After six seasons of dark age exploits, the action-packed television series Vikings came to an end. But the Viking adventures wouldn’t just stop there, as Netflix quickly greenlit a show that would follow in its footsteps. Vikings: Valhalla takes place 100 years after the events of the original Vikings series. It carries on the spirit of exploration that saw Ragnar Lothbrok and his descendants travel from Scandinavia to England, France, Iceland, and even early America. With a whole new set of characters and plenty of battles to wage, Vikings: Valhalla looks poised to waste no time in getting down to business. And with show runner Jeb Stuart on board, the screenwriter behind films like Die Hard and The Fugitive, there will clearly be no shortage of thrilling action.

The new series revolves around a new generation of Viking warriors, including Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter), and most importantly, Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), the famed Viking explorer who would go on to land on American soil several centuries before Christopher Columbus. The central conflict of Vikings: Valhalla exists between the Vikings and the English, whose fight for control of the British Isles has seen tensions spill over into open war. These two groups will grapple not just for territory or military power, but for the predominance of their religion – the Vikings who believe in the Norse gods will struggle to maintain their position in a rapidly changing world, facing battle with Christian Vikings as well as Englishmen.

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Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett)

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Image via Netflix

One day, Leif Eriksson will become one of the most legendary Viking adventurers in history, whose exploits will see him travel across the globe. Here, though, he is an outsider of sorts, raised in Greenland as the scion of an old pagan family. Throughout Vikings: Valhalla, he will struggle to build his own legacy apart from that of his father, Erik the Red.

Sam Corlett is a relative newcomer to television, but has a background of theatrical training, having graduated from the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts. His major roles so far include playing Young Luke in the Australian mystery thriller The Dry alongside Eric Bana, and as Prince Caliban on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson)

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Image via Netflix

The younger sister of Leif, Freydis is equally new to the Norse stronghold of Kattegat. But where her brother is more introspective, Freydis is a fierce devotee to the pagan Viking ways and seeks to make her mark on her own terms.

Beginning her career as a very successful model, Frida Gustavsson began acting in 2018, with her debut role of Ninni Nilsson in the Swedish romance Swoon. She has since appeared in Netflix’s The Witcher as Ma, the mother of a young Geralt of Rivia, and in a recurring role on the crime drama Partisan.

Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter)

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Image via Netflix

Charming and gregarious, Harald Sigurdsson is one of the leading men in Norse society. He is a Christian prince of Norway, but he has ambitions to become king – something that will not be achieved without bloodshed and will require his ability to lead pagan and Christian alike.

English actor Leo Suter is perhaps best known for his performance on Andiron in the role of Young Stringer, but has appeared in a number of other period dramas. The most famous of these are Beecham House, where he played black sheep of the family Daniel Beecham, and Victoria, in the role of Drummond, private secretary to Prime Minister Robert Peel.

King Canute (Bradley Freegard)

Bradley Freegard as King Canute and Leo Suter and Harald Sigurdsson in Vikings Valhalla Season 1
Image via Netflix

King Canute (also sometimes historically style as Cnut) is the Viking ruler of Scandinavia, but his ambition has him seeking greater power across the seas in England. His strength and ruthlessness will see him become one of the most prominent historical figures of the age.

A popular Welsh actor, Bradley Freegard has made appearances in American and English productions such as DaVinci’s Demons, Eastenders, and Doctors. But he’s also developed a thriving career in Wales, starring in the Welsh drama Under Milk Wood, and, most recently, Keeping Faith, a legal mystery where he acts alongside his wife, Eve Myles.

Olaf Haraldsson (Johannes Johannesson)

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Image via Netflix (Johannesson on the left)

If Harald wants to become King of Norway, there’s one person more than anyone else who would probably have something to say about that: His older half-brother, Olaf. He is equally ambitious as his younger brother, and he is a devout Christian, a fact that will put him at odds with many.

Icelandic actor Jóhannes Jóhannesson has carved out something of a niche for himself as a gruff Scandinavian action hero. He’s featured in a number of major Hollywood projects, including Infinite with Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Zone 414 with Guy Pearce, The Sister Brothers, Atomic Blonde, and even the small indie drama Where’d You Go, Bernadette starring Cate Blanchett.

Emma of Normandy (Laura Berlin)

Laura Berlin in Vikings: Valhalla
Image via Netflix

A Norman with Viking blood, Emma of Normandy is believed to be a descendent of Rollo, the brother of the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok. Married to the King of England, she is a shrewd and clever political player, not to be underestimated.

Actress Laura Berlin hails from Germany, and Vikings: Valhalla is one of her first major English language productions. Most of her credits come from her native Germany, where she starred in the YA adventure drama Ruby Red, along with prominent roles in television series such as Einstein and Breaking Even.

Earl Godwin (David Oakes)

David Oakes in Vikings: Valhalla
Image via Netflix

A key advisor to the King of England, Earl Godwin displays the uncanny ability to somehow survive any and all political crises, shifting in the wind to ensure his continued position at court. Perpetually trying to recover status lost by his father’s ineptitude, he will stop at nothing to maintain influence with the royal family.

David Oakes is no stranger to period dramas. Some of his most famous former roles have been as the villainous William Hamleigh in Pillars of the Earth, the lecherous but cowardly Juan Borgia on The Borgias, the traitorous George, Duke of Clarence on The White Queen, and the syphilis-ridden Prince Ernst, Duke of Coburg on Victoria.

Jarl Haakon (Caroline Henderson)

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Image via Netflix

The magnanimous ruler of Kattegat, Jarl Haakon is widely known as tough but fair. She has a challenge ahead of her, keeping her growing, ever-changing city together even as its population faces growing religious divides. She provides valuable wisdom and support to the eager Freydis both as the leader of Kattegat and also a pagan.

Best known for her work as a jazz singer, Caroline Henderson has a number of hit singles in Denmark, where she has lived since 1983. In 2010, she was knighted with the Order of the Dannebrog for her artistic contributions. As an actress, she has appeared in a handful of productions, including the film Gooseboy and the television series Christmas Star.

Prince Edmund (Louis Davison)

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Image via Netflix

As the eldest surviving son of King Aethelred, Prince Edmund stands to inherit not just the English throne, but a great deal of chaos in the form of Viking attacks. He is young and inexperienced, ill-prepared to lead a nation, but he will nevertheless need to steel his nerves to face England’s challenges that lie ahead.

Louis Davison comes from a showbiz family – his father is Doctor Who alumnus Peter Davison, and his mother is actress Elizabeth Morton, best known for her work on British sitcoms Jeeves and Wooster and Watching. Davison himself has been acting since childhood, with his most famous roles in Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children alongside Asa Butterfield, moody period drama Poldark, and the time-traveling teen series Find Me In Paris.