It took twenty years to get this story onto a movie screen. Honestly, that’s not an exaggeration. Director Matt Whitaker first tackled the life of Helmuth Hübener in a 2002 documentary, but the feature film version, Truth and Treason, finally hit theaters in late 2025. If you've just walked out of a screening or finished the expanded series on the Angel app, you’re probably scratching your head thinking, "Where have I seen that guy before?"
The cast of Truth and Treason film isn't just a random group of actors; it’s a carefully curated assembly of British talent and rising stars who had to carry a pretty heavy emotional load. We're talking about a story where a 16-year-old boy gets executed by the Third Reich for listening to the BBC. It's grim, it’s true, and the performances are what keep it from being just another dry history lesson.
The Faces Behind the Resistance
The movie centers on a trio of friends—and one very conflicted Nazi officer—who basically make up the core of the narrative. Here is the breakdown of who played who.
Ewan Horrocks as Helmuth Hübener
Ewan Horrocks takes the lead as Helmuth. You might recognize him from The Last Kingdom, where he played Young Aethelweard. In this film, he’s a far cry from a Saxon noble. He plays a kid who works at the Hamburg City Hall, stumbles onto a shortwave radio, and decides that someone needs to tell the German people that they're being lied to. Horrocks has this way of looking both incredibly young and terrifyingly sure of himself, which is exactly what the real Helmuth was like.
Rupert Evans as Erwin Mussener
If you’re a fan of The Man in the High Castle, seeing Rupert Evans back in a WWII-adjacent setting feels like a weird bit of dejà vu. In Truth and Treason, he plays Erwin Mussener, a character who serves as a sort of foil to Helmuth’s idealistic fire. Evans is the veteran presence here, bringing a lot of nuance to a role that could have easily been a cartoon villain.
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The Friends: Ferdinand McKay and Daf Thomas
You can't have a resistance movement without people you trust.
- Ferdinand McKay plays Karl-Heinz Schnibbe.
- Daf Thomas steps in as Rudi Wobbe.
These two are the heart of the "teenager" side of the story. They aren't soldiers; they’re boys on bicycles who happen to be distributing illegal pamphlets. McKay’s character is based on the real Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, who actually lived in Salt Lake City for years and was a close friend of the director before he passed away.
A Cast That Bridges the Gap Between Film and Series
One thing that confuses people is that Truth and Treason isn't just a two-hour movie. Angel Studios did this thing where they released the theatrical version in October 2025, but they also dropped a four-part limited series at the same time.
The cast stays the same across both versions, but the series gives actors like Nye Occomore (who plays Salomon Schwarz) and Joanna Christie (Emma Hübener) a lot more room to breathe. In the movie, Salomon’s story is a tragic catalyst—he's the Jewish friend whose arrest pushes Helmuth over the edge. In the series, you actually get to see the friendship develop, which makes the eventual "treason" feel way more personal.
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Why the Casting Choice Matters
You might notice something while watching: most of the cast is British, yet they are playing Germans.
Whittaker decided to go with British accents rather than forced German accents or translated German. It's a bit like Chernobyl or Valkyrie. Initially, it’s a little jarring to hear a boy in 1940s Hamburg sounding like he’s from the Midlands, but it actually helps ground the performances. It stops the actors from "acting like Germans" and lets them just act like people.
Supporting Cast Highlights
- Sean Mahon: Plays Hugo Hübener, Helmuth’s stepfather. He brings that rigid, pro-regime tension into the family home.
- Daniel Betts: Plays the Bishop. This is a crucial role because the real Helmuth was a member of the LDS church, and the conflict between religious obedience and moral truth is a huge part of the movie's DNA.
- Dominic Mafham: Appears as Judge Karl Engert. If you want to see a performance that will make your skin crawl, watch the court scenes.
What to Watch Next if You Liked the Cast
If you’re digging the performances in Truth and Treason, there are a few places to find these actors doing what they do best. Ewan Horrocks is definitely a "one to watch" in the coming year, and Rupert Evans has a massive back catalog of period dramas.
The real takeaway from the cast of Truth and Treason film is how they handled the "ordinariness" of the characters. These weren't superheroes. They were kids who were scared, made mistakes, and had crushes on girls (look out for Sylvie Varcoe as Elli Kluge in the expanded series).
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If you want the full experience, the movie is great for the "big picture," but the limited series on the Angel app is where the acting really shines. You get to see the investigation by the Gestapo (led by the terrifyingly calm Ben Dilloway as Julius Wangemann) play out like a slow-motion car crash.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Check out the Truth and Treason: Limited Series for the extended subplots involving Salomon and Elli.
- Look up the 2002 documentary Truth & Conviction to see the real Karl-Heinz Schnibbe talk about his experiences.
- Compare Ewan Horrocks' performance here with his work in The Last Kingdom to see his range.
The film might have had a rocky start at the box office in 2025, but the performances are solid enough that it’s likely to become a staple for history buffs and classroom discussions for years.