All Major Actors & Cast for The Regime

Political satire The Regime is now on Max, introducing audiences to the baffling Chancellor Elena Vernham and her team. Here’s the cast members behind the eccentric world leader and the characters that flank her in The Regime, including her family, ministers, and palace workers.

All Major Actors in The Regime

Kate Winslet as Chancellor Elena Vernham

Winslet pours a panoply of quirks into The Regime’s Chancellor Elena Vernham, the leader of an intentionally ambiguous country in Middle Europe that’s rich in cobalt. Though her propensity toward unpleasant musical performances and heightened germaphobia reminded some viewers of Vladimir Putin and her relationship with her late father reminded others of Marine Le Pen, Elena Vernham’s not specifically based on any particular head of state.

Before supplanting Edward Keplinger as Chancellor, Elena had a career background as a physician. An abiding paranoia about health, particularly mold, is just one of the factors that makes Elena a temperamental boss. Though hot and cold with her inner circle and palace staff, Elena addresses the public fondly and familiarly in a propagandist tone.

Matthias Schoenaerts as Corporal Herbert Zubak

A stoic soldier, Herbert Zubak begins his journey at the palace in The Regime’s premiere, where he serves as an audience surrogate of sorts. He’s brought on as the Chancellor’s personal water diviner, testing the air around Elena for moisture with a special device. Though nicknamed “Butcher” by some palace staff for his violent role in extinguishing an uprising of cobalt miners, it’s not entirely clear whether Zubak’s personal ideals align with Elena’s, especially after he becomes the subject of one of her abusive outbursts. However, by the end of the pilot, the soldier makes his unwavering and zealot-like allegiance to the Chancellor abundantly clear.

Though Elena’s role in domestic and global politics will be explored throughout The Regime, it’s evident that the twisted relationship between her and Zubak will lie at the heart of the miniseries. In many ways, Zubak presents a more lethal and radicalized evolution of Veep’s Gary Walsh — which is sure to result in some indulgent and entertaining toxicity.

Guillaume Gallienne as Nicholas “Nicky” Vernham

Elena’s husband, Nicholas Vernham, has started to blend in among the ornate furnishings of the Chancellor’s palace by the time the series begins. Though the couple met at medical school in Paris, Nicky’s current ventures have turned toward the arts, as evidenced by his promotion of a national poetry non-governmental organization. At a state dinner, Nicholas divulged that his romance with Elena was once persuasive enough to convince him to leave his wife and baby behind in France. However, Nicky’s starting to become threatened by Zubak’s newfound close relationship with the Chancellor.

Marriages of political convivence are explored often in both political dramas and satires alike, and Elena and Nicky seemed destined to embody yet another iteration of this eternally fascinating interpersonal dynamic.

Hugh Grant as Edward Keplinger

Perhaps one of the stars that viewers are most looking forward to seeing in The Regime, Grant does not appear in the show’s first episode. Despite that, Grant’s former Chancellor Edward Keplinger is mentioned as the reason behind the episode’s Victory Day celebration.

Positioned as Elena’s domestic political rival, the two appear to have a sit-down in The Regime’s official trailer, where he warns her of a downturn in public opinion. Whether Edward’s looking to take advantage of Elena’s downfall for his own political gain, attempting to offer some earnest advice, or simply gloating, the Chancellor doesn’t appear too keen on giving him the time of day. Though more will be revealed about Grant’s character as the miniseries unfolds, his casting has drummed up some behind-the-scenes excitement as the role marks an on-screen reunion of the actor and his Sense & Sensibility co-star Winslet.  

Martha Plimpton as Judith Holt

After engaging in an unfavorable negotiation with American CEO Richard Kaiser over her country’s cobalt resources in The Regime’s pilot, Chancellor Elena Vernham took a firm stance against US interests and interference in governance. However, Plimpton’s Secretary of State, Judith Holt, represents the big guns by introducing an official governmental United States presence into the cobalt conversation.

Much like Grant, Plimpton’s character did not appear in the first episode of The Regime. Thus far, the miniseries has skewered a mix of European leaders, and Judith presents an opportunity to continue the political satire from an American lens.

Andrea Riseborough as Agnes

Where Edward represents The Regime’s domestic conflict, and Judith represents the international implications of Elena’s decisions, Risenborough’s Agnes rounds out the internal prong of the miniseries’ conflict. Unlike Zubak, Agnes is a civilian employee of Elena’s who manages affairs at the palace. As The Regime was partially inspired by Ryszard Kapuściński’s nonfiction book The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat, which documented the end of Haile Selassie’s reign in Ethiopia through the eyes of palace workers, Agnes represents a crucial perspective within the narrative.

Not only does Agnes work at the palace, but a great deal of her personal life is tied to palace affairs. Agnes has a son with epilepsy, with whom Elena closely involves herself, and is in a romantic relationship with one of the palace’s medical professionals.  

Additional Supporting Cast of The Regime

Chancellor Elena Verham is surrounded by ministers who — whether she listens to their advice or not — are portrayed by a coterie of esteemed actors. Outside of her staff, many other performers help to round out the dystopian world of The Regime. Here’s who plays the miniseries’ supporting characters:

• Pippa Haywood – Minister of Finance Susan Goin
• Stanley Townsend – Emil Bartos, Cobalt Businessman
• Danny Webb – Mr. Laskin, Head of Security Service
• Henry Goodman – Mr. Singer
• David Bamber – Mr. Schiff
• Kenneth Collard – Dr. Kershaw (Elena’s physician)
• Donald Sage Mackay – Richard Kaiser
• Jessica Frances Dukes – Deborah Kaiser
• Michael Colgan – Leo Huber
• Louie Mynett – Oskar (Agnes’ son)
• Patrick Fusco – Broadcast Director
• Alasdair Hankinson – Malcolm
• Rory Keenan – Peter