on Sky in April, it is starting to air in the US, with fans getting to see Kate Winslet’s performance as Chancellor Elena Vernham.

Winslet’s Chancellor is a paranoid and unstable figure who rules over an authoritarian regime in a fictional European country, with the series charting in year at the palace, as things start to crumble.

Alongside Winslet, the series also features an absolutely star-studded supporting cast, including Andrea Riseborough, Hugh Grant and more. But who else stars in the show and who do they all play?

Read on for everything you need to know about the cast of The Regime.

Who’s in the central cast of The Regime?

Here are the main cast members and characters in The Regime. Read on below for more info about who they are and where you’ve seen the actors before.

Kate Winslet plays Chancellor Elena Vernham

Kate Winslet sits in a palace as The Chancellor in The Regime.
Kate Winslet in The Regime.
HBO/Sky Atlantic

Who is Chancellor Elena Vernham? Elena is the Chancellor of an authoritarian European regime, who has become increasingly paranoid and unstable.

What else has Kate Winslet been in? Winslet is perhaps most famous for her role as Rose in 1997’s Titanic, but has also had major roles in films including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Holiday, The Reader, Steve Jobs, Avatar: The Way of Water and more. She has also starred in series such as Mare of Easttown and the TV film I Am Ruth, and has been nominated for seven Oscars (winning one) and eight film BAFTAs (winning three).

Matthias Schoenaerts plays Corporal Herbert Zubak

Matthias Schoenaerts sits in a chair in a camouflaged uniform as Colonel Zubak in The Regime.
Matthias Schoenaerts as Colonel Zubak in The Regime.
HBO/Sky Atlantic

Who is Colonel Herbert Zubak? Herbert is a disgraced and brutal military man who the Chancellor hires and becomes drawn to.

What else has Matthias Schoenaerts been in? Schoenaerts is best-known for starring in films including Far From the Madding Crowd, The Danish Girl, Red Sparrow, The Old Guard and Amsterdam, and last year led the Sky series Django.

Guillaume Gallienne plays Nicholas Vernham

Kate Winslet as The Chancellor and Guillaume Gallienne as the Chancellor's husband in The Regime, walking out arm in arm with people clapping behind them
Kate Winslet and Guillaume Gallienne in The Regime.
HBO

Who is Nicholas Vernham? Nicholas is the Chancellor’s husband.

What else has Guillaume Gallienne been in? Gallienne is best known for starring in French language films such as Me, Myself and Mum and Yves Saint Laurent, although he has also had roles in Marie Antoinette and The French Dispatch.

Andrea Riseborough plays Agnes

Andrea Riseborough as The Palace Manager in The Regime, with a cropped haircut and wearing a shirt
Andrea Riseborough stars as The Palace Manager in The Regime.
HBO

Who is Agnes? Agnes is the manager of the Chancellor’s palace.

What else has Andrea Riseborough been in? Riseborough has has roles in films including Never Let Me Go, Made in Dagenham, Oblivion, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), The Death of Stalin, Mandy, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical and To Leslie, for which she was nominated for an Oscar.

She has also appeared in series including National Treasure, The Witness for the Prosecution, Black Mirror and Alice & Jack.

Martha Plimpton plays Senator Judith Holt

Martha Plimpton as Senator Judith Holt in The Regime, wearing a bright blue jacket and smiling while sat down
Martha Plimpton as Senator Judith Holt in The Regime.
HBO

Who is Senator Judith Holt? Judith is a US Senator who visits the Chancellor.

What else has Martha Plimpton been in? Plimpton rose to prominence for her role in The Goonies, while she has since appeared in films including Parenthood, Remember Me, Frozen II and Mass. She has also had roles in series including ER, The Good Wife, Raising Hope, The Real O’Neals, Brockmire, Generation and A Town Called Malice.

Hugh Grant plays the Leader of the Opposition

Hugh Grant as the Leader of the Opposition, wearing big glasses and with an uneasy smile in The Regime
Hugh Grant as the Leader of the Opposition in The Regime.
HBO

Who is the Leader of the Opposition? The leader of the Opposition is the country’s former leader, who was deposed.

What else has Hugh Grant been in? Grant rose to prominence in the ’90s and 2000s with roles in romantic films and rom-coms, including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sense and Sensibility, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary, About a Boy and Love Actually.

More recently, he has starred in films including Florence Foster Jenkins, Paddington 2, The Gentlemen, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves and Wonka, as well as series such as A Very English Scandal and The Undoing.

Other supporting actors in The Regime

Other supporting characters appear in the series, played by the following actors:

  • Danny Webb
  • David Bamber
  • Henry Goodman
  • Stanley Townsend
  • Louie Mynett
  • Rory Keenan
  • Karl Markovics
  • Pippa Haywood

The Regime airs on Sundays at 9pm on HBO and Max in the US, and will air on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK in April. Sign up for Sky TV here

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.

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