Hanna: Meet the cast of Prime Video's nail-biting, bone-crunching action series

Inspired by the 2011 Saoirse Ronan film, Amazon Prime Video TV series Hanna is an edge-of-your-seat gritty thriller about a 15-year-old girl who has grown up in seclusion in Eastern Europe with her father, training to become the ultimate survivalist fighter.

Across season one Hanna is separated from her father Erik Heller and finds herself on the run from rogue CIA operative Marissa Wiegler,

Action-packed, visceral and beautifully filmed, Hanna should be slotted up at the top of your must-watch list immediately.

Following Hanna’s perilous journey across Europe to reunite with her father and take down Marissa and her numerous deadly allies and fellow agents, the series is a non-stop adventure, packed with emotional and physical challenges for its young lead and a deeply buried conspiracy. Prepare yourself for twists. Lots of them.

Season two is released on Friday, July 3, 2020 on Prime Video and will see Hanna starting a new journey with the new knowledge that she isn’t the only young woman with unparalleled skill and elite training.

Here is our quick guide the cast and characters of Hanna season two.

Hanna - Esme Creed-Miles

In season two, Hanna risks her freedom to rescue her friend Clara (Yasmin Monet Prince) from the clutches of the Utrax programme, now run by John Carmichael (Dermot Mulroney) and his second in command, Leo Garner (Anthony Welsh).

Esme is a newcomer and a rising star. She has previously had minor roles in Dark River and Mister Lonely, but she is best known for being the daughter of Samantha Morton and Charlie Creed-Miles.

The 19-year-old underwent a series of fighting and fitness training regimes to prepare for the physical role of the seemingly unstoppable 15-year-old who has grown up in the wilderness.

The character was played in the 2011 film by Saoirse Ronan. Esme told BT TV that she was a huge fan of Saoirse’s performance, but avoided rewatching the film after she was cast because she didn’t want to disrespect the film version of the character.

Between the promotion of season one and filming of season two, Esme made her directorial debut. She wrote, directed and starred in short film Jamie, which was nominated for ‘Best International Short’ at Palm Springs.

Marissa Wiegler – Mireille Enos

“I love playing the bad guy”, grinned Mireille Enos, when talking about her role as the season one villain, who is hunting down Hanna.

Played by Cate Blanchett in the original movie, Mireille brings some of her own personal fighting training, which came as a surprise to the crew.

“She is a legit martial artist,” Joel Kinnaman told BT TV. “She does a massive fight scene at the end of season one, which is a big one-take scene with three people.”

Mireille and Kinnaman’s chemistry on the show benefits from their previous screen relationship as the leads in the US version of The Killing.

Although the dynamic is very different from her time playing Sarah Linden, the pair had an immediate bond that benefits the complex relationship in Hanna.

After The Killing, you may also have seen Mireille in Good Omens, World War Z, If I Stay, and Never Here. She was also the lead in legal thriller The Catch.

In season two, it looks like Marissa will be working alongside Hanna rather than chasing after her.

Now on the outside of Utrax, a disgraced Marissa must protect both herself and Hanna from the devious organisation she once trusted.

Speaking to BT TV about the new season, Enos said: "At the start, all she is thinking about is a cover story that will save her place in the CIA and keep her safe.

"She’s been trapped in this recovery hospital and she feels uneasy. She’s been there a long time. Her loyalty is being questioned."

She’s not thinking too much about Hanna at the start of season two. She doesn’t know if she’ll ever see her again. Marissa is back to being her own number-one priority.

John Carmichael – Dermot Mulroney

Following the death of Sawyer and the ambiguous ending for Marissa – can we trust her? - season two needs a new big bad.

It looks like My Best Friend’s Wedding star Mulroney will take on that role as the overseer of the Utrax project.

He is now leading Phase 2 of the Utrax operation. He’s tasked with making the trainees ready to head out into the world on missions to support the Utrax agenda.

Experienced, calm and measured, Carmichael runs a tight ship… until now. Faced with a missing trainee and a rebellious ex-operative, Carmichael must protect the mission of the Utrax operation at all costs.

Mulroney has had a long TV and movie career including roles in Young Guns, Staying Together, About Schmidt, August: Osage County and more recently the Four Weddings and a Funeral TV series, The Purge, Prime Video drama Homecoming and HBO comedy The Righteous Gemstones.

Leo Garner – Anthony Welsh

Leo is a confident and socially skilled Utrax operative. Brought in to guide the trainees towards full social integration, his cool and charming demeanor compliments his strict authority over them.

His ability to appear empathetic and sensitive toward the trainees is contrasted by a cold, unwavering ambition to service the requests of his employers, no matter how brutal.

Welsh has been in some of the most critically-acclaimed TV shows of the last few years, playing Jack in Fleabag, Joe in Pure, Lucky in The Trial of Christine Keeler and Jake in Brassic.

Recruit 249 / Clara Mahan - Yasmin Monet Prince

Clara was introduced in season 1 as another girl being built into a fighting machine like Hanna. She was the only ‘sister’ that broke from the trainees to join Hanna in the season finale.

Cherrelle Skeete. From the looks of the trailer, Terri appears to be some sort of counselor or therapist for the trainees, and Hanna is already not having it. You might recognize Skeete from her time on the stage playing Rose Granger-Weasley and Young Hermione in the original production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. At the end of season 1, we saw Hanna take Clara back to the wilderness where she grew up with Erik.

