Andor Character Guide: Meet The Cast Of The Rogue One Prequel Series

"Andor" might be a movie spinoff focused on a familiar character, but in terms of the overall "Star Wars" canon it's right out on the fringes. The first Disney+ series set in that galaxy far far away, "The Mandalorian," started out on relatively fresh and original turf, but by season 2 it had been dragged into the vortex of legacy characters. Boba Fett showed up ahead of his own Disney+ series, and even Luke Skywalker himself joined the story (via a body double for young Mark Hamill and some VFX trickery) to whisk Grogu away to space wizard school.

Many "Star Wars" fans are delighted to see so many returning characters, from Max Rebo to Ahsoka Tano, but there is such a thing as too much fan service. When Lucasfilm did step away from the Skywalkers with a bold gamble of a spinoff movie — one that introduced a cast of almost entirely new characters, and then killed them all off before the credits rolled — it paid off handsomely. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" grossed more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box office.

Tony Gilroy, who worked on the script for "Rogue One" and also directed the extensive reshoots, is not your typical "Star Wars" screenwriter. He's best known for crime thrillers and spy movies with complex plots, most notably "The Bourne Identity" and its sequels. But after his success hammering "Rogue One" into shape, he was invited to bring his talent for grounded action and slow-burn suspense to this prequel series, which begins five years before the events of the movie.

With "Andor" carving out its own corner of the "Star Wars" universe, chronicling the rise of the Rebel Alliance and Cassian Andor's place within it, we have a lot of new people to meet. Here's our complete guide to the cast and characters of "Andor."

Introduced in "Rogue One" as a somewhat ruthless member of the Rebel Alliance with a dark and mysterious past, Cassian Andor plays a small but vital role in the war between the Empire and the Rebels. He's destined to sacrifice everything as part of the crew that secures the Death Star plans and exposes a fatal flaw in the space station's design. For now, though, we're still exploring that dark and mysterious past. 

"Andor" has revealed that Cassian was originally called Kassa and was born on the planet Kenari. He was orphaned and lived as a child with a group of other youths in the forest, until the day that a Separatist Alliance ship (or was it a Galactic Republic ship?) crashed on Kenari. While exploring it, he crossed paths with Maarva Andor, a scavenger who adopted him in order to save him from retaliation for the death of one of the ship's officers. In doing so she separated Kassa from his younger sister, for whom he is still searching decades later. In flashbacks to Cassian's childhood, he is played by Antonio Viña.

Mexican actor Diego Luna is also known for his role as cartel leader Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo in "Narcos: Mexico," and for his appearances in movies including Ana Lily Amirpour's "The Bad Batch" (not to be confused with "Star Wars: The Bad Batch"), "Y tu mamá también," "Frida," and "Elysium." 

Like many citizens of Ferrix, Bix Caleen has both a legal day job and a less-than-legal side hustle. Her day job is at a salvage yard, which is convenient cover for her side hustle as a fence: acquiring valuable spare parts (without asking too many questions) and selling them to her off-world contact, Luthen Rael. Bix and Cassian go way back; Arjona told /Film, "the second you meet them, you understand that they've been through so much. There's so much history there between them two. There's trust that's been broken and rebuilt." This strong connection is particularly evident to Timm Karlo, Bix's boyfriend and the owner of the salvage yard, whose jealousy of Cassian quickly becomes a spark for trouble.

Adria Arjona is known for playing Emily in the second season of "True Detective" and Anathema Device in the TV adaptation of "Good Omens." More recently she starred in the most memed movie of the year, "Morbius," and in the recent remake of "Father of the Bride."

A mysterious figure when he is first introduced, Luthen Rael is an associate of Bix Caleen who buys bundled collections of rare and useful parts from her once a month. He arrives on Ferrix to purchase one such item that Cassian hopes to sell in order to buy his way off the planet, but it soon becomes apparent that Luthen is more interested in Cassian himself than anything he has to sell. It seems that Luthen will prove to be the catalyst for Cassian's transformation from a directionless, debt-ridden mess into a ruthless weapon of the Rebel Alliance.

Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård is the patriarch of the Skarsgård clan, which includes his actor sons Alexander Skarsgård, Bill Skarsgård, Gustaf Skarsgård, and Valter Skarsgård, and four other children (as of 2016, Stellan has taken measures to stem the tide of Skarsgårds). He is also known for his roles as Dr. Erik Selvig in the "Thor" movies and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve's recent adaptation of "Dune."

A stickler for rules and hungry for a chance to prove himself, Deputy Inspector Syril Karn is basically the Dwight Schrute of the Pre-Mor Security Inspection team, the private security branch of the corporate conglomerate Preox-Morlana, which owns and overseas operations on Ferrix. The Pre-Mor guards don't have the authority of Imperial soldiers or officers, but some of them like to act as though they do, and Syril certainly seems to envision himself as a great military leader in the making. Unfortunately, his plan to distinguish himself by leading a team to arrest Cassian Andor for the murder of two Pre-Mor officers doesn't exactly go according to plan. According to the actor who portrays him, Syril Karn permanently has the mood of a man "chewing on a wasp."

Kyle Soller is known for playing Francis Poldark in the BBC historical drama "Poldark," Tom Porter in the psychological film "Marrowbone," and Karl Inkelaar in the monster movie sequel "Monsters: Dark Continent." His breakthrough successes as an actor came from stage performances in plays like "The Glass Menagerie" and "A Long Day's Journey Into Night."

Maarva Andor is a scavenger who, alongside her husband Clem, crossed paths with young Kassa while scrounging for scraps in the ship that crashed on Kenari. Declaring that the wrath of the Galactic Republic would soon come down upon Kassa's village to punish them for killing one of the ship's survivors, Maarva knocked the boy unconscious and brought him onto her ship. She adopted him, giving him the name Cassian Andor, and kept his true origins (mostly) secret as she raised him. Decades later, Maarva is retired from her former life and lives with Cassian on Ferrix, also sharing their home with salvage droid B2EMO.

Fiona Shaw is best known for her roles as Petunia Dursley in the "Harry Potter" films, Carolyn Martens in "Killing Eve," and Marnie Stonebrook in "True Blood." On the stage, she is renowned for her collaborations with acclaimed theatre director Deborah Warner, including playing the male lead in a production of "Richard II" and the titular character in "Hedda Gabler" (a role she later reprised for a TV adaptation of the play).

The only legacy character from the original "Star Wars" trilogy to appear in "Andor," Mon Mothma was originally played by Caroline Blakiston when she was introduced as a leader of the Rebel Alliance in "Return of the Jedi." O'Reilly made her debut as the character in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," and returns in "Andor" to show Mon Mothma maintaining her public image as a politician in the Imperial Senate, while secretly working to create the rebellion that will ultimately bring the Empire down. O'Reilly has said that "Andor" begins with Mothma "navigating a very male-dominated empire with a very powerful Emperor Palpatine at the top of it." Unlike "Return of the Jedi" and "Rogue One," in which she was "surrounded by ... like-minded Rebels," in "Andor" she finds herself "very alone, living in a world of orthodoxy and construct."

Genevieve O'Reilly also voiced Mon Mothma in the animated series "Star Wars Rebels." Outside of the "Star Wars" franchise she is known for TV dramas like "Spooks," "The Honorable Woman," and "Banished." One of her earliest roles was Officer Wirtz, a member of Zion's defense forces, in "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions."

A man clearly haunted by the "you vs. the guy she told you not to worry about" meme, Timm Karlo runs the salvage yard where Bix works and is in a romantic relationship with her. Cassian's reputation as the F***boy of Ferrix precedes him, and Timm is none too happy about this scruffy Casanova hanging around his girlfriend. Not knowing that Cassian's true intention is to get out of Dodge as soon as possible, Timm takes matters into his own hands to rid himself of the perceived competition.

