Half Man, the new BBC drama from Richard Gadd, has a stacked cast packed with familiar faces from across British TV – including ex-Corrie star Charlie de Melo.
Gadd had a handful of roles in the 2010s (Scot Squad, Humans, Outlander), but his breakout came with Baby Reindeer, his autobiographical Netflix hit about a real-life stalking ordeal.
Now, he’s teamed up with the BBC and HBO for something darker. Half Man follows two estranged ‘brothers’ – not related by blood, but bound by family – across three turbulent decades.
Gadd leads the series, but he’s joined by a long list of recognisable names, including De Melo, who played Imran in Corrie. After episode 2, we finally know who he plays – and why he’s so important.
***Warning: spoilers for Half Man ahead***
Half Man cast: Richard Gadd plays Ruben
Gadd plays Ruben Pallister, the volatile, charismatic half of the show’s central duo.
Ruben is fiercely loyal, dangerously impulsive, and never takes kindly to being told what to do.
“Ruben is so far from any role I’ve taken on before and also from me as a person,” Gadd said.
The role required a physical transformation too, with Gadd putting on muscle through a strict routine.
He’s still best known for Baby Reindeer, where he played Donny, a struggling comic stalked by a woman he meets at work. The show earned him multiple Emmys and a BAFTA.
Jamie Bell plays Niall
Jamie Bell stars as Niall, Ruben’s quieter, more conflicted ‘brother’.
Their relationship is the core of the show, even if it’s hard to unpack without spoilers.
“Niall has identified Ruben as this aspirational person… although Ruben’s problematic, at least he’s honest,” Bell said.
“Meanwhile Niall is always fraught with this sense that he can’t be honest about who he really is.”
Bell is best known for Billy Elliot, alongside roles in Rocketman, All of Us Strangers, and Snowpiercer.
Half Man cast: Stuart Campbell portrays young Ruben
Stuart Campbell plays Ruben in his teenage years, as the series jumps between past and present.
Known for SAS Rogue Heroes and Shetland, Campbell focused heavily on Ruben’s physicality.
“We both individually decided that we wanted to bulk up for the role,” he said.
He also worked independently from Gadd to shape his version of the character.
Mitchell Robertson plays young Niall
Mitchell Robertson takes on Niall’s younger years.
He’s appeared in Marriage, A Very British Scandal, Grace, and Mayflies, as well as voicing Oliver Wood in Audible’s Harry Potter series.
Half Man marks his biggest role so far.
“The character changes… but the core thread stays the same,” he said.
How old are Mitchell Robertson and Stuart Campbell?
While Mitchell Robertson and Stuart Campbell are meant to be playing teenagers, they’re actually much older in real life.
Campbell is 27 years old, while Robertson is 28.
So, why were they cast? Well, as soon as Richard Gadd saw their audition, he “felt the same way as [he] did” about Jessica Gunning, who played Martha in Baby Reindeer.
“It had to be them. I didn’t doubt it for a second,” he told The Wrap.
“What they got most of all was the pain and the conflict in the characters. I think a lot of people came in with Ruben, and they popped the chest and shouted every line. They played the violence of the character when really I wanted to see the pain.
“Then, with Mitchell, he played the conflict. I found that a lot of people played Niall in the body, and they’d be very meek. They would kind of close off, and they’d be like, ‘I need to be like a dainty little kid.’ But it wasn’t about that. It was about the internal strife that he feels.”
Also, there could be another reason that Gadd wanted to cast older actors. Given the sexual content and violence of the first two episodes, Gadd likely felt it was safer (or perhaps he was obligated) to cast adults.
For example, in 28 Years Later, Chi Lewis-Parry had to wear a prosthetic penis because he was in scenes with Alfie Williams, a child actor. While not as extreme, there could be similar reasoning with Half Man.
Neve McIntosh stars as Lori, Niall’s mum
Neve McIntosh plays Lori, Niall’s mother.
She’s a complicated figure – loving, but often unintentionally hurtful.
“Niall’s relationship with Lori… will constantly confound people,” Robertson said.
McIntosh is known for roles in Bodies, Doctor Who, Death in Paradise, and Shetland.
Half Man cast also stars Marianne McIvor as Ruben’s mother, Maura
Marianne McIvor plays Maura, Ruben’s mother.
She shows loyalty to Ruben but can be critical of Niall, shaping both characters in different ways.
“There’s a lack of closeness… that informs who he is,” Campbell said.
Charlie de Melo as Alby
Charlie de Melo plays Alby, a friend of Niall’s whom he meets at university.
In episode 2, the younger version of his character is brutally assaulted by Ruben. However, in the closing scene, there’s a big reveal: the person Niall is marrying is… Alby!
You may not recognise Charlie de Melo at first (or the fact it’s Alby), but look closely and you’ll see facial scars.
Coronation Street fans will instantly recognise De Melo as Imran, a role he held for five years and over 400 episodes. He also appeared in EastEnders as PC Jaz Jones and had small roles in Doctor Who, Ellis, and Rivals.
Bilal Hasna as young Alby
Bilal Hasna plays the younger version of Alby.
His credits include Extraordinary, 3 Body Problem, Black Mirror, and Slow Horses.
Half Man cast: Kate Robson-Stuart as Joanna
Kate Robson-Stuart plays Joanna, another friend of Niall’s, in the present timeline.
It’s her first on-screen role after a long theatre career.
Julie Cullen plays young Joanna
Julie Cullen plays Joanna during the university years.
She previously starred in Traces.
Amy Manson plays Mona
Amy Manson plays Mona, a key figure introduced during Ruben and Niall’s school years.
“Ruben brings Mona into his life in quite an extreme way,” Robertson said.
Manson’s credits include The Nevers, Bodies, and Once Upon a Time.
Charlotte Blackwood plays young Mona
Charlotte Blackwood plays Mona in her teenage years, marking one of her first major roles.
Full cast of Half Man on BBC
- Sandy Batchelor (SAS Rogue Heroes, 28 Years Later)
- Kal Sabir (Dept. Q, Slow Horses)
- Ruchika Jain (The London Files)
- Philippine Velge (Station Eleven)
- Russ Bain (Shetland)
- Anthony Bradley (Because We Are Too Many)
- Paul Antony-Barber (House of Anubis)
- Simon Chandler (The Diplomat)
- Scot Greenan (T2 Trainspotting)
- Adam McNamara (I Swear)
- Rowan McIntosh (Crookhaven)
- Stuart McQuarrie (Shetland, The Tower)
- Colin McCredie (Taggart, River City)
- John Scougall (California Schemin’)
- Euan Macnaughton (Dinosaur)
- Sam Garioch (Outlander)
- Gordon Brown (Shetland, Dept. Q)
Read more: The best movies on BBC iPlayer you can watch right now
Half Man episodes 1-2 are available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
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