Meet the cast of A Thousand Blows on Disney Plus

We follow Jamaican immigrant Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby), a group of female thieves known as the Forty Elephants (led by Erin Doherty) and bare-knuckle fighting brothers Sugar (Stephen Graham) and Treacle Goodson (James Nelson-Joyce), whose stories all end up colliding.

Graham underwent six months of training for the role prior to filming, with co-star Daniel Mays, who plays a bartender and host of the boxing fights in the series, recently telling RadioTimes.com it appeared as though Graham had "eaten Tom Hardy" when he arrived on set.

"It felt like I came pretty late to it," Mays explained. "Then I was there on set and Stephen stepped out for the first time and it was like he'd eaten Tom Hardy."

He continued: "All of these guys, I was blown away by the amount of preparation that they’d all put into it, not only to physically get them into shape to play these fighters, but it was all the choreographed fights as well."

Speaking further on the brutal fight scenes, the actor recently revealed to Radio Times Magazine that he did "crack a stuntman’s rib".

He continued: "I felt terrible, but he was giving it, ‘Just hit me proper.’ I was saying, 'No, I don’t want to do that. I’m an actor. We’re pretending.’ Then he went, ‘Are you kidding me, boy?’ He stepped in and I caught him. I’ve never heard a squeal like it. He literally went, ‘Ughhhh! I think you’ve cracked my f*****g rib.'"

Read on for everything you need to know about the cast of the series.

Who's in the cast of A Thousand Blows?

The full cast list for A Thousand Blows is as follows but scroll on to find out more about each of the main characters, plus where you may have seen the actors previously.

• Malachi Kirby as Hezekiah Moscow
• Stephen Graham as Sugar Goodson
• Erin Doherty as Mary Carr
• Francis Lovehall as Alec Munroe
• Jason Tobin as Mr Lao
• James Nelson-Joyce as Edward 'Treacle' Goodson
• Hannah Walters as Eliza Moody
• Darci Shaw as Alice Diamond
• Morgan Hilaire as Esme Long
• Jemma Carlton as Belle Downer
• Caoilfhionn Dunne as Anne Glover
• Nadia Albina as Verity Ross
• Daniel Mays as William 'Punch' Lewis
• Tom Davis as Charlie Mitchell
• Adam Nagaitis as Earl of Lonsdale
• Gary Lewis as Jack Mac
• Robert Glenister as Indigo Jeremy
• Susan Lynch as Jane Carr
• Aliyah Odoffin as Victoria Davis
• Maeve Dermody as Lady Grace
• Eddie Toll as Saul Woolf
• Ziggy Heath as Peggy Bettinson
• Ella Lily Hyland as Marianne Goodson

Stephen Graham as Sugar Goodson

Who is Sugar? Running the last remaining bare knuckle boxing pub in the East End, The Blue Coat Boy, Sugar is also a big deal in the East End – or at least he hopes. He has had a chequered past and grew up with Mary but is now set to face a new adversary in the form of Hezekiah.

Revealing how the series came about, Graham previously told RadioTimes.com that he and wife Hannah Walters, who are founders of Matriarch Productions, initially approached Steven Knight about the idea behind the show.

"I’d love to take the credit for that but that’s not the case. I pass it now to Hannah [Walters]. We got sent this beautiful photograph of Hezekiah and he looked so regal, just so full of humility and dignity. It was a fantastic photograph," he said.

"There were two paragraphs about Sugar and Treacle and it got sent to us through Tom [Miller for Water & Power Productions], one of our other producers, and he said: 'I’d really love you to be involved, I’d really love you to play Sugar if we can get it off the ground and, you know, we really want you and Hannah to come onboard and produce it with us'."

He continued: "Immediately, Hannah read it and went, 'Oh, this is going to be really good.' I was like, 'Do you think so? Do you think there’s anything there?' and she was like, 'Yeah, I’m going to ask Steve Knight to write it.' I was like, 'Don’t be ridiculous, love.' And she was like, 'No, trust me – I’m talking to Julie, she’s his assistant and they want you for Peaky Blinders and I’ve been chatting to her so I’ll make this happen.'"