Scottish actor James McArdle is no stranger to the "Star Wars" franchise, having previously played X-wing pilot Niv Lek in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Still, he's far from the only actor to have played more than one character in this universe. McArdle also played Deacon Mark Burton in HBO's acclaimed crime drama "Mare of Easttown" and Hugh in the BBC drama "Life After Life."

One of the main antagonists of "Andor," Dedra Meero is a supervisor working within the Imperial Security Bureau, who begins to suspect the fomentation of a rebellion when she notices a pattern of stolen goods. Dedra is ambitious and under pressure to prove herself; Denise Gough told Total Film, "As a woman, in that world, for her to advance in any way, she has to be like 10 times better than anyone else in that room." As such, she runs into the problem of not being taken seriously by Major Partagaz when she tries to investigate the secretly forming Rebel Alliance.

Denise Gough is known for voicing Yennefer in "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," for her role as Dianna Lafferty in FX series "Under the Banner of Heaven," and for playing Gina in the 2018 romantic comedy "Juliet, Naked."

Every tinpot general needs his tinpot sergeant, and Syril Karn has exactly that in Sergeant Linus Mosk, his second-in-command during the mission to apprehend Cassian Andor. Mosk is effusive in his praise of the decision to bring the hammer down on Ferrix rather than covering up the deaths of the two Pre-Mor officers with a false report, and drops none-too-subtle hints that he would be happy to see Syril promoted to a rank with greater influence. Of course, the outcome of the attempted arrest may change his mind.

Alex Ferns recently played Commissioner Pete Savage, the ill-fated predecessor of Commissioner James Gordon, in "The Batman." He is also known for his role as Vic Collins in Netflix series "The Irregulars," and to U.K. soap opera fans he's best known for playing antagonist Trevor Morgan in "Eastenders."

The leader of the rebel group on Aldhani, Vel is under pressure to keep her ragtag crew organized and committed to their mission. Her task is not helped by Luthen Rael springing a mercenary on her just a few days before the heist. Vel is a capable leader with enough grit and determination to see the mission through, but there are moments when she threatens to crack under the strain. 

Faye Marsay is known for playing The Waif in "Game of Thrones," Hilda in the new adaptation of "Lady Chatterley's Lover," and for starring in the "Black Mirror" episode "Hated in the Nation.

A passionate believer in the Rebel cause who is much more comfortable reading books than wielding guns, Karis Nemik is the tech expert in the rebel group on Aldhani. He favors old school technology, which is easier to repair in the field and harder for Imperial forces to track. He is a philosopher and an idealist who has penned his own manifesto on how the rebellion should be carried out. Despite his initial misgivings about "Clem," Nemik concludes that mercenaries will be a necessary weapon in the fight against the Empire.

Alex Lawther is known for playing King Charles VI in "The Last Duel," Simon Rifkind in the horror movie "Ghost Stories," and James in the Netflix black comedy series "The End of the F***ing World."

Finn is not the first Stormtrooper to switch sides and rebel against the forces of tyranny that he once fought for. Tamaryn is a member of the rebel group on Adhani who clearly seems to have some military experience, based on his serious demeanor and the way he trains the other rebels to march look Imperial soldiers. He eventually reveals that he used to fight on the side of the Empire before joining the fledgling Rebel Alliance.

Speaking of Finn, both John Boyega and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr appeared in Steve McQueen's anthology film series "Small Axe." Eustache is also known for playing Tyrone in Michaela Coel's acclaimed drama series "I May Destroy You," and for playing Roger in Guy Ritchie's 2019 crime caper "The Gentlemen."

One of the more laidback and enigmatic members of the Adhani rebel group, Arvel Skeen tells Cassian that he joined the rebel cause because the Empire was responsible for the death of his brother. He shares a certain camaraderie with Nemik and seems to warm up to "Clem" after being initially wary of the newcomer.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach recently gained new fans with his role as the loud-mouthed, quick-tempered Richie Jerimovich in Hulu's exhiliratingly stressful kitchen drama "The Bear." He's also known for playing Chris McQueen in vampire horror series "NOS4A2," Desi Heperin in "Girls," and David Lieberman aka Micro in Netflix's "The Punisher" series.

