Black Mirror Season 6 cast: who stars in Beyond the Sea with Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett?

Black Mirror is back. Four years since the last series ended, Charlie Brooker’s dystopian sci-fi anthology is returning for five new episodes, featuring actors from the likes of Breaking Bad, Penny Dreadful, and Pose, bringing together the stars of prestige television drama and superhero films and historical epics alike.

Beyond the Sea, the third episode of Black Mirror’s sixth season, follows two astronauts as they undertake a perilous high-tech mission – and struggle with the impossible tragedy they’ve left behind.

Here’s everything you need to know about the cast of Black Mirror’s Season 6 episode Beyond the Sea, from where you recognise them from already to what you should watch them in next.

Aaron Paul as Cliff Stanfield

Who do they play in Black Mirror? Aaron Paul plays astronaut Cliff Stanfield, an explorer two years into a six-year mission, separated from his wife and child at home.

Where do I recognise them from? Paul is of course best known as Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pinkman, but you’ll also know him from television series like The Path and Bojack Horseman, as well as from films like Need for Speed, Central Intelligence, and Eye in the Sky. He also made a cameo in a previous episode of Black Mirror, playing a voice role in Series 4’s USS Callister. 

What should I watch them in next? If you’re looking for something with a Black Mirror-esque story, you might want to check out Dual, a science fiction action satire about a woman who clones herself when diagnosed with terminal illness – and then has to fight her clone to the death when she unexpectedly recovers. 

Josh Hartnett as David Ross

Who do they play in Black Mirror? Josh Hartnett plays David Ross, Cliff’s only companion on his deep space expedition. 

Where do I recognise them from? Hartnett is best known for roles in Penny Dreadful (alongside original Black Mirror star Rory Kinnear), Pearl Harbour, and The Virgin Suicides. You might also recognise him from the horror movies Halloween H20: 20 Years Later or 30 Days of Night too, or the recent television cyber thriller The Fear Index.

What should I watch them in next? For something completely different, you might want to check out Exterminate All the Brutes, an acclaimed documentary about colonialism and imperialism that sees Hartnett play a sort of metaphorical representation of both.

Kate Mara as Lana Stanfield

Who do they play in Black Mirror? Kate Mara plays Lana Stanfield, Cliff’s wife. 

Where do I recognise them from? Mara is perhaps best known for appearing in the Netflix political thriller House of Cards, where she played reporter Zoe Barnes, but you might also recognise her from other television series like Pose, 24, and A Teacher. She’s also appeared in films like Brokeback Mountain, Chappaquiddick, and the 2015 Fantastic Four.

What should I watch them in next? You might want to check out another space-themed role on Mara’s filmography and watch The Martian, Ridley Scott’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s acclaimed novel that starred Mara in a supporting role as an astronaut.

Who else stars in Beyond the Sea? 

The cast of Beyond the Sea also includes Auden Thornton (The Good Wife, This Is Us) as David’s wife Jessica Ross, and Rory Culkin (Columbus, Under the Banner of Heaven) as the mysterious Kappa.

Who writes and directs Beyond the Sea?

As ever, Beyond the Sea was written by Charlie Brooker, the creator of Black Mirror who is credited with writing almost every episode of the series to date. The episode was directed by John Crowley, an Irish film director probably best known for the Saoirse Ronan film Brooklyn. 

Black Mirror Season 6 arrives on Netflix on Thursday 15 June at 8am BST. You can read more of our Black Mirror coverage here.

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