Patrick McGoohan didn't just star in The Prisoner. He was the show. It’s impossible to talk about the cast of The Prisoner without starting with the man who walked away from a massive payday in Danger Man to create a surrealist nightmare that still keeps people up at night. He played Number Six, the unnamed agent who resigns, gets gassed in his London flat, and wakes up in a candy-colored hellscape called The Village.
You’ve probably seen the meme of the giant white ball chasing a man on a beach. That’s Rover. But the human element? That’s where the show actually lived.
McGoohan was notoriously difficult on set. He was a perfectionist who demanded absolute loyalty to his vision of individual sovereignty. He wasn't just acting; he was basically conducting a televised riot against the system. His Number Six is cold, arrogant, and brilliant. If he had played it with even a hint of "action hero" warmth, the show would have collapsed. Instead, he gave us a man who was his own island, refusing to be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered.
The Revolving Door of Number Two
The genius of the cast of The Prisoner lay in the decision to change the antagonist almost every week. It wasn't just a gimmick. It suggested that the "State" is an interchangeable machine. One week you’re fighting a charming old man; the next, a cold bureaucrat.
George Baker was the first Number Two we saw in "Arrival." He played it with a sort of breezy, menacing hospitality. But then you get Leo McKern. Honestly, McKern is the only actor who could truly stand toe-to-toe with McGoohan’s intensity. He appeared in three episodes: "The Chimes of Big Ben," "Once Upon a Time," and the mind-bending finale, "Fall Out."
McKern reportedly suffered a real-life nervous breakdown during the filming of "Once Upon a Time." The episode is basically a two-man play—a psychological boxing match where Number Two tries to regress Number Six back to childhood. It’s grueling. You can see the actual sweat and exhaustion on their faces. It wasn't just stage makeup.
Then there’s Peter Wyngarde in "Checkmate." Before he became a household name as Jason King, he played a Number Two who treated the residents of The Village like chess pieces. Literally. His performance is oily and sophisticated. It contrasts perfectly with McGoohan’s rugged defiance.
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Other notable Number Twos included:
- Guy Rolfe, who brought a skeletal, haunting presence to "A. B. and C."
- Derren Nesbitt in "It's Your Funeral," wearing that ridiculous watch and a technicolor dreamcoat of 1960s authoritarianism.
- Patrick Cargill in "Hammer into Anvil," playing a Number Two who was actually terrified of Number Six. It’s one of the few times we see the power dynamic flip, and Cargill plays the "nervous bully" role to perfection.
- Mary Morris in "Dance of the Dead." A rare female Number Two who brought a chilling, almost maternal cruelty to the proceedings.
The Silent Constants: Angelo Muscat and the Butler
While the villains changed, one man remained. Angelo Muscat. He played the Butler. He never said a single word. Not one.
Muscat was only 4'3", but his presence was massive. He would lead the new Number Twos into the office, pour the tea, and stand there with an expression that was either completely vacant or deeply knowing. There’s a fan theory that the Butler was the one actually running the place. When you watch the final episode, that theory doesn't seem so crazy.
He was the silent witness to every interrogation. In a show that was 90% shouting about "information," the man who stayed silent was the most powerful person in the room. Muscat became a cult icon because of this role. He didn't need a monologue to be memorable; he just needed to hold a tray and stare.
The Supporting Players and One-Off Legends
The cast of The Prisoner also featured a rotating door of British character actors who would go on to be legends.
Nigel Stock appeared in "The Schizoid Man" as a double of Number Six. McGoohan playing against himself—with Stock as the intermediary—is a masterclass in editing and acting. Then you have Paul Curran and Annette Andre. The show used guest stars to represent the "normal" people who had been broken by the system.
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Take Kenneth Griffith. He was a regular collaborator with McGoohan and appeared in "The Girl Who Was Death" and the finale. He brought a manic, theatrical energy that fit the increasingly weird tone of the later episodes.
And we can't forget the women. Usually, 60s spy shows treated women as disposable "Bond girls." The Prisoner was slightly different. While it wasn't exactly a feminist manifesto, characters like Nadia (played by Nadia Gray in "The Chimes of Big Ben") were complex. You never knew if she was a victim or a plant. That ambiguity is exactly why the show still feels modern.
Why the Casting Made the Mystery Work
If the cast of The Prisoner had been static, the mystery of "Who is Number One?" would have felt like a standard whodunit. By constantly shifting the faces of authority, the show forced the audience to look deeper.
The Village wasn't just a place. It was a mirror.
Every actor who stepped into the role of Number Two brought a different philosophy of control. Some used drugs. Some used psychological trauma. Some used simple social pressure. Because the actors were so talented—many were RSC-trained heavyweights—the intellectual arguments in the scripts felt heavy. They felt real.
When Number Six screams, "I am not a number, I am a free man!" it only works because the people he’s screaming at feel like formidable opponents. You can't be a rebel if the person you're rebelling against is a cartoon.
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The Chaos of the Finale
By the time they got to "Fall Out," the production was in total shambles. They didn't have a finished script. McGoohan was basically writing it as they went.
This is where the cast of The Prisoner got really weird. You had Leo McKern returning, looking like he’d aged ten years. You had Alexis Kanner as Number 48, singing "Dem Bones" in a courtroom. It was chaotic, psychedelic, and confusing.
The actors didn't even know what the ending meant. Many of them asked McGoohan for explanations, and he famously told them he didn't have any. He wanted the audience to decide. This led to a huge backlash at the time—people actually surrounded his house in London—but it’s why we’re still talking about the cast and the characters sixty years later.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Researchers
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of The Village, don't just watch the episodes in order.
- Watch "Once Upon a Time" and "Fall Out" as a double feature. The chemistry between McGoohan and McKern is the spine of the entire series.
- Track the Butler. Watch Angelo Muscat in the background of scenes. His reactions (or lack thereof) often provide a silent commentary on the failure of the Number Twos.
- Research the Portmeirion connection. The "cast" includes the location itself. The Italianate village in Wales is as much a character as McGoohan.
- Compare the 1967 cast to the 2009 remake. While Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen are great actors, the 2009 version lacks the specific, jagged energy of the original 60s ensemble.
- Look for the "Danger Man" links. Many actors who appeared in McGoohan’s previous spy series popped up in The Village, fueling the theory that Number Six is actually John Drake.
The cast of The Prisoner wasn't just a group of actors doing a job. They were participants in a bizarre social experiment that happened to be filmed. From McGoohan’s fierce individualism to Muscat’s haunting silence, every performance contributed to a show that refused to give easy answers. Be seeing you.