Channel 4’s brand new crime thriller Before We Die kicks off tonight and it’s got a cracking cast – so who plays who and where have you seen them before?
The six-part drama, based on a Swedish series of the same name, begins on Wednesday May 26 2021 and stars Lesley Sharp in the leading role.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Before We Die cast.
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Before We Die cast: Lesley Sharp plays Hannah Laing
Lesley Sharp portrays Detective Inspector Hannah Laing.
When she kisses her married lover Sean Hardacre goodbye one morning, she never imagines it will be the last time she will see her fellow detective alive.
But Sean goes missing and his brutalised corpse is recovered the following day…
Determined to find whoever is responsible for killing him, Hannah’s investigation leads her to a tight-knit criminal Croatian family.
They run a successful restaurant, where Hannah’s estranged son now works.
Why are they estranged? Because she shopped him for drug dealing, and led to him spending two years in jail!
That’s some hardcore parenting right there!
Actress Lesley, 61, is known for her roles in Clocking Off, Bob & Rose and Afterlife.
She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the 1997 film The Full Monty.
TV viewers probably know her best for portraying DC Janet Scott in the ITV drama Scott & Bailey between 2011 and 2016.
Before We Die cast: Bill Ward portrays Sean Hardacre
Bill Ward plays married detective Sean Hardacre, who is having an affair with Hannah before he is murdered.
Sean is a fellow Detective Inspector with the South Western Police’s Organised Crime Unit.
He is planning to leave his wife and the police force.
At the time of his death, he was investigating the Croatian family, the Mimicas.
Actor Bill, 54, is best known for his soap opera roles as Charlie Stubbs in Coronation Street and James Barton in Emmerdale.
Patrick Gibson is Christian Radic
Patrick Gibson plays Christian Radic, Hannah’s British-born son of a Croatian father.
He’s trying to put his life back together having gone off the rails following his parents’ divorce.
Christian is working as a dish-washer at the Vino Mondana restaurant, after being introduced to the family that owns it by Stefan Vargic, a small-time criminal whom he met in jail.
Christian refuses to have contact with his mother, but he’s still close to her boyfriend, Sean.
Patrick Gibson is an Irish actor, aged 26, who is known for his roles in The Tudors, The Passing Bells, and The OA.
Before We Die cast: Vincent Regan plays Billy Murdoch
Vincent Regan portrays Billy Murdoch, Hannah’s new sceptical partner in the police force.
Billy Murdoch has been seconded to the OCU from the National Crime Agency as a specialist in Eastern European drug gangs.
He isn’t a regular police officer, but is employed by the security services.
Divorced, with a 16-year-old who “hates my guts”, Billy is a lone operator, who uses his contacts and his background in military intelligence to circumnavigate the police’s labyrinthine bureaucracy and give his colleagues in the OCU “plausible deniability”.
Welsh actor Vincent, 56, is best known for his roles in 300, Troy and Clash of the Titans.
More recently he starred as Tony in Flesh and Blood, Phil MacAfee in Traces, and Ned Despard in Poldark.
Toni Gojanovic plays Davor Mimica
Croatian actor Toni portrays Davor, the boss of the Mimica crime family.
Davor Mimica is the older child and acknowledged leader of the Mimica family.
His father was murdered by Serbian forces during the War in the Former Yugoslavia alongside many of his family’s relatives, friends, and neighbours.
Davor has ambitions to take over the illegal cocaine trade in south west England and he is ruthless enough to deal viciously with anyone who threatens to get in his way.
He’s also clever enough to stay off the police’s radar.
His only vulnerability is his sexuality, which he keeps secret even from those who know him best.
Actor Toni Gojanovic is known for Uspjeh, The Border Post and Sixth Bus.
Kazia Pelka is Dubravka Mimica
Dubravka is the matriarch of the Mimica family who brought what remained of her family to start a new life in the UK after the civil war.
Now the owner of the Vino Mondana restaurant, Dubravka is a warm and welcoming host.
But she’s fiercely protective of her kin and will do “everything necessary to protect the family”.
TV fans will recognise actress Kazia, 60, from Brookside, Heartbeat, Family Affairs and The Bill.
The cast also stars Issy Knopfler as Bianca Mimica, Rebecca Scroggs as Tina Carter, Steve Toussaint as Leonard Kane, Kazia Pelka as Dubravka Mimica, Petar Cvirn as Stefan Vargic and Ryszard Turbiasz as Zvonomir Mimica.
Before We Die starts Wednesday May 26 at 9pm on Channel 4. All episodes will be available on All 4 after transmission of episode one.
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