Who is 13 Reasons Why star Katherine Langford? Meet the actor who plays Hannah Baker in new Netflix series

Who plays Hannah Baker in Netflix's 13 Reasons Why?

20-year-old Australian actor Katherine Langford leads the cast of Netflix's new series. A newcomer to TV, this is her first major role after the actor from Perth was spotted by writer Brian Yorkey, exec producer Selena Gomez and director Tom McCarthy.

13 Reasons Why recaps

Yorkey reveals that they discovered Langford following a Skype audition: "Especially when you’re adapting a well-loved piece of literature, you’re contending with many many readers’ visions of who should play these roles," Yorkey said.

"It took us a lot of time, going to all ends of the earth. We found Dylan Minnette [who plays Clay Jensen] in Los Angeles, California, but had to go all the way to Perth Australia via Skype for Katherine. It was well worth it, because it was about finding two people who could not only portray Hannah and Clay but really understand at a deep level what their journey is."

Before rehearsals and filming began, Langford hadn't even met her co-stars, adds Yorkey.

"We have this thing we do in Los Angeles that we call ‘chemistry reads’, which we like to put these poor actors through: hours and hours of reading opposite different actors," he explains. "Prior to making this huge television series, our two lead actors had never been in a room together. But we adored them both so much, we knew there was going to be chemistry – and we were right."

The series is based on the 2007 novel by Jay Asher, although Langford says she deliberately didn't read the book prior to appearing in the show.

"I hadn’t read the book prior," Langford tells RadioTimes.com. "I think if I had, I probably would have put a lot more pressure on myself because it’s a book that so many people identify with and are protective of.

"In making it, really early on [writer] Jay Asher gave it a little seal of approval," she adds. "He really loves what we’ve done with the show – at least that’s what he said! That’s kind of a blessing; it's cool to be able to have that from the writer.

What do we need to know about her character Hannah Baker?

"Get a snack, settle in, because I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically how my life ended."

– Hannah Baker

In 13 Reasons Why, teenager Clay Jensen comes home from school one day to discover a box of old-school tapes cassettes on his doorstep. The tapes are from his classmate (and crush) Hannah Baker.

The only thing is, Hannah had committed suicide two weeks earlier.

The story follows Clay as he follows Hannah's account of why she took her own life – the '13 reasons' are documented on the tapes, and as Clay listens he discovers more about what could have been done to prevent this tragic event.