Another member of the Aldhani rebel group, Cinta has medical experience that enables her to treat a blaster wound to Cassian's arm after he first arrives. She is understandably wary of him, like the rest of the rebels, and is even less happy when she finds out that "Clem" is a mercenary — and Vel knew about it. Cinta and Vel are sharing a blanket (as Arvel puts it) and team up for the first part of the two-pronged heist.

When she's not fighting the Empire, Varada Sethu is facing down dinosaurs; she played Shira in the recent sequel "Jurassic World Dominion." She's also known for playing Manisha Chetri in Cinemax's action thriller series "Strike Back," and Naz Raheem in the Netflix thriller "I Came By."

If you want to infiltrate and rob an Imperial garrison, it helps to have a man on the inside. Lieutenant Gorn is one of the higher-ranking officers at the Empire's stronghold on Aldhani, and demonstrates a deep respect for the locals and their traditional pilgrimage to view the Eye of Aldhani. However, he's not above using the event as a convenient distraction while the rebels break into the garrison and steal the Imperial payroll.

Sule Rimi starred alongside Varada Sethu in "Strike Back," and is also set to appear in Prime Video's upcoming Western series "The English."

The foreman of Unit Five-Two-D, the shift to which Cassian (sorry, "Keef Girgo") is assigned after being sent to Narkina 5. Pitted against the other day shifts on his level, Kino is incentivised to make sure every table is working to the highest level of productivity, and has a keen eye for spotting workers taking a break — even just for a second or two. With less than a year left on his sentence, Kino simply wants to keep his head down and keep his men in line until he gets out. But when the promise of release is taken away, he finds himself in a different kind of leadership role.

Andy Serkis first rose to fame as the motion capture performance and voice actor behind Gollum in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. He went on to specialize in motion capture technology, founding his own UK-based production company, The Imaginarium. Serkis directed the 2018 film "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle" and last year's superhero sequel "Venom: Let There Be Carnage." He also brought his mo-cap expertise to the "Planet of the Apes" prequel movies, where he played the simian revolutionary leader, Caesar.

If one of the other prisoners assigned to Unit Five-Two-D looks familiar, it's because "Andor" isn't the first time we've seen him. Ruescott Melshi also appeared in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" as one of the rebels working with Cassian and Jyn Erso to locate and steal the plans for the Death Star, and he's destined to give his life for the Rebel Alliance alongside them on Scarif. Melshi's contempt towards the Empire is already evident when Cassian meets him on Narkina 5, along with a dose of pessimism (or pragmatism, depending on how you look at it). After being given renewed hope through the prison uprising on Narkina 5, Melshi parts ways with Cassian determined to spread the word about the Empire's atrocities in the prison.

In addition to "Rogue One," Duncan Pow is also known for his role in the "Black Mirror" episode "Hated in the Nation." More recently he appeared in the Paramount+ "Halo" series as the father of John-117 (aka Master Chief), and played Dr. James Haslam in the BBC true crime drama "The Salisbury Poisonings."

To the people of Coruscant, Kleya is the sales assistant to friendly antiques dealer Luthen Rael. But within the quiet machine of the rebellion, Kleya and Luthen appear to be more akin to equals; she often attends clandestine meetings on behalf of "Axis," and tells Vel that she personally recruited Taramyn for the mission on Aldhani. Kleya is cool-headed, perhaps even ruthless, in her acceptance that the rebel cause requires human sacrifices.

British actress Elizabeth Dulau trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she appeared in numerous stage productions including "King Lear" and "The Importance of Being Earnest." Prior to her role in "Andor" she was also seen in HBO's biographical drama series "Gentleman Jack," and in Prime Video's "The Outlaws."

