Netflix’s The Decameron isn’t exactly your history teacher's version of the Black Death. It's loud, messy, and kinda gross. But what really holds the whole thing together isn't just the buckets of fake blood or the wine—it's the cast of The Decameron. They managed to take a 14th-century Italian classic and turn it into something that feels like a fever dream at a Coachella after-party gone wrong. If you’ve spent any time scrolling through the episodes, you probably recognized a few faces but couldn't quite place where you'd seen them before.
Let's be real. It’s a weird show. It's loosely—and I mean very loosely—based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s collection of novellas. Instead of a somber reflection on mortality, we get a group of nobles and their servants holed up in Villa Santa, trying to outrun the bubonic plague while basically being terrible to each other.
The casting directors really went for it here. They didn't just pick "period drama" actors. They picked people who could handle the tonal whiplash between slapstick comedy and genuine, "oh god, everyone is dying" horror. It works because the chemistry is so chaotic.
Tony Hale as Sir Steward: The Man Keeping the Chaos Coherent
Honestly, Tony Hale is a master of the "stressed-out man on the verge of a total breakdown" archetype. You know him as Gary from Veep or Buster Bluth from Arrested Development. In this cast of The Decameron, he plays Sir Steward (Sirisco), the guy tasked with maintaining some semblance of order in a house that is rapidly falling apart.
Sirisco is the heart of the show in a way that’s almost painful to watch. He’s lying to everyone. He’s hiding the fact that the actual master of the house is dead. He's trying to keep a bunch of ego-maniacal nobles happy while the literal apocalypse is happening outside the gates. Hale plays him with this twitchy, desperate energy that makes you want to give him a hug and a Valium. It’s interesting to see him move from the "loyal bag man" role in Veep to a position where he’s technically in charge but still has absolutely no power.
Zosia Mamet and the Spoiled Nobility
If you watched Girls, you know Zosia Mamet. She has this specific way of delivering lines that makes her characters feel simultaneously entitled and completely unaware of reality. As Pampinea, she is the self-appointed queen of the villa.
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Pampinea is awful. Truly. But Mamet makes her fascinating. She’s arrived at the villa expecting a wedding, and she refuses to let a little thing like the "Great Mortality" get in the way of her social standing. The way she interacts with the rest of the cast of The Decameron highlights the massive class divide that the show loves to poke fun at. She treats her servant, Misia (played by Saoirse-Monica Jackson), like a sentient piece of furniture.
Speaking of Saoirse-Monica Jackson, if you haven’t seen Derry Girls, go watch it now. She plays Misia with a blend of loyalty and quiet resentment that is honestly the most relatable thing in the show. Misia is grieving, she’s tired, and she’s stuck dealing with Pampinea’s endless demands. Jackson’s facial expressions alone are worth the subscription price. She does more with a side-eye than most actors do with a three-page monologue.
The Rest of the Villa: Comedians and Scene Stealers
The show thrives on its ensemble. It’s not just about one or two leads.
- Tanya Reynolds as Licisca: You probably recognize her as Lily from Sex Education. Here, she’s a servant who ends up swapping places with her mistress, Filomena. It’s a classic trope, but Reynolds plays it with a gritty, survivalist edge. She’s not just playing dress-up; she’s trying not to die.
- Amar Chadha-Patel as Dioneo: He brings a much-needed "cool" factor to the villa, playing a physician who is more interested in the perks of nobility than actually curing anyone. He was great in Willow, and here he gets to flex his comedic timing.
- Karan Gill as Panfilo: The husband of Neifile, he represents the repressed, anxious side of the nobility.
- Lou Gala as Neifile: A character who is intensely religious and intensely terrified. Her dynamic with Panfilo is one of the more "grounded" (if you can call it that) relationships in the series.
Why This Specific Cast Works for Modern Audiences
Usually, when we think of 1348 Italy, we think of stiff acting and British accents for some reason. This cast of The Decameron ignores all that. They use their natural accents—mostly British and American—which helps strip away the "prestige drama" filter. It makes the characters feel like people you might actually meet today, just with better hats and worse hygiene.
The show is basically a "quarantine story." We all remember 2020. The boredom, the weird power dynamics in households, the fear of the outside world. By casting actors with backgrounds in high-energy comedy, Netflix made the plague era feel strangely contemporary. It’s a satire of how the rich behave during a crisis. While the peasants are literally piling up in the streets, the nobles in the villa are arguing about who gets the best bedroom.
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The Filomena and Licisca Dynamic
Jessica Plummer (Filomena) and Tanya Reynolds (Licisca) have some of the best scenes. Filomena starts as this pampered, "woe-is-me" noblewoman who loses everything. The reversal of roles between her and her servant isn't just a plot device; it’s a commentary on how much of our identity is tied to our social status. When the clothes are gone and the titles don't matter, who are these people? Plummer plays the descent into desperation perfectly.
Behind the Scenes: The Creative Vision
Kathleen Jordan, the creator, clearly wanted a specific vibe. She’s worked with Jenji Kohan (Orange Is the New Black) before, and you can see that influence. It’s an ensemble piece where every character is flawed. No one is a "hero." Even the characters you like are doing questionable things to survive.
The filming took place in Italy, mostly at Cinecittà Studios in Rome and various locations around Viterbo. Being on-site probably helped the actors get into that "trapped in a beautiful place" mindset. The villa itself is almost a character in the cast of The Decameron. It’s gorgeous, but it’s a gilded cage.
A Summary of Who’s Who in Villa Santa
If you're trying to keep track of everyone while watching, it's easier to think of them in pairs or small groups.
The "Masters" are Sirisco (Hale) and his hidden secrets. Then you have the "Guests," led by the overbearing Pampinea (Mamet) and the "Physician" Dioneo (Chadha-Patel). Then you have the "Servants" like Misia and Licisca, who are the ones actually doing the work while everyone else spirals.
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It’s a recipe for disaster. And it is.
How to Get the Most Out of The Decameron
If you’re going to dive into this series, don't go in expecting a history lesson. It’s a romp. It’s a dark comedy. It’s a slasher flick where the killer is a microscopic bacterium.
Watch for the subtle performances. While Tony Hale and Zosia Mamet are doing "big" acting, look at the background. Look at how the servants react to the nonsense. The show is much smarter than the fart jokes suggest. It’s asking questions about why we value certain lives over others.
Check out the actors' other work. To really appreciate what they’re doing here, you have to see where they came from.
- Watch Veep to see Tony Hale’s range of anxiety.
- Watch Derry Girls to see Saoirse-Monica Jackson’s comedic genius.
- Check out Sex Education for Tanya Reynolds’ ability to play quirky-yet-deeply-human characters.
The cast of The Decameron is a puzzle of talent that somehow fits together to create a show that is both disgusting and delightful. It’s a reminder that even when the world is ending, humans will still be petty, selfish, and occasionally, surprisingly brave.
Next time you’re looking for something to binge, pay attention to the way these actors handle the shift from comedy to tragedy. It’s a masterclass in tone. If you've already finished the series, it might be worth a rewatch just to see the foreshadowing in the first two episodes. There are a lot of small details in the performances that you might miss the first time around because you're too busy laughing at the absurdity of it all.
Start by looking up the actual "Decameron" by Boccaccio. Comparing the 100 stories in the book to the 8 episodes in the show is a trip. You'll see exactly where the writers took liberties and where they stayed true to the spirit of the original—which was, surprisingly, also pretty horny and chaotic for the 1300s.