Mortal Engines Cast & Character Guide (2024)

Summary

  • Mortal Engines is a fun action-packed sci-fi flick with a cool steampunk world and intriguing characters.
  • Despite box office flop, the film offers an entertaining post-apocalyptic adventure with unique cities on wheels.
  • The cast of international veterans and Hollywood newcomers deliver standout performances in this visually stunning movie.

Mortal Engines, while flopping in theaters when it was released in 2018, is nonetheless an enjoyable action sci-fi-fantasy romp thanks to its great cast of characters. Based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Philip Reeve, the 2018 movie adaptation of Mortal Engines was directed by Christian Rivers after Peter Jackson purchased the rights to the book. Unfortunately, Mortal Engines bombed at the box office, which is a shame as the interesting story and world had promise.

Mortal Engines takes place in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world where giant, moving cities known as "Traction Cities" roam the land and consume smaller traction cities and settlements as predators. London is the biggest predator of them all, but a group of underground rebels known as the Anti-Traction League plot to overthrow the Traction City and its de facto leader, Thaddeus Valentine. What follows is an adventure through a unique world populated with colorful, memorable characters.

Actor

Character

Hera Hilmar

Hester Shaw

Robert Sheehan

Tom Natsworthy

Hugo Weaving

Thaddeus Valentine

Jihae

Anna Fang

Stephen Lang

Shrike

Regé-Jean Page

Captain Khora

Leila George

Katherine Valentine

Ronan Rafferty

Bevis Pod

Patrick Malahide

Magnus Crone

Colin Salmon

Chudleigh Pomeroy

Hera Hilmar as Hester Shaw

Hera Hilmar Is 35 Years Old

Actor: Icelandic actor Hera Hilmar was born in Reykjavík, Iceland in 1988 and she broke out in 2007 for her role in The Quiet Storm. After becoming a notable young star in her native Iceland, being nominated for and winning several Edda awards, Hilmar made the jump to an English language, American audience with a starring role in The Ottoman Lieutenant. Her role in Mortal Engines was her breakout role with an American audience, and she's landed roles in the TV series The Romanoffs, See, and DaVinci's Demons.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Year

Movie/TV Show

2007

The Quiet Storm

2012

Anna Karenina

2012

World Without End

2014

Life in a Fishbowl

2013-2015

DaVinci's Demons

2017

The Ottoman Lieutenant

2018

The Romanoffs

2018

Mortal Engines

2022

A Letter from Helga

2019-2022

See

Character: Hester Shaw is a mysterious young woman with a scarred face on a mission to assassinate Thaddeus Valentine. It was Shaw who killed her mother in order to steal a precious artifact her mother had discovered. After escaping Valentine - but not before he gravely disfigured her face - she was taken in and raised by Shrike, a bounty hunter. In Mortal Engines, she's almost semi-feral thanks to her upbringing, and she wants nothing more than revenge for what Valentine did to her.

Related

Robert Sheehan as Tom Natsworthy

Robert Sheehan Is 36 Years Old

Actor: Robert Sheehan was born in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland and started acting from the time he was a child, landing his first role at just age 14 in Song for a Raggy Boy. He garnered attention for the next few years, but it was undoubtedly his role as Nathan Young in the British TV series Misfits that was Sheehan's biggest breakout role. Since then, he's continued to act steadily, appearing in both big genre movies like Mortal Instruments and Mortal Engines, as well as indies. Currently, he's best known for playing Klaus Hargreeves in the Netflix adaptation of The Umbrella Academy.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Year

Movie/TV Show

2009

Cherrybomb

2009

Red Riding

2011

Season of the Witch

2011

Killing Bono

2009-2011

Misfits

2011

The Borrowers

2013

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

2010-2013

Love/Hate

2017

Fortitude

2017

Geostorm

2018

Mute

2018

Bad Samaritan

2018

Mortal Engines

2019-2024

The Umbrella Academy

Character: Mortal Engines' protagonist Tom Natsworthy is an apprentice historian living in the traveling city of London and attempting to learn the trade. While going on a routine job to retrieve some artifacts, he crosses paths with Hester Shaw and sees her attempt to kill Thaddeus Valentine but intervenes. After Valentine betrays Tom, he's forced to go on the run with Hester, where they join up with an underground resistance and plan to stop Valentine before he can unleash a superweapon that threatens all of what remains of humanity.

Hugo Weaving as Thaddeus Valentine

Hugh Weaving Is 63 Years Old

Actor: Hugo Weaving was born in Ibadan, British Nigeria, to English parents, growing up in the United Kingdom, Australia, and South Africa before returning to the UK. Weaving was a prolific actor in the UK for many years, but it was undoubtedly his role as Agent Smith in 1999's The Matrix that catapulted him into true stardom. Weaving established himself internationally for his roles in multiple huge franchises including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as Elrond, the Transformers as the voice of Megatron, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the Red Skull, and individual movies like V for Vendetta.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Year

Movie/TV Show

1991

Proof

1991

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

1999

The Matrix

2001

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

2002

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

2003

The Matrix Reloaded

2003

The Matrix Revolutions

2003

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

2005

V for Vendetta

2007

Transformers

2009

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

2010

The Wolfman

2011

Captain America: The First Avenger

2011

Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon

2012

Cloud Atlas

2012

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

2014

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

2016

Hacksaw Ridge

2018

Mortal Engines

2023

The Royal Hotel

Character: Thaddeus Valentine is the villain of Mortal Engines. As the Deputy Lord Mayor of London and the Head of the Guild of Historians, Valentine is a power-mad archaeologist and historian who becomes obsessed with finding powerful pieces of Old-Tech to build a superweapon called MEDUSA. He pursues Tom, Hester, and the Anti-Traction rebels throughout the movie, even as his own daughter starts to grow suspicious of his intentions.

