Netflix’s Fool Me Once Cast: Michelle Keegan, Richard Armitage, Adeel Akhtar, Joanna Lumley

It’s here, the newest Netflix thriller adapted from one of Harlan Coben’s ludicrously twist-packed, secret-filled crime mystery novels. This one comes adapted by Danny Brocklehurst with the same UK team that made The Five, Safe, The Stranger and Stay Close, and once again stars Richard Armitage in a central role.

Fool Me Once is the story of military helicopter pilot Maya Stern, a captain who loses her career in a scandal and suffers two bereavements in short succession. It’s fast-paced, kind of ridiculous viewing that takes you down an extremely twisty path before tying everything up in a big not-exactly-watertight-but-it’ll-do-fine knot – which makes it pretty perfect viewing for a brain-fogged New Year’s Day after all of December’s indulgences.

Find out more about the cast of this one below, and happy binge-watching!

Michelle Keegan as Captain Maya Stern

Brassic, Our Girl and former Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan plays Captain Maya Stern, an RAF helicopter pilot who left the air force after a scandal involving a whistle-blower. She’s married to Richard Armitage’s Joe Burkett, the son of a mega-wealthy family with a global corporation including a pharmaceutical arm.

Adeel Akhtar as Sami Kierce

Utopia, Four Lions, Les Misérables, Enola Holmes and Sherwood actor Adeel Akhtar totally steals the show as Fool Me Once’s detective Sami Kierce. A troubled man with a traumatic past and a serious medical condition he’s trying to hide from his colleagues, Kierce is tasked with investigating Joe Burkett and Claire Walker’s murders.

Richard Armitage as Joe Burkett

This is the third Harlan Coben UK thriller for Richard Armitage now, after he starred in The Stranger and Stay Close – and played different characters in each (think of it as a Richard Armitage/Harlan Coben anthology series). The star of The Hobbit films, Hannibal and the BBC’s Robin Hood plays Joe Burkett in this one, the wealthy son of a vast dynasty with fingers in all kinds of pies.

Joanna Lumley as Judith Burkett

UK national treasure Joanna Lumley needs no introduction. She’s Purdey in The New Avengers, Sapphire in Sapphire and Steel, Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous and well, she’s Joanna Lumley isn’t she? Here, Lumley plays don’t-mess Burkett family matriarch Judith, a posh psychiatric specialist, the mother of the five Burkett siblings, and a bit of a closed book.

Emmett J. Scanlan as Shane Tessier

You’ll recognise Emmett J. Scanlan from Misfits, Derry Girls, In the Flesh, Peaky Blinders, Gangs of London and recently, crime thriller Kin. Here, he plays Shane Tessier, a military police officer and former comrade turned right-hand-man of Michelle Keegan’s Maya Stern.

Dino Fetscher as Marty McGregor

Fetscher is a familiar face from Channel 4/AMC AI sci-fi Humans, as well as Russell T Davies’ dystopian family drama Years and Years, and more recently Sally Wainwright’s Gentleman Jack and Apple TV+’s sci-fi epic Foundation. In Fool Me Once, he plays police detective Marty, the goofy youngster assigned to pair up with Adeel Akhtar’s long-suffering Sami Kierce.

Laurie Kynaston as Corey Rudzinski

Recently, actor Laurie Kynaston has starred in Paramount drama The Doll Factory, as well as an episode of Prime Video’s big-budget adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman in 2022. You might have seen him in The Man Who Fell to Earth TV series, as Philip in Derry Girls, or as Jimmy in the BBC’s brilliant adaptation of Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life. Here, he plays the mysterious “Corey the Whistle”.

Hattie Morahan as Caroline Burkett

Morahan has a long list of TV roles you’d know her from, starting with the part of teary neighbour Jane in BBC smash hit sitcom Outnumbered, and running up to film roles in Beauty and the Beast, Enola Holmes, Luther: The Fallen Sun, as well as TV series Sex Education, Hijack and much more. In this, she plays Caroline, the rebel daughter of the wealthy Burkett family.

Marcus Garvey as Eddie Walker

Garvey’s early TV roles in Broadchurch, Last Tango in Halifax and CBBC’s Wolfblood made him a familiar face on screen. More recently, he’s appeared in Hijack, The Gold and The Suspect. Here, he plays Eddie, Maya Stern’s bereaved brother-in-law, and the father to two children Abby and Daniel.

Jade Anouka as Nicole

Fantasy fans will have seen Jade Anouka in the BBC/HBO’s His Dark Materials adaptation, playing one of the fearsome warrior witch clan Queens. She’s about to star in Dune spin-off The Prophecy, and before that, appeared in The Drowning and Steve McQueen’s Small Axe. Here, she plays Nicole, a supportive friend of Adeel Akhtar’s detective Kierce.

ALSO STARRING

Adelle Leonce, James Northcote as Neil Burkett, Natalie Anderson as Claire Walker, Danya Griver as Abby Walker and Daniel Burt as Daniel Walker, Natalia Kostrzewa as Izabelle and Frederick Szkoda as Luka, as well as Connor Porter as “Rambo” and Thea Taylor-Morgan as Lily Burkett.

Fool Me Once is available to stream now on Netflix.