Dedra Meero's superior officer at the Imperial Security Bureau, Major Partagaz is a tough boss to please and doesn't hesitate to unleash a sharp tongue on the supervisors under his watch. He takes an interest in Dedra after she brings him evidence that a rebel force has been quietly forming underneath the Empire's nose, and responds to the attack on Aldhani with oppressive measures. However, his lax attitude towards the true threat that the rebels pose means the ISB may end up playing right into their hands.

Anton Lesser is known for playing Qyburn, Queen Cersei's master of whisperers and meddler in unnatural experiments, in "Game of Thrones." He can also be seen as Henry Singleton in Netflix's recent historical mystery series "1899," and played Lord John Carteret in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."

A close friend of Cassian's on Ferrix, Brasso is kind-hearted (even to droids) and takes care of Maarva while her son is being pursued by the authorities. Brasso initially keeps his nose clean, preferring to do an honest day's work in the mines rather than hustle and steal like Cassian. However, when the Empire expands its presence on Ferrix and begins to torture and execute Brasso's fellow Ferrixians, the even-tempered man is pushed to his breaking point and takes a leading role in the uprising.

Joplin Sibtain's voice has been heard elsewhere in the expansive universe of "Star Wars" tie-in video games; he voices characters in "Star Wars: Battlefront II" and "Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga." He also starred alongside Michael C. Hall in the Netflix miniseries "Safe," and guest-starred in Syfy's TV adaptation of George R. R. Martin's novella "Nightflyers."

One of the earliest leaders within the fledgling rebellion against the Empire, Saw Gerrera is extremely paranoid and doesn't play well with others. He has good reason to be so cautious: during the Clone Wars, Saw and his fellow resistance fighters liberated their home planet of Onderon with the backing of the Galactic Republic. But after the war, the Galactic Republic became the Galactic Empire, and Saw was treated as a criminal rather than a war hero when he tried to resist. His tactics are more violent and extreme than those used by the rest of the Rebel Alliance, and "Andor" shows his uneasy attitude even towards those on his side, like Luthen Rael.

Forest Whitaker first appeared as Saw Gerrera in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," and returned to voice the character in the animated series "Star Wars: Rebels" and the video game "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order." He has a venerable career as an actor, including an Oscar win for his performance in "The Last King of Scotland," and memorable roles in movies like "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai," "Platoon," and "Black Panther," to name just a few.

• Dave Chapman as B2EMO – An old scavenger droid who lives with the Andors
• Gary Beadle as Clem Andor – Maarva's husband and Cassian's adoptive father
• Raymond Anum as Nurchi – One of the many people that Cassian owes money to
• Ian Whyte as Vetch – Nurchi's hired muscle (not very effective)
• Abhin Galeya as Salman Paak — A Ferrix resident who operates a repair shop
• Muhannad Bhaier as Wilmon Paak — Salman's son (pictured above)
• Kieran O'Brien as Pegla — A spaceship lot worker who turns a blind eye to Cassian borrowing a ship
• Zubin Varla as Xanwan — A contact of Cassian's who runs a transport business on Ferrix
• Kiran Shah as Granik — Xanwan's business partner
• Ron Cook as Willi — A chatty fellow passenger on Luthen's transport
• Victor Perez as Rashi — One of Brasso's coworkers
• Pamela Nomvete as Jezzi — A leading member of the Daughters of Ferrix
• Matt Dunkley as Doctor Mullmoy — A doctor caring for Maarva Andor
• Neil Bell as Time Grappler (a.k.a. Anvil Guy) — He hits a big anvil with hammers. He seems to like his job

