Look, let’s be real for a second. When Starz dropped the miniseries adaptation of Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth back in 2010, the landscape of "prestige TV" was a totally different beast. We weren't drowning in big-budget fantasy yet. Game of Thrones hadn't even premiered. And yet, looking back at the Pillars of the Earth actors, you realize the casting department basically had a crystal ball. They managed to snag a group of performers who weren't just perfect for a story about 12th-century cathedral building—they were about to become the biggest names in Hollywood. It’s kinda wild to see a young Eddie Redmayne or Hayley Atwell before they were, you know, "The Oscar Winner" and "Captain Carter."
The show was a massive gamble. Adapting a 900-page book about masonry and civil war? Risky. But the cast made it work. Honestly, the reason this show still pops up in people’s "What should I binge next?" lists isn't just because of the sweeping shots of Kingsbridge. It's because the performances are grounded, gritty, and surprisingly human for a period piece.
The Breakthrough of Eddie Redmayne and the Pillars of the Earth Actors
If you revisit the show now, the first thing that hits you is Jack Jackson. This was Eddie Redmayne before he was winning an Academy Award for The Theory of Everything or chasing magical beasts. He played Jack with this sort of ethereal, out-of-place energy that perfectly matched the character's mysterious origins. Jack is the soul of the story. He's the one who sees the light through the stone.
Redmayne’s performance here is actually a masterclass in subtlety. In the book, Jack is a bit of an enigma, and Redmayne captured that "weird kid who's secretly a genius" vibe flawlessly.
You’ve also got Hayley Atwell as Aliena. Before she was Peggy Carter, she was playing this fiercely independent daughter of a disgraced Earl. Aliena is arguably the toughest character in the whole saga. She loses everything—her status, her money, her home—and she builds it back up through sheer grit and a wool business. Atwell’s chemistry with Redmayne was the glue holding the mid-section of the series together. It wasn't just a romance; it felt like two people trying to survive a literal apocalypse.
Then there’s Rufus Sewell. Man, Rufus Sewell always delivers. As Tom Builder, he had to play a man obsessed with a dream while his family literally starved to death around him. It’s a heavy role. Sewell has this way of looking exhausted that feels so authentic to a 12th-century laborer. He doesn't play Tom as a hero; he plays him as a man with a singular, sometimes destructive focus.
The Villains We Loved to Hate
You can't talk about the Pillars of the Earth actors without mentioning the people who made our skin crawl. Ian McShane as Waleran Bigod? Incredible. McShane has this gravelly voice and a way of looking at people like they’re insects he’s about to step on. He’s a bishop, but he’s basically a mafia don in a cassock.
Then you have David Oakes as William Hamleigh. If you want to see a character that defines "entitled monster," this is it. Oakes played William with this petulant, terrifying instability. One minute he’s a crying child, the next he’s committing some of the most heinous acts depicted on TV at the time. It’s a brave performance because there is absolutely nothing likable about him. He didn't try to make William "misunderstood." He just made him a villain.
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- Matthew Macfadyen as Prior Philip: Before he was the bumbling Tom Wambsgans in Succession, Macfadyen was the moral compass of Kingsbridge. He plays Philip with such sincere, quiet dignity. It’s a complete 180 from his later roles.
- Donald Sutherland as Bartholomew: A brief but heavy-hitting appearance. Sutherland brought instant gravitas to the opening episodes.
- Sam Claflin as Richard: This was one of Claflin’s very first roles. He’d go on to The Hunger Games, but here he was just a young knight trying to reclaim his family's honor.
- Natalia Wörner as Ellen: The "witch" of the woods. She brought a necessary wildness to the cast that contrasted with the stiff formality of the church.
Why the Casting Worked When So Many Epics Fail
Most historical dramas fail because the actors look like they’re wearing costumes, not clothes. You know what I mean? They look like they just stepped out of a makeup trailer in 2024 and put on a wig. The Pillars of the Earth actors didn't have that problem.
They looked dirty. They looked tired.
The production, led by Ridley and Tony Scott’s production company, insisted on a level of realism that forced the actors to get into the muck. When you see Tom Builder hauling stone, Sewell looks like he’s actually hauling stone. When Aliena is traveling through the mud, Atwell looks genuinely exhausted. This "lived-in" feeling is what separates a good miniseries from a forgettable one.
The series also benefited from a mix of British stalwarts and rising stars. You had people like Robert Bathurst and Sarah Parish, who were already household names in the UK, providing a solid foundation for the younger actors to play off of. It created a sense of a real community in Kingsbridge, rather than just a set filled with extras.
