Meet the Characters of The Count of Monte Cristo
From villainous to vengeful, meet the characters of The Count of Monte Cristo on MASTERPIECE on PBS. Keep track of the key players across time-jumps, new locations, and interwoven revenge plots in the eight-part series based on the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas.
Edmond Dantes / The Count of Monte Cristo
Edmond Dantes is a cheerful, hardworking and well-liked Marseilles sailor who has grown up at sea. Promoted to captain and engaged to Mercedes, his future looks bright. But on the eve of his wedding day, Edmond is unjustly accused of a crime and imprisoned. When he meets fellow inmate, Abbé Faria, his fate changes. After 15 years of imprisonment, Edmond takes his chance to escape.
Edmond Dantes transforms himself into the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, an educated man of immense fortune. In Paris, Monte Cristo becomes a skilled manipulator as he coldly executes his terrible revenge on those who wronged him.
Mercedes
Mercedes is a Catalan fisherwoman who lives on the coast outside Marseilles. She is engaged to Edmond, who is imprisoned on their wedding day. Heartbroken and believing she will never see Edmond again, she resolves to move on and start a new life.
By the time Monte Cristo arrives in Paris twenty years after his disappearance, Mercedes is an elegant countess with exquisite tastes. She is taken aback by the strangely familiar Monte Cristo. Will she be able to recover her lost love, or is it too far gone?
Abbé Faria
Abbé Faria is an Italian scholar who was once tutor and secretary to Count Spada, from whom he learned of the legend of a hidden treasure. Imprisoned in the cell next to Edmond Dantes, he soon becomes a father figure to Edmond and imparts his immense knowledge. Abbé Faria steers Edmond towards a lifechanging discovery. Still, Abbé’s warning about the consuming lust for revenge will haunt the Count of Monte Cristo for the rest of his life.
Jeremy Irons as Abbe Faria Fernand Mondego / The Count d’Morcerf
Fernand is an ambitious Catalan soldier, who is hopelessly in love with Mercedes, his cousin. Fernand’s jealousy of Edmond leads him to conduct a plot which ultimately condemns Edmond to prison. Fifteen years later, Fernand’s life has turned around, and he is now the Count d’Morcerf, an esteemed and respected member of the French Parliament. All this is in jeopardy as Monte Cristo carries out his plan for revenge on Fernand.
Danglars / The Baron
Danglars is a sailor who has only one desire in life: to be rich. Danglars is enraged when Edmond is appointed captain of a ship ahead of him, and he conspires to remove Edmond from his life. Years later, he makes his fortune and arrives in Paris as a wealthy banker, bearing the title of baron, with his wife Hermine and daughter Eugenia. He continues to accumulate wealth by any means possible, since nothing is above his dreams of profit. Monte Cristo strikes Danglars in his revenge plot by appealing to his greed.
Gérard Villefort
Gérard Villefort is a scrupulous prosecutor who, when it comes to his own interests, is willing to bend the rules. He is loyal to the king and opposes the Noirtier branch of the family, who are Bonapartists. Villefort goes to extreme lengths to hide his family connection. In the years that follow, Villefort commits to preserving his image and career, no matter the cost to his wife Heloise, son Edward, and daughter Valentine. Monte Cristo’s revenge shines a light on Villefort’s dirty secrets.
Jacopo
Jacopo is an Italian smuggler who helps Edmond escape from Marseilles. In return Edmond hires him as his right-hand man, pushing Jacopo deeper into his web of revenge. Soon, Jacopo begins to question his own morality, but his unwavering loyalty and gratitude to Edmond outweigh his conscience.
Hermine Danglars
Hermine is Danglars’ wife and the mother of Eugenia. Like Danglars, Hermine is ambitious and driven by greed. Disaster strikes when a scandalous past affair and her latest scheme come to light. But, unbeknownst to the Danglars family, Monte Cristo is setting them up for a downfall from which they will never recover.
Haydée
Haydée is a North African princess, daughter of Ali Pasha, an important ally of the French. After a tragedy in her childhood, Haydée is sold into slavery. Years later, when Monte Cristo learns of her existence, he buys her freedom and enlists the determined woman in his plan for revenge. Throughout her time in Paris, Haydée dreams of the day when she can return to Africa a free woman.
Vampa / "Count Spada"
Vampa is a Roman brigand who attempts to rob Edmond but instead becomes indebted to him. When Edmond summons him to Paris to play the part of Count Spada, he enthusiastically accepts. Sharp witted and lively, Vampa relishes the role of Count Spada, gleefully helping to bring down Monte Cristo’s enemies.