• Alastair Mackenzie as Perrin Fertha — Mon Mothma's husband
• Bronte Carmichael as Leida Mothma — Mon Mothma's daughter
• Kathryn Hunter as Eedy Karn — Syril's mother.
• Ben Miles as Tay Kolma – An old friend of Mon Mothma's, who works in banking
• Richard Dillane as Davo Sculdun – A Chandrilan oligarch who makes an unsavory offer to a desperate Mon Mothma
• Rosalind Halstead as Runai Sculdun – Davo's wife
• Finley Glasgow as Stekan Sculdun – Davo's son
• Alex Blade as Flob – Syril's supervisor at the Imperial Bureau of Standards
• Lee Ross as Kloris – Mon Mothma's nosy driver (pictured above)

• Christopher Fairbank as Ulaf – An elderly prisoner with just a few more weeks left on his sentence.
• Clemens Schick as Ham – A prisoner on Cassian's table who makes it to the water during the prison break.
• Tom Reed as Taga – A member of Cassian's team who is adept at the signaling language used by Narkina 5 prisoners.
• Josef Davies as Xaul – A sulky and pessimistic member of the Table Five team.
• Brian Bovell as Jemboc – Another member of Cassian's team on Table Five.
• Rasaq Kukoyi as Birnok – A Unit Five-Two-D inmate on another table who conspires with Cassian to find a way out.
• Adrian Rawlins as Doctor Rhasiv – A medic who attends to Ulaf after he collapses on shift.
• Mensah Bediako as Zinska – Foreman of Unit Five-Two-N, the night shift counterpart to Unit Five-Two-D.
• Martin Ware as the "Voice of God" – The distorted voice that calls out commands across the Imperial prison.
• Matt Lyons as Dewi Pamular – A fisherman on Narkina 5 who resents what the Empire have done to his home.
• Liam Cook as Freedi Pamular – Dewi's brother, whose metal prosthetics and plated head suggest a past as a fighter.

• Malcolm Sinclair as Colonel Wullf Yularen – The head of the ISB, whose history in "Star Wars" dates back to the very first movie.
• Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin – An ISB official who has a personal vendetta against Dedra Meero.
• Robert Emms as Supervisor Lonni Jung – A particularly anxious supervisor at the ISB, who is later revealed to have a connection to Luthen Rael.
• Joshua James as Doctor Gorst — An Imperial interrogator with a unique method of torture.
• Jacob James Beswick as Attendant Heert — Dedra Meero's fiercely loyal and hard-working right-hand man.
• Noof Ousellam as Attendant Corv — Another attendant on Dedra Meero's staff.
• Wilf Scolding as Captain Vanis Tigo — Leader of the newly-established Imperial headquarters on Ferrix.
• Nick Moss as Lieutenant Keysax — An Imperial officer stationed at the new headquarters on Ferrix.
• Michael Jenn as Supervisor Lagret — An ISB supervisor overseeing operations on Arvala-Six.
• Lucy Russell as Supervisor Grandi — An ISB supervisor, notably one of the only female captains besides Dedra.
• Ragevan Vasan as Attendant Felzonis — An ISB attendant who is reprimanded by Dedra Meero for his unkempt appearance.

• Stanley Townsend as Commandant Jayhold Beehaz — The commander of the Imperial post on Aldhani
• David Hayman as Chieftan — Leader of the Aldhani pilgrimage (pictured above)
• Aidan Cook as Doctor Quadpaw — A doctor who assists the rebels
• Richard Katz as Colonel Petigar — An Imperial military leader on Aldhani
• Nick Blood as Corporal Kimzi — An Imperial officer on Aldhani
• Michelle Duncan as Rohoda Beehaz — Jayhold Beehaz's wife
• Alfie Todd as Leonart Beehaz — Jayhold Beehaz's son
• Aidan Cook as Two Tubes – A rebel fighter, also seen in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and "Solo: A Star Wars Story"
• Roger Barclay as Captain Elk – Commander of a Cantwell-class Arrestor cruiser in the Imperial Navy, who attempts to bring in Luthen Rael
• Rupert Vansitartt as Chief Hyne — Syril Karn's superior at Pre-Mor
• Margaret Clunie as Hostess — A brothel worker who offers Cassian information