Jihae as Anna Fang

Jihae Is 35 Years Old

Actor: Jihae was born Jihae Kim in Seoul, South Korea and started out as a model before moving into music, releasing multiple albums. Her first role, which was also her breakout role, was in the National Geographic series Mars, where she played Joon and Hana Seung. Since then, Jihae has appeared in both movies, like Mortal Engines, and TV shows, like Succession. She currently lives in the United States as she splits her time between music and acting.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Year

Movie/TV Show

2016-2018

Mars

2018

Mortal Engines

2020

Altered Carbon

2021

Succession

Character: Anna Fang is the leader of the Anti-Traction League underground resistance. As a fighter and pilot, she's highly skilled and is a decisive, strategic leader. When Tom and Hester are captured, it's Anna who rescues them after she kills their slaver captors. She's determined to stop Valentine no matter what it takes, even it it means giving up her own life to do it.

Stephen Lang as Shrike

Stephen Lang Is 71 Years Old

Actor: Stephen Lang was born in New York City and appeared in multiple movies, TV shows, and stage productions, with his theater background as notable as his screen work. His first major movie role was Major General George E. Pickett in 1993's Gettysburg. Since then, his most famous movie roles are Colonel Miles Quaritch in James Cameron's Avatar series, and The Blind Man in Fede Álvarez's Don't Breathe horror movies. TV shows include Commander Nathaniel Taylor in Terra Nova, Increase Mather in Salem, and Waldo in Into the Badlands.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Year

Movie/TV Show

1985

Death of a Salesman

1986

Manhunter

1993

Gettysburg

1993

Tombstone

2000-2001

The Fugitive

2009

Public Enemies

2009

The Men Who Stare at Goats

2009

Avatar

2011

Conan the Barbarian

2011

Terra Nova

2014-2017

Salem

2015-2018

Into the Badlands

2016

Don't Breathe

2017

Hostiles

2018

Mortal Engines

2021

Don't Breathe 2

2022

Old Man

2022

Avatar: The Way of Water

Character: Shrike is a cyborg and the last of an undead group of soldiers known as Stalkers, who is sent to assassinate Hester. The plot takes a turn, however, when it's revealed that he was Hester's surrogate father after her mother was killed by Valentine, with Shrike raising her as a child. Initially, she promises to let him turn her into a Stalker like him, but he releases her from that promise.

Mortal Engines Supporting Cast & Characters

Mortal Engines Cast & Character Guide (2)

Regé-Jean Page as Captain Khora - Captain Khora is an aviator in the Anti-Traction League who works with Anna Fang. After Mortal Engines, Regé-Jean Page's biggest production was For the People, but his breakout role was playing Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, in Bridgerton season 1. Since then, he's appeared as the antagonist Carmichael in The Gray Man, and as the heroic paladin Xenk in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Leila George as Katherine Valentine - Katherine Valentine is the daughter of Thaddeus Valentine, with a heart that's truer than her father's. A year after starring in Mortal Engines, she landed a role in the Western The Kid. Her most notable TV role to date is playing young Catherine in Animal Kingdom.

Ronan Raftery as Bevis Pod - Bevis Pod is an apprentice engineer for the city of London, and befriends Katherine. His biggest movie role prior to Mortal Engines was playing Langdon Shaw in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. His TV series include The Terror, The Rook, and the British series Gangs of London.

Patrick Malahide as Magnus Crome - Magnus Crome is the ineffective Lord Mayor of London. Malahide's most prominent roles were the long-running British TV series Minder, where he played Detective Sergeant Albert "Cheerful Charlie" Chisholm, Balon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones, and a recurring role in Luther. Notable movies include Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Brideshead Revisited, The World Is Not Enough, and Bridget Jones' Baby.

Colin Salmon as Chudleigh Pomeroy - Chudleigh Pomeroy is a London historian and Tom's boss. He played Charles Robinson in a trio of James Bond movies and James "One" Shade in the Resident Evil movies, for which he's better known than Mortal Engines. He's had multiple appearances in British and American TV shows, including Krypton, Merlin, Arrow, Doctor Who, The Musketeers, EastEnders, and Master of None.

Mortal Engines Cast & Character Guide (3)
Mortal Engines

PG-13

Mortal Engines is a 2018 action/adventure film from director Christian Rivers and writer Peter Jackson. Based on the novel by Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines is set 1,000 years in a post-apocalyptic future where cities are turned into giant vehicles that try to destroy one another. The film stars Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving, and Jihae Kim.

Where to Watch

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*Availability in US

Director
Christian Rivers

Release Date
December 14, 2018
Cast
Frankie Adams , Robbie Sheehan , Colin Salmon , Hera Hilmar , Ronan Raftery , Stephen Lang , Jihae , Hugo Weaving

Runtime
128 Minutes
Mortal Engines Cast & Character Guide (2024)
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