The Characters of Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light
If you’ve forgotten who’s who among the characters who make up the action in award-winning adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, it’s completely understandable—after all, it’s been a decade since it first aired. With the long-awaited sequel airing on MASTERPIECE on PBS, we offer a Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light guide to the characters, where we left off with them, and how they fit into the intrigue and drama that will mesmerize you as it breaks your heart.
- 1.
Thomas Cromwell's Household
Thomas Cromwell built one of the most formidable political households in England, drawing in ambitious men who thrived under his patronage. A rich, self-made man, Cromwell had no use for idle flatterers or empty titles. Instead, he handpicked men of skill, intelligence, and drive—men who could get things done. Who were the members of this impressive circle?
Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Thomas Cromwell: Henry VIII’s Chief Minister and the mastermind behind the English Reformation. From a blacksmith’s son to the king’s right-hand man, his rise is nothing short of astonishing, and he is the man whose favor can make a career.
Charlie Rowe as Gregory Cromwell in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Gregory Cromwell: Cromwell’s only surviving son, groomed for success with a top-tier humanist education. Guided by his father, he is learning to navigate the complex, high-stakes world of Tudor politics, where a wrong step can lead to the scaffold.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Rafe Sadler in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Rafe Sadler: Cromwell’s most trusted protégé, practically raised in his household. A skilled diplomat and administrator, Sadler is appointed a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, one of the king’s around-the-clock attendants.
Harry Melling as Thomas Wriothesley in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Thomas Wriothesley: A clever, ambitious bureaucrat with a sharp legal mind. He once worked for Stephen Gardiner, who is Bishop of Winchester and a staunch Catholic traditionalist—a fact that makes Cromwell suspicious. His name is pronounced “Risley,” and he habitually introduces himself as “Call me Risley.”
Richard Cromwell (originally Richard Williams): Cromwell’s nephew, who took his uncle’s name to strengthen their connection. A shrewd soldier and administrator, he has profited from the Dissolution of the Monasteries and is making the most of England’s changing religious landscape.
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The King and His Heirs
For Henry VIII, power means nothing without a secure heir. The Tudors had taken the throne by force, and Henry knows just how easily it can be taken from his own family. In his eyes, rival claimants lurk everywhere.
Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Henry VIII: Crowned King of England in 1509, Henry is obsessed with producing a legitimate son. With Anne Boleyn executed after falling from favor, he marries Jane Seymour, trusting Cromwell to secure his dynasty and tighten his grip on the realm.
Lilit Lesser as Lady Mary in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Lady Mary: Henry’s daughter by Catherine of Aragon. Declared illegitimate after her parents’ marriage was annulled, she is fiercely Catholic and never stops believing she is the rightful heir.
Agnes O’Casey as Margaret Douglas in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Margaret Douglas: Henry’s niece and a wild card in the succession. As the daughter of his sister Margaret Tudor, she has royal blood—but she is half-Scottish, making her a potential threat in the eyes of the English court.
Lady Elizabeth: Anne Boleyn’s daughter, just two years and eight months old when her mother was beheaded. Declared illegitimate, she is set aside—but in court politics, few things are ever final.
- 3.
The Privy Council
The Privy Council is the king’s cabinet of advisors. Along with power brokers like Cromwell, the Duke of Norfolk, and Bishop Gardiner, the council includes these prominent men:
James Larkin as William Fitzwilliam in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light William Fitzwilliam: A lifelong friend of the king, Fitzwilliam is court treasurer and a survivor. Like others on the council, he resents Cromwell’s lowly origins but respects his administrative skill.
Tom Mothersdale as Richard Rich in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Richard Rich: A seasoned lawyer, Rich served as Cromwell’s chief lieutenant in the dissolution of the monasteries. The pair make an effective team, but Rich’s loyalty has a Machiavellian streak.
Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk: The king’s childhood friend, Suffolk stands out for his devotion to Henry, his military service, and charm. He also works well with Cromwell.
- 4.
The Seymours
Hailing from their ancestral home at Wolf Hall, the Seymours are a well-connected but relatively modest noble family. Their fortunes rise dramatically when Henry VIII chooses the second daughter, Jane, as his third wife.
