Alexey Karenin Stephen Dillane Karenin, Anna's husband, is obsessed with appearing correct in the eyes of society. He loves Anna because she is his wife, but their relationship is without passion. When he learns of Anna's affair with Alexey Vronsky, he demands that their life go on as usual. Seemingly on her deathbed after difficult childbirth, Anna finally begs for and receives his forgiveness. But Karenin cannot swallow his bitterness at her disgrace and denies her custody of their son, Seriozha, as punishment. On reading the script of Anna Karenina, Stephen Dillane found that he had sympathy for the man who is usually portrayed as a cold-hearted villain. "Karenin is an able and principled man, but he is a man in desperate, desperate pain. He is trying to seek any way out that he can." Dillane was particularly impressed by the breadth of Allan Cubitt's script. "This adaptation is better than most because it covers the Levin-Kitty relationship and the Oblonsky marriage as well as the central love affair between Anna and Vronsky. Tolstoy's book is about what relationships are; it's about whether you pursue the forces of your heart or stick with the relationship you've made because you said you would. Ultimately, it's about love." Dillane is currently starring on Broadway in The Real Thing. His other memorable performances include the title role in Hamlet, for which he won the 1995 Richard Burton Shakespeare Globe Award, and his portrayal of journalist Michael Henderson in Michael Winterbottom's acclaimed feature film Welcome to Sarajevo.