Netflix's Altered Carbon arrives on Friday 2nd of February, a glossy new sci-fi series which focuses on a distant future in which human consciousness has been digitised, allowing the richest members of society to live forever.

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As characters are able to hop from body to body with relative ease, it can be rather confusing to keep track of who is who – but we've got you covered.

Here's our guide to the cast of Altered Carbon.


Joel Kinnaman - Takeshi Kovacs (circa 2384)

Joel Kinnaman, Altered Carbon (Netflix)

Who does he play? A rebel soldier who is awakened after a 250-year-long enforced nap, placed inside the body of a disgraced cop, and forced to investigate the murder of aristocrat Laurens Bancroft.

Where have I seen him before? Swedish actor Kinnaman starred as Stephen Holder in crime drama The Killing, and Will Conway, Fran Underwood's political rival, in House of Cards.

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James Purefoy - Laurens Bancroft

Who does he play? The wealthiest (and oldest) man in the world.

What have I seen him in before? Purefoy appeared in Episodes as Rob, and starred in Rome as Mark Antony.

Martha Higareda - Kristin Ortega

Who does she play? A disgruntled police officer who is suspicious of Kovacs' intentions.

Where have I seen her before? Higareda starred as Viviana Torres in Royal Pains.

Kristin Lehman - Miriam Bancroft

Who does she play? Laurens Bancroft's promiscuous wife, who takes a shine to Takeshi Kovacs.

Where have I seen her before? Lehman starred as Gwen Eaton in The Killing, alongside Altered Carbon co-star Joel Kinnaman.

Chris Conner - Poe

Who does he play? The robotic manager of a brothel/hotel that becomes Takeshi Kovacs' base.

Where have I seen him before? Conner starred as Jeffery Toobin in The People vs OJ Simpson.

Ato Essandoh - Vernon Elliot

Who does he play? A military medic who is befriended by Kovacs.

Where have I seen him before? Essandoh starred as Alfredo Llamosa in the Lucy Liu-led Sherlock Holmes series Elementary, and Lester Grimes in Martin Scorsese's short-lived music industry drama Vinyl.

Renée Elise Goldsberry - Quellcrist Falconer

Who does she play? The leader of a revolutionary movement aiming to destroy the technology that allows humans to hop from body to body, and ultimately live indefinitely.

Where have I seen her before? If you were lucky enough to catch the original iteration of Lin Manuel Miranda's outrageously popular musical Hamilton on Broadway, you'll have seen Goldsberry in the role of Angelica Schulyer.

Will Yun Lee - Takeshi Kovacs (circa 2134)

Who does he play? The original version of Takeshi Kovacs, before his initial body was murdered and his consciousness was imprisoned for 250 years.

Where have I seen him before? Lee starred as Mr Gus in True Blood, Kwon in Strike Back and Sang Min in Hawaii 5-0.

Dichen Lachman - Reileen Kawahara

Who does she play? Takeshi Kovac's estranged sister.

Where have I seen her before? Lachman starred as Suren in Being Human, Anya in The 100, Angela in the US version of Shameless alongside William H Macy, and Jiaying in Agents of SHIELD.

Waleed Zuaiter (Abboud) & Hiro Kanagawa (Captain Tanaka)

Who do they play? Kristin Ortega's superiors at the police department.

Where have I seen them before? Zuaiter starred as Kamran Barkawi in London Has Fallen, while Kanagawa is Taishi Okanura in The Man in the High Castle.


If you like Altered Carbon, you may also want to check out Netflix's other sci-fi hits: Dark, The OA, Black Mirror, Sense8, Star Trek: Discovery and, last but not least, Stranger Things.

For more, see our guide to the best TV series available on Netflix UK.

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Altered Carbon launches on Netflix UK on Friday 2nd February

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