Where You've Seen The Cast Of Andor Before

Irish actor Genevieve O'Reilly returns to the "Star Wars" franchise as Mon Mothma in "Andor." While the fan-favorite role of the rebel leader was first played by Caroline Blakiston in "Return of the Jedi," O'Reilly took over the part in 2005's "Revenge of the Sith" and has been the go-to Mon Mothma ever since. She returned in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" alongside Diego Luna's Cassian Andor, and she voiced the character in several episodes of "Star Wars Rebels." "Andor" adds more dimension to the Mon Mothma character than ever before, detailing both her backstory and personal life as well as her many political dealings and her role in forming the Rebel Alliance.

Of course, O'Reilly isn't known simply for her role in the "Star Wars" franchise. She's been a prolific TV star since the early 2000s, playing characters like Leanne Curtis in the medical drama "All Saints," Caroline Hanley in the 2006 political miniseries "The State Within," Sarah Caulfield in the U.K. spy series "MI-5," and Frances Pirsig in Maggie Gyllenhaal's "The Honorable Woman." More recently, O'Reilly has also appeared in shows like the sci-fi mystery "Glitch" and the acclaimed Amazon series "Tin Star," in which she plays lead character Angela Worth. On film, O'Reilly is known for the 2019 biopic "Tolkien," the family adventure movie "The Kid Who Would Be King," and for her role as Officer Wirtz in "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions."

As "Andor" is a prequel to the story of "Rogue One," it makes sense that Forest Whitaker would return to reprise the role of extremist rebel insurgent Saw Gerrera. In the movie, Gerrera is portrayed as a half-crazed freedom fighter whose many years spent fighting the Empire have driven him to embrace morally questionable tactics. Even within the larger scope of the rebellion, Gerrera is viewed as something of a loose cannon, but there's no arguing with his results. "Andor" shows a slightly younger version of the character than the one seen in "Rogue One," but his serious demeanor and hatred of oppression are still very much intact.

An Oscar winner, Whitaker has appeared in a number of acclaimed dramas over the years. His more famous roles include Big Harold in the Vietnam War film "Platoon," Edward Garlick in the Robin Williams-led "Good Morning, Vietnam," Tick Wills in the boxing drama "Southpaw," and Desmond Tutu in "The Forgiven." He's also featured in several major TV series, such as "Empire," "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior," and "Godfather of Harlem."

Outside of "Star Wars," Whitaker has appeared in several other prominent sci-fi films, including the 2016 epic "Arrival" and the MCU's "Black Panther." In 2006, Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for "The Last King of Scotland," in which he plays former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

American stage actor Kyle Soller joins the "Star Wars" story in "Andor" as Syril Karn, a villain with a complicated role. Syril is introduced as an agent of a private security corporation contracted by the Empire to rule a region of the galaxy. He takes a special interest in the peace-disturbing antics of Cassian Andor and launches a campaign to hunt him down, but things don't go exactly as he plans. In a franchise filled with cackling villains, Syril presents a more human foe, and Soller brings a lot of nuance to the part.

Though American, Soller started his professional acting career on the British stage, eventually winning the prestigious Olivier Award for Best Actor for his role in "The Inheritance" in 2019. However, Soller has also made a name for himself on both the large and small screens. He's played the eponymous Ross Poldark's cousin Francis in the BBC historical drama "Poldark," Scotty McNeil in the miniseries "You, me and the Apocalypse," and Clifford in the big-budget Shakespeare adaptation "The Hollow Crown," among other TV roles. His film credits include movies like "Anna Karenina," Netflix's "The Titan," and "Marrowbone."

In addition to his live-action roles, Soller is an experienced voice actor. He's played vocal parts in shows like "101 Dalmatian Street" and "Counterfeit Cat," as well as in video games like "Alien Isolation," "Kinect Sports Rivals," "Horizon Forbidden West," and the "Dragon Quest" series.

While she may not have as many credits under her belt yet as her fellow Irish "Andor" co-star Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough is still a lauded star of both the stage and screen. Gough plays Dedra Meero in the "Star Wars" series, an Imperial intelligence officer tasked with keeping sparks of rebellion suppressed. Brilliant, tenacious, and downright frightening when she wants to be, Dedra presents one of the biggest threats to Cassian in the series. Gough plays the role expertly, diving deep into the complexities of the character that dwell just beneath the surface.

A two-time Olivier Award winner, Gough has received significant acclaim for her work on stage. However, she's also assembled some impressive film and TV credits over the years. She's played Dianna Lafferty in the FX true crime miniseries "Under the Banner of Heaven," the titular starring role in BBC limited series "Paula," Fallon in Showtime's "Guerrilla," and Liz Fletcher in "What Remains,' among other TV roles. On film, Gough has played characters like Mary in "The Kid Who Would Be King" (alongside "Andor" co-star Genevieve O'Reilly), Linda Connolly in "A Dark Place," and Charlotte Kauffmann in "The Good Traitor."

Like fellow "Andor" cast member Kyle Soller, Gough also has a lot of credits as a video game voice actor. She actually first debuted in the "Star Wars" universe in the 2015 shooter "Star Wars: Battlefront," and she's featured in other big releases like "XCOM 2," "The Witcher 3," and "Mass Effect: Andromeda."

"Andor" spends a good amount of time exploring the Imperial Security Bureau — an intelligence division of the Empire dedicated to protecting the status quo from would-be rebels. One of the leaders of the bureau is played by veteran TV star Anton Lesser, who bring an unsettling calm to his various monologues as the tyrannical officer. The series gives an interesting look inside the oppressive machine that Emperor Palpatine builds, and Lesser is perfectly cast as one of the Sith Lord's most experienced operatives.

While he might not have the largest role in "Andor," Lesser is one of the most prolific members of the cast. His highest-profile character to date is almost certainly the dastardly Maester Qyburn in "Game of Thrones," but you might also recognize him as Thomas More from the BBC Two historical drama "Wolf Hall" or as Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in Netflix's "The Crown." His other major TV roles include Reginald Bright in the British crime serial "Endeavour," Exeter in "The Hollow Crown," and Fagin in "Dickensian."

In addition to his extensive work in television, which stretches back to the late 1970s, Lesser has also been in a number of major films. He played Prime Minister Clement Attlee in the 2016 romantic drama "A United Kingdom," Lord John Carteret in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," and Harold Warne in "Miss Potter." His other notable credits include "Primeval" and "Spies of Warsaw."

Diego Luna may be known best by "Star Wars" fans as Cassian Andor in "Rogue One," but that's far from the only major role this movie star has played in his career. Following an extended tenure on the telenovela "La vida en el espejo" and appearances in several other similar series, Luna rose to big-screen prominence thanks to his leading role in Alfonso Cuarón's critically acclaimed film "Y tu mamá también."

In the decades since, Luna has been featured in a long list of movies and TV shows, both in Hollywood and in Mexico. Some of his more prominent film roles include Jack Lira in the Harvey Milk biopic "Milk," Julio in the Neill Blomkamp sci-fi actioner "Elysium," Pedrocito in "If Beale Street Could Talk," and Alejandro in 2002's "Frida." The actor is arguably even more prolific on the small screen, however. In addition to starring in "Andor," Luna gained significant fame for playing the lead role of Mexican drug cartel leader Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo in the Netflix crime drama "Narcos: Mexico," for which he's earned numerous awards and nominations.

Luna has also done quite a bit of voice acting more recently in his career, especially in the realm of children's animation. He's voiced Krel in Netflix's "Tales of Arcadia" franchise and Zatz in the animated series "Maya and the Three,' in addition to other vocal roles.