Honestly, if you watched St Trinian's back in 2007, you probably thought it was just a chaotic, candy-colored fever dream about naughty schoolgirls and heist plots. It was kinda messy. It was loud. It had Russell Brand playing a "spiv" and Colin Firth in a wet shirt. But looking back at the St Trinian's movie cast today? It’s basically the "who’s who" of every major franchise from the last twenty years.
We are talking about a movie that somehow managed to cram a future Bond girl, a Doctor Who lead, an Emmy winner from Ted Lasso, and the woman who married (and divorced, and remarried) Elon Musk into one dormitory.
The Headmistress Tradition and the Big Names
The 2007 reboot was always going to be compared to the 1954 original, The Belles of St Trinian's. In that one, Alastair Sim set the gold standard by playing both the headmistress, Miss Millicent Fritton, and her shady brother. Rupert Everett stepped into those very large heels for the remake, playing Camilla Fritton with a level of posh desperation that shouldn't have worked, but absolutely did.
Everett also played her brother, Carnaby, because apparently, this is a family where everyone looks exactly the same in a wig.
Then you’ve got Colin Firth as Geoffrey Thwaites. This was peak "poking fun at myself" era for Firth. The movie is littered with references to his past roles. His dog is named Mr. Darcy. He ends up in a fountain in a white shirt, a clear nod to that 1995 Pride and Prejudice scene everyone is still obsessed with.
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The Head Girls and the "Posh Totties"
Gemma Arterton was basically fresh out of RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) when she landed the role of Kelly Jones, the savvy Head Girl. She actually beat out Sienna Miller for the part, which is wild to think about now. Just a year later, she was a Bond girl in Quantum of Solace. Since then, she's been in everything from Prince of Persia to The King's Man.
Then there’s the "Posh Totty" clique.
- Tamsin Egerton (Chelsea): She played the leader of the stylish trio. Tamsin stayed in the spotlight for a while but has mostly kept a lower profile lately, raising three daughters with her husband, Josh Hartnett.
- Talulah Riley (Annabelle): The "new girl" who eventually leads the school to victory. Outside of her acting in Inception and Westworld, she became a household name for her roller-coaster relationship with Elon Musk. They married and divorced twice before she eventually moved on and married Thomas Brodie-Sangster in 2024.
- Antonia Bernath (Chloe): She’s popped up in Downton Abbey and remains close with the cast.
The Supporting Cast is Secretly Stacked
If you blink, you’ll miss some of the most talented people in British cinema.
Juno Temple played Celia, the "Trustafarian" bohemian of the group. If you recognize her now, it's likely because she became an absolute powerhouse in Ted Lasso and Fargo. She was essentially a kid in St Trinian's, but her career exploded shortly after.
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And don't forget the receptionist, Beverly. That was Jodie Whittaker. Yes, the first female Doctor. Before she was regenerating on the TARDIS, she was the gum-chewing, slightly clueless gatekeeper of the Fritton empire.
We also got:
- Paloma Faith: She played Andrea, the emo. This was before her music career turned her into a multi-platinum Brit Award winner.
- Lily Cole: The supermodel played Polly, the resident geek. Fun fact: Lily actually got a double first at Cambridge in real life, so the "geek" casting wasn't much of a stretch.
- The Mackie Twins: Tara and Tania. They were the scary 10-year-olds who loved explosives. They’ve mostly disappeared from the acting world, which is a shame because they were arguably the funniest part of the film.
- Lena Headey: Before she was Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones, she was the nerdy English teacher, Miss Dickinson. It’s a bizarre performance if you’re only used to her drinking wine on a balcony in King's Landing.
Why the Cast Still Matters
The St Trinian's movie cast represents a very specific moment in British pop culture. It was the bridge between the old guard (Celia Imrie, Toby Jones, Stephen Fry) and the new wave of stars who would eventually take over Hollywood.
Even the cameos were legendary. Girls Aloud played the school band. Sarah Harding, Cheryl, and the rest of the group performed "Theme to St. Trinian's," which is still a bop if we're being honest.
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A Quick Reality Check on the Filming
The school itself, Park Place in Berkshire, sold for about £42 million after filming wrapped. It set a record for the most expensive house sold in the UK outside of London at the time. Most of the "National Gallery" scenes? Those weren't the real National Gallery interiors. They used the Dulwich Picture Gallery in South London because, surprisingly, the government doesn't like film crews running around with fake Vermeer paintings in the actual museum.
Also, that Vermeer painting (Girl with a Pearl Earring) they try to steal is a huge meta-joke. Colin Firth had literally starred in a movie called Girl with a Pearl Earring a few years prior.
Moving Forward with the St Trinian's Legacy
If you're looking to revisit the chaos, don't just stop at the 2007 film. The 2009 sequel, St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, brought back most of the original crew and added David Tennant as a villain who hates women. It's just as unhinged.
If you want to track where everyone is now:
- Watch Funny Woman to see Gemma Arterton and Rupert Everett reunite.
- Check out Ted Lasso to see how much Juno Temple has evolved as a performer.
- Follow Talulah Riley’s writing career; she’s published two novels, Acts of Love and The Quickening.
There’s been talk of a third movie for years, but with this cast now being so incredibly famous (and expensive), getting them all back in the same room would be a logistical nightmare. For now, the 2007 film remains a bizarre, brilliant time capsule of British talent before they all became global stars.