Kate Phillips as Jane Seymour in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Jane Seymour: A lady-in-waiting to both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, Jane has likely been on Henry’s radar as a potential queen for some time. Her gentle and obedient nature contrasts sharply with Anne’s fiery temperament.
Maisie Richardson as Bess Oughtred in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Elizabeth “Bess” Oughtred: Jane’s older sister, admired by Cromwell, who sees in her a chance to strengthen his ties to the royal family.
Edward Seymour: Jane’s eldest brother, an ambitious and politically savvy operator.
Anne “Nan” Seymour: Edward’s outspoken and politically astute wife.
Margery Seymour: Jane’s mother, matriarch of Wolf Hall.
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The Howards
Like many nobles in Henry VIII’s inner circle, the Howards have a distant claim to the throne, which they reinforce through political maneuvering and strategic marriages—most notably Henry’s union with Anne Boleyn, niece of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk.
Timothy Spall as Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk: Ever the opportunist, Norfolk turns on his niece Anne during her trial for adultery and treason, leading him to a closer but uneasy relationship with Cromwell, whom he views as a lowborn interloper and dangerous rival.
Thomas Howard the Lesser: Norfolk’s half-brother, he is a poet who writes under the pseudonym “Tom Truth,” critiquing court upstarts like Cromwell.
Lydia Leonard as Lady Jane Rocheford in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Lady Jane Rocheford: Entangled in the downfall of both her husband, George Boleyn, and his sister, Anne Boleyn, Lady Rochford is notorious for her role in Tudor court intrigues.
Earl of Surrey: Norfolk’s son and heir, a man of reckless temper.
Mary Fitzroy, Duchess of Richmond: Norfolk’s daughter, widow of Henry Fitzroy (d. 1536), illegitimate son to Henry VIII.
- 6.
The Poles
With one of the strongest claims to the English throne, the Poles are among Henry VIII’s most dangerous rivals. Complicit in the downfall of Anne Boleyn, they are actively conspiring to restore Catholic rule to England.
Harriet Walter as Margaret Pole in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury: The niece of two English kings, Margaret is the family matriarch and a staunch supporter of Princess Mary, who was declared illegitimate after Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
Pip Carter as Geoffrey Pole in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Geoffrey Pole: Margaret Pole’s younger son plays a perilous double game, trying to maintain favor at Henry’s court while sympathizing with Catholic opposition.
Reginald Pole: The elder Pole son. From exile, he rises to a high position in the Catholic Church, denouncing Henry’s rule and endangering his family back home.
- 7.
The Deceased
Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Anne Boleyn: Beheaded in 1536, Anne was almost certainly innocent of the adultery and treason charges that led to her downfall. In reality, she fell victim to court intrigue and Henry’s frustration over her failure to produce a male heir.
Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Cardinal Wolsey: Once Henry VIII’s most powerful minister, Wolsey fell from favor in 1529 after proving unable to secure the king’s divorce. Arrested for treason, he died in disgrace before Henry could contrive his execution.
Catherine of Aragon: Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine was cast aside after repeated pregnancies produced only one surviving daughter. Stripped of her title, she spent her final years in isolation and died in 1536, apparently of natural causes.
- 8.
Other Characters
Alex Jennings as Stephen Gardiner in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Bishop Stephen Gardiner: Like Cromwell, a protégé of Cardinal Wolsey, Gardiner opposes Cromwell’s church reforms while remaining a trusted royal servant.
Karim Kadjar as Eustace Chapuys in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Eustache Chapuys: The envoy of the Holy Roman Emperor, Chapuys battles Cromwell to restore Catholic supremacy to England.
Thomas Wyatt: One of Anne Boleyn’s accused lovers and, with Cromwell’s protection, the only one spared execution, Wyatt returns to the king’s favor as an ambassador.
Sexton (also called Patch, the Fool): Originally the fool of Cardinal Wolsey, Sexton was gifted to Henry VIII in Wolsey’s futile attempt to regain royal favor.
Hans Holbein the Younger: A master portraitist whose skill captures the faces of Tudor England with unparalleled realism. When the king is bride-hunting, he sends Holbein to be his eyes.