Despite being raised inside of the relentlessly disciplined Utrax regime, Clara has an innate curiosity.

When Hanna shows her a file containing details of the mother she never knew she had, she becomes intent on finding her and starting a new life outside of Utrax.

Yasmin Monet Prince has previously starred in the film Nocturnal, ITV crime drama Dark Heart and Holby City

Sandy - Áine Rose Daly

Sandy (previously named trainee 242) is a disciplined Utrax assassin who appears to be a wholesome Midwest teenager. Her unquestioning faith in Utrax and her absolute commitment to the programme makes her a lethal threat to anyone that gets in her way, including her fellow trainees. When Sandy is sent out on her first assignment, she’ll stop at nothing to complete it.

Áine trained at The Identity School of Acting (IDSA) in London.

Her credits include Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime Video, and the films Eight For Silver and Boiling Point.

Talking to Brief Take about the character, Áine said: "I think she’s very hooked on this fake reality that the institution has given her and I can relate to that because she doesn’t have anything else.

For her, it feels very dangerous to let go of that idea because then she’s going into the unknown and she doesn’t know what’s waiting for her on the other side. It’s definitely relatable to hang on to something that may not be super authentic or real, because you don’t know what the other option is – it could be something very scary – and I can relate to that."

Jules - Gianna Kiehl

Jules is an intelligent Utrax trainee with a simmering rebellious streak. She is driven to make her own decisions despite the mental and emotional conditioning of the programme. Still, she chooses to be an ambitious and fully committed Utrax assassin and won’t tolerate those who aren’t loyal to the organisation.

Newcomer Gianna was raised in the US, graduated from The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and currently resides in London.

Talking about the portrayal of young women in the showl, Kiehl told Brief Take: "These girls as these trained weapons, are introduced to social media and to the things that we’re supposed to be interested in.

"What kind of makeup do you wear, what kind of clothes do you wear, and how does that define who you are. What kind of friends do you have, do you have a boyfriend…all those sort of questions that teenage girls have in their heads and they don’t know why they’re there.

"I think that’s a great metaphor for actual teenage girls out in the world. These questions are paraded in front of them and they pick them up and are told to have feelings about these sort of things, and must decide whether they connect to them or not."

Terri - Cherrelle Skeete

Terri is an up and coming CIA officer and a new recruit to the Utrax programme. She has been hired to play a crucial role in counselling the trainees.

Birmingham-born Skeete has appeared in Call the Midwife, The Five and Doctors. She's also appeared on the stage playing Rose Granger-Weasley and Young Hermione in the original production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. 

Season one cast

Erik Heller - Joel Kinnaman

Erik, Hanna’s father, used to be a henchmen for Marissa Weigler and the pair have a complex, dark and intertwined past.

He raised Hanna alone and handed down all his fighting and survivalist skills to his daughter, which proved vital as they were torn apart.

Erik managed to keep Hanna safe and unite her with a ‘sister’ from the Utrax project at the end of season one, but due to injuries he sustained, he didn’t make out alive.

Kinnaman is one of the most popular movie and TV stars in the world. He is best known for playing Rick Flag in Suicide Squad, Will Conway in House of Cards, Takeshi Kovacs in Altered Carbon and Stephen Holder in The Killing,

Sophie – Rhianne Barreto

The character of Sophie was played in the film by Jessica Barden, the star of Channel 4’s The End of the F***ing World and Penny Dreadful.

In the TV series she is played by fellow British actor Rhianne Barreto, whose previous TV appearances include Strike Back and Little Boy Blue.

Sophie is a British teenage holidaymaker who bumps into Hanna with her family in Morocco.

The blossoming friendship and bond between the unlikely duo plays a central role on the development of Hanna as she shifts from living in isolation to busting modern society.

Jacobs - Andy Nyman

Jacobs is used by Marissa to track down Hanna and Erik. Jacobs is a shady character, who works off the grid and who can get stuff done that the CIA wouldn’t allow. His past is intertwined with Erik and Marissa.

Andy Nyman is the creative genius behind Ghost Stories and a long-time collaborator with Derren Brown. He’s previously starred in Kick-Ass 2, The Commuter, Death at a Funeral and will also appear alongside The Rock in Disney’s movie Jungle Cruise, playing Sir James Hobbs-Cunningham.

Dieter – Benno Fürmann

Dieter is a former army colleague of Erik, who has settled down with a family and good job. However, he is loyal to his former friend and is willing to put everything on the line if Erik’s in danger.

Benno is a German actor who starred in Die Bubi Scholz Story, TV movie (Wolfsburg) and  Joyeux Noel.

Elsa – Katherina Heyer

Another former army colleague of Erik, Elsa is a quick-thinker, great fighter and survivor. She is a loyal friend and ally to Erik.

Katherina is a German actress known for her performances in Volt and Unter Nachbarn.

Jerome Sawyer - Khalid Abdalla

After Erik and Marissa’s showdown early in the series, Sawyer comes into the CIA to take charge and replaces Marissa at the head of the operation.

Sawyer is slightly less cunning and chilling than Marissa, but he is arguably more brutal and no less terrifying.

Khalid is a Scottish actor who you may have seen in The Kite Runner, United 93 or The Square.

Lukas - Peter Ferdinando

Another former army friend of Erik, Lukas has let himself go and has got himself in trouble with heavy drinking and debts.
Peter is best known for his roles in Tony, Hyena, Starred Up, Doctor Who, host in the Shell and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

Hanna season one and two are available now on Prime Video.