Where have I seen Stephen Graham? Graham is known for a host of roles in both film and TV, including Boiling Point, Line of Duty, The Virtues and This Is England, as well as Time, Boardwalk Empire and Peaky Blinders. He is also known for film roles in Snatch, Gangs of New York, The Irishman and Matilda the Musical.

Erin Doherty as Mary Carr

Who is Mary? The Queen of the Forty Elephants, a notorious all-female criminal gang, Mary is intelligent, quick-thinking and entrepreneurial. But she has hopes of taking her operations to the next level, even if that means burning some bridges in the process.

Where have I seen Erin Doherty? Doherty is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Princess Anne in The Crown seasons 3 and 4. She has also starred in Chloe, Reawakening and is also set to star in Netflix's Adolescence.

Malachi Kirby as Hezekiah Moscow

Who is Hezekiah? Travelling from Jamaica to London, Hezekiah lands in the East End with best friend Alec with hopes of becoming a world famous lion tamer. He's charismatic and seeking fame but soon finds himself thrust into an unlikely career path.

Where have I seen Malachi Kirby? Kirby is known for his BAFTA winning role in Small Axe: Mangrove, as well as having starred in Black Mirror's Men Against Fire episode, the Roots reboot series, Wicked Little Letters and the 2021 Boiling Point film, where he starred alongside Graham. He has also starred in Curfew, Devils and My Name is Leon.

Jason Tobin as Mr Lao

Who is Mr Lao? The owner of the Green Dolphin Boarding house, Mr Lao is the only person to allow Hezekiah to stay in his lodgings. A bit of an enigmatic figure, Mr Lao is also hiding his own troublesome past.

Where have I seen Jason Tobin? Tobin is best known for his role in HBO's Warrior as well as Better Luck Tomorrow, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, F9 and Fistful of Vengeance.

James Nelson-Joyce as Edward 'Treacle' Goodson

Who is Treacle? Sugar's younger brother, Treacle will do anything for his brother even if the two don't always agree on what's best for future of The Blue Coat Boy. As orphans, they've had to rely on each other but with Treacle dreaming of more, their dynamic starts to shift.

Where have I seen James Nelson-Joyce? Nelson-Joyce has starred alongside Graham in Time, Little Boy Blue and The Virtues but is also known for his roles in Mount Pleasant, The Outlaws and Strike. He has also featured in Industry, The Responder and The Gold.

Francis Lovehall as Alec Munroe

Who is Alec? Alec is Hezekiah's best friend and together, they travel to London in the hopes of more. He's an avid boxer with dreams of cracking the industry in the UK but in the process, must try and keep his more reckless friend from trouble.

Where have I seen Francis Lovehall? Lovehall is best known for his role in Small Axe episode Lover's Rock, but has also starred in Champion, Masters of the Air and Criminal Record. He has also featured in Death on the Nile and His Dark Materials.

Hannah Walters as Eliza Moody

Who is Eliza? Fiercely loyal to Mary, Eliza is a member of the Forty Elephants. She is the eldest of the group, the second-in-command and more of the maternal figure but soon starts to question Mary's own vision for the gang.

Where have I seen Hannah Walters? Walters is known for her roles in This Is England and its eventual series, Whitechapel, Malpractice, Boiling Point and No Offence. With husband Stephen Graham, they both serve as executive producers on A Thousand Blows.

Darci Shaw as Alice Diamond

Who is Alice? Working in Harrods, Alice dreams of more and when she crosses paths with the Forty Elephants one day, she pleads to Mary to let her be part of the group. She's keen to prove herself, even if the others continue to doubt her.

Where have I seen Darci Shaw? Shaw is known for her roles as a young Judy Garland in Judy and as Cilla Black in Midas Man, having also starred in ITV's The Bay, The Irregulars and Brassic. She is also set to star in upcoming series, This City Is Ours.

Morgan Hilaire as Esme Long

Who is Esme? A loyal Forty Elephant, Esme will do anything for Mary but her faithfulness starts to wain with newfound plans.

Where have I seen Morgan Hilaire? A Thousand Blows is Hilaire's TV debut.

A Thousand Blows comes to Disney Plus from 21st February. You can sign up to Disney Plus from £4.99 a month now.

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