The Evolution of the Cast Post-Kingsbridge
It is sort of insane to track where everyone went after this.
Matthew Macfadyen is the most recent "re-discovery" for many fans. If you only know him as the guy who says "I'd castrate you and marry you in a heartbeat" in Succession, seeing him as the pious, selfless Prior Philip is a trip. It shows his range. He can play the most pathetic man in the room or the most honorable one, and you believe both.
Eddie Redmayne, obviously, went on to become a Hollywood heavyweight. But if you watch Pillars again, you see the seeds of his later work. That physical acting—the way he holds his body, the way he uses his eyes to convey internal thought—it’s all there.
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Hayley Atwell became a pillar (pun intended) of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But she’s often said in interviews that she prefers roles with more meat on the bone. Aliena was that role. It was a character with a massive arc, spanning years of aging and trauma.
And let’s not forget David Oakes. He’s become something of a period-piece specialist, appearing in The White Queen, Victoria, and Vikings: Valhalla. He’s found a niche playing complex, often antagonistic figures in history, and it started right here in the shadow of the cathedral.
Technical Mastery and the Actor's Input
While the actors deserve the credit for the emotional beats, we have to acknowledge how they interacted with the set. The cathedral itself was a character. The actors have spoken in behind-the-scenes features about how the scale of the sets—partially physical and partially digital—helped them understand the stakes.
In the 1100s, building something that tall was like going to the moon.
The Pillars of the Earth actors had to convey that awe. When Philip looks at the ruins of his church or the rise of the new one, Macfadyen has to sell the idea that this isn't just a building—it's a gateway to God. If the acting is too modern or cynical, the whole premise falls apart. Luckily, this cast treated the material with a level of sincerity that kept the "Anarchy" (the historical period of civil war) feeling dangerous and the faith feeling real.
Common Misconceptions About the Production
Some people think the show was filmed in England because, well, it’s about England. Actually, a huge chunk of it was filmed in Hungary and Austria.
The actors had to deal with some pretty intense weather conditions that weren't always "hollywood magic." The shivering you see? Often real. The mud? Definitely real. There’s a story that the cast spent so much time in those heavy, wool-and-leather costumes that they started to smell like the 12th century. That's commitment.
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Another thing people get wrong is the timeline. The series covers about 50 years. This required the actors—especially Redmayne, Atwell, and Oakes—to age significantly. Instead of using heavy prosthetics that look fake, they mostly used subtle makeup and changes in gait and voice. It’s much more effective and lets the performance shine through.
How to Experience the Best of This Cast Today
If you're looking to dive back into the world of Kingsbridge or follow the careers of these performers, there's a pretty clear roadmap.
First, obviously, watch the original 8-part miniseries. It’s usually available on various streaming platforms depending on your region (Starz, Hulu, or Amazon). But don't stop there.
- Check out the sequel: World Without End features a different cast (set 200 years later), but it carries the same DNA. It stars Cynthia Nixon and Ben Chaplin.
- Follow the "Kingsbridge" lineage: Ken Follett wrote more books, including A Column of Fire and the prequel The Evening and the Morning. While not all have been adapted with the same star power, the "Follett vibe" is strong in British historical drama.
- Track the actors' growth: Watch Succession for Macfadyen, The Theory of Everything for Redmayne, and The Girl for Toby Jones (who played a smaller but vital role in Pillars).
Actionable Takeaways for Fans of the Series
If you're a fan of the Pillars of the Earth actors and want more of that specific "historical grit," here is what you should do next:
- Read the book if you haven't: Seriously. Even though the actors were great, the book has depths the show couldn't reach. You'll hear the actors' voices in your head while you read, which actually makes the experience better.
- Look for "The Making of" features: There are some older DVD extras floating around YouTube that show the training the actors went through. Seeing Rufus Sewell learn basic masonry is actually pretty cool.
- Visit the inspirations: If you're ever in England, go to Salisbury Cathedral or Wells Cathedral. Standing in those spaces gives you a whole new appreciation for what the characters (and the actors) were trying to build.
The legacy of this cast is that they took a "boring" subject—architecture—and turned it into a high-stakes thriller. They proved that you don't need dragons or massive battles in every episode if you have characters you actually care about. Whether it’s the quiet strength of Prior Philip or the terrifying ambition of Waleran Bigod, these performances are why we’re still talking about a miniseries from 2010.
Basically, the show was a launchpad. It caught a generation of talent right as they were about to explode. If you haven't watched it in a while, it's worth a re-watch just to play "spot the future star." You'll be surprised how many faces you recognize now that you didn't back then.