Netflix’s 3 Body Problem is one of the hottest Sci-fi shows on the platform right now. It was released in March 2024 and follows a team of five scientists as they figure out why a race of superior aliens known as the San-Ti are planning to colonise Earth. For eight episodes, Netflix spent nearly $20 million per episode, and as a result, fans are waiting to see if the streaming platform will pay that, and possibly more, for more seasons.
The series is based on The Three-Body Problem trilogy novels by Chinese author Liu Cixin. So, to complete this exciting story, Netflix will need to green-light at least two more seasons. The series was #1 on Netflix for two weeks and sparked endless conversation, but the talented cast, filled with familiar actors, stood out the most. Here is the cast and character guide for Netflix’s 3 Body Problem.
Rosalind Chao and Zine Tseng as Ye Wenjie
Rosalind Chao and Zine Tseng play Ye Wenjie. She becomes a prisoner after the Chinese Cultural Revolution caused the brutal death of her parents. She is forever changed, but with a sentence to serve, the brilliant young mind is taken to a top-secret Chinese facility to work on a secret mission. The mission, which she later finds out, is about contact with extraterrestrial beings beyond their planet, and this epic story starts there. When she responds to a message( despite the warning that a response would mean these beings will come to conquer their planet), she sets the 3- body Problem story into motion. Presently, Wenjie is seen as a leader for the believers who serve their ‘Lord’, but when she makes mistakes, she is abandoned by The San-Ti.
Jovan Adepo as Saul Durand
Jovan Adepo plays Saul Durand, a young theoretical physicist who believes his time to make a difference in the world has passed. But when his friends start dying one by one, and the world is on the brink of collapse, he has seemingly given up on the Earth. But the San-Ti wouldn’t have been trying to kill him if he wasn’t essential to helping humans fight back. As part of the Oxford Five and one of the few remaining members, Durand is given a task as one of three Wallfacers who will create a secret plan to fight The San-Ti. While he doubts his potential, his problem-solving skills will be an asset to Earth’s survival. Durand also has a complicated romantic relationship with Auggie.
Eiza Gonzàlez as Auggie Salazar
Eiza Gonzàlez plays one of the Oxford five students, Auggie. She ventured into applied science and started her nanotech company, where she designed nano fibres that can cut through anything and are as thin as a strand of hair. Her technology is so powerful that it ends up being used as a weapon to stop the cult that follows the San-Ti. But she isn’t happy that her life’s work is being used to kill people, which makes her spiral. She is one of the first people to start seeing the countdown timer, which makes her stop her groundbreaking research.
Alex Sharp as Will Downing
Alex Sharp plays Will Downing. Will is notably humble and quiet, harbouring a long crush on Jin but never gets to tell her his true feelings. Unfortunately, he is diagnosed with a terminal illness and only has a few weeks to live, which pushes him to make a very drastic decision to please Jin. The San-Ti were looking forward to meeting a part of Will, but his brain wanders into space for eternity when the mission fails. His character is one of the show’s attractions because of his tender spirit and courage to do what no one else has the guts to do in a close-to-apocalyptic world.
Vedette Lim as Vera Ye
Although Vera Ye, Ye Wenjie’s daughter, doesn’t appear much in 3 Body Problem Season 1, she is probably the most important character because she brings together the Oxford Five, her PhD advisees, in 2016. As a professor of particle physics, her promising students, Jin Cheng, Will Downing, Saul Durand, Auggie Salazar, and Jack Rooney, became close friends while working under her. Throughout the series, its made evident that she brought some of the brightest minds in the world together, which The San-Ti believe will threaten their plan to colonise the planet once they arrive on Earth in the next 400 years. Tragically, she kills herself at the start of the series after she discovers her mother’s plans with the San-Ti
John Bradley as Jack Rooney
Game of Thrones alum John Bradley plays the millionaire Jack Rooney, who left science behind and started a successful snack company. Jack is bold and says everything on his mind, ultimately leading to his death when he refuses to work with the followers of the San-Ti. He is close to his friends and would do anything for them because they are his only family. When he dies, he leaves half of his fortune to his best friend, Will.
Jess Hong as Jin Cheng
Jess Hong is brilliant as the physicist Jin Cheng. Jin has always been a standout leader among her peers, and this doesn’t stop when the world is threatened by a superior alien race looking for a new home. When everyone else seems lost, Jin takes the lead. After receiving the VR game that the San-Ti are using to test for Earth’s smartest minds, she becomes one of the only people the San-Ti talk to through the Sophon, preparing her what’s coming. Her personal life, however, is more complicated, especially when she finds out she has always loved Will.
Thomas Wade
While Thomas Wade, played by Liam Cunningham from Game of Thrones, seems like a villain, he tries his best with the vast resources available to keep the world safe. He is the leader of the most powerful intelligence operation in the world and is determined to do whatever it takes to stop the San-Ti. It doesn’t matter if it’s legal or not.
Benedict Wong as Clarence “Da” Shi
Doctor Strange star Benedict Wong plays Clarence “Da” Shi, a former MI5 member working for Thomas Wade. He is the lead investigator of the mysterious suicides of top scientists and ends up working with members of the Oxford Five. At the end of 3 Body Problem Season 1, he is assigned to protect Saul Durand. It’s a job that he will do for the rest of his life. Wong does a great job of portraying the character’s humor on screen despite the gravity of the situation they find themselves in, making him a needed character at the hear of the tense series. Is 3 Body problem the next big hit for Netflix. Find out here.
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