3 Body Problem cast guide: Meet the cast and characters (and their book equivalents)

3 Body Problem is a complex, fascinating, and mind-bending new Netflix Original series based on the Hugo Award-winning trilogy by Cixin Liu and created by Dan Weiss, David Benioff, and Alexander Woo. The show features many notable actors like Benedict Wong, Liam Cunningham, Eiza González, and more.

If you're interested in learning who plays who in 3 Body Problem and where you've seen some of the actors before (plus who their book equivalents might be), keep reading to learn everything you need to know!

Rosalind Chao as Ye Wenjie

• Age: 66 (September 23, 1957)
• Height: 5'6
• Spouse: Simon Templeman
• Instagram: @chao_time

Who is Ye Wenjie? Ye Wenjie is an astrophysics prodigy and daughter of a once acclaimed professor who was brutally murdered during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. She's faced a lot of trauma in her life, which motivates her to make a fateful decision in the 1960s that echoes across all of time and forces humanity to face a potentially world-ending threat.

Where have you seen Rosalind Chao before? If you're a '90s baby like me, you might remember Chao as Keiko O'Brien from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. She also played a pivotal role in the 2003 comedy Freaky Friday starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. Other movies you might recognize her from include What Dreams May Come, Just Like Heaven, and The Joy Luck Club. In 2020, she played Mulan's mother in the live-action Disney remake. On television, Chao has appeared in popular recent series like Better Things, Sweet Tooth, and The First Lady.

What's next? The American actress will star alongside Kristen Stewart, Maya Erskine, and Michael Cera in the road trip comedy Sacramento from director Michael Angarano.

Jess Hong as Jin Cheng

• Age: 27
• Height: 5'4
• Instagram: @jessthehong

Who is Jin Cheng? As one of the members of the Oxford Five, Jin Cheng was mentored by Vera Ye and she is a talented theoretical physicist, potentially the brightest of her generation. Jin is driven to answer some of the universe's biggest mysteries. For book fans, Jin shares many similarities with the character Cheng Xin, an aerospace engineer introduced in the third book, Death's End.

Where have you seen Jess Hong before? This New Zealand actress is an up-and-coming star who previously trained professionally at the Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. Before landing the lead role in 3 Body Problem, Hong appeared in the sci-fi series Creamerie and The Brokenwood Mysteries. A multi-talented performer, she's also acted in several theatrical productions. Hong recently wrapped filming on a horror film called Grafted that is currently in post-production.

Jovan Adepo as Saul Durand

• Age: 35 (September 6, 1988)
• Height: 5'11
• Instagram: @jovanadepo

Who is Saul Durand? If you've read the books then I'll tell you that Saul seems to be getting Luo Ji's storyline. The show sets it up perfectly by the end of the first season. But I won't say anymore for those who are unfamiliar. Saul is yet another Oxford Five member and he has a complicated relationship with Auggie Salazar. He's very gifted, but not always the most focused. When he's presented with a monumental challenge, will he finally realize his full potential?

Where have you seen Jovan Adepo before? Adepo is an accomplished actor with many impressive accolades under his belt already, including a Primetime Emmy nomination for his work on the HBO miniseries Watchmen where he played Will Reeves/Hooded Justice. He also recently starred as Sidney Palmer alongside Margot Robbie in Damien Chazelle's SAG Award-nominated 2023 film Babylon, a role he learned to play the trumpet for! Previous credits include The Leftovers, The Stand, Fences, To Catch a Killer, His Three Daughters, Sorry For Your Loss, Jack Ryan, and When They See Us.

What's next? After working on the Stephen King series The Stand, Adepo will next star in another King-based series on Max with the It prequel Welcome to Derry, set to release in 2025.

Eiza González as Auggie Salazar

• Age: 34 (January 30, 1990)
• Height: 5'8
• Instagram: @eizagonzalez

Who is Auggie Salazar? Auggie kind of gets Wang Miao's book storyline in the first season of 3 Body Problem as a talented nanotech trailblazer who finds herself seeing a creepy countdown everywhere that interrupts her research. Her brilliance makes her a target for humanity's enemies.

Where have you seen Eiza González before? Mexican actress Eiza González has been working steadily since the early 2000s, starting with her earliest job on an Argentine Nickelodeon series before getting her breakout role playing Santanico Pandemonium in the series From Dusk till Dawn: The Series. Since then, she's gone on to star in several notable projects like Baby Driver, Alita: Battle Angel, Ambulance, and Godzilla vs. Kong.

What's next? González has multiple films in the works, including two Guy Ritchie movies and a sci-fi film with Aaron Paul titled Ash.

Alex Sharp as Will Downing

• Age: 34 (February 2, 1989)
• Height: 5'10

Who is Will Downing? Will Downing seems to be taking over the role of Yun Tianming from Death's End. He's another member of the Oxford Five and a sixth-form physics teacher who receives news that makes him reevaluate his place in the universe.

Where have you seen Alex Sharp before? Sharp is a Tony Award-winning actor who broke out thanks to his excellent performance originating the role of Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a role that won him the Tony. He started performing after studying at the prestigious Juilliard School. Beyond that, you've seen him in The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Hustle, Living, and One Life.

John Bradley as Jack Rooney

• Age: 35 (September 5, 1988)
• Height: 5'8
• Instagram: @johnbradleywest

Who is Jack Rooney? The fifth member of the Oxford Five, Jack made his legendary fortune after building a successful snack food empire. He doesn't have a direct book correlation, but book fans might connect him to a minor character that appears in the third book and plays into Yun Tianming's storyline. Otherwise, Jack mostly serves as a comic relief character.

Where have you seen John Bradley before? The English actor is definitely best known for playing Samwell Tarly in Game of Thrones. He reunites with Dan Weiss and David Benioff in 3 Body Problem. Besides D&D's shows, Bradley's other credits include Marry Me, Moonfall, Borgia, North Shore, and Shameless.

Benedict Wong as Da Shi (Clarence)

• Age: 52 (July 3, 1971)
• Height: 5'10
• Spouse: Nina Wong
• Instagram: @wongrel

Who is Clarence? Benedict Wong plays a version of the cop Da Shi that is a fan-favorite character in the book. His character is named "Da Shi" in all the press material in the show, but Thomas Wade calls him Clarence throughout the show, so it's a little confusing on what his real name is supposed to be in the series. Clarence is assigned to investigate the mysterious deaths plaguing the scientific community.

Where have you seen Benedict Wong before? A long-time actor, Benedict Wong is an acclaimed English star who has been acting on stage and screen for several decades now. He started out in projects like Dirty Pretty Things and 15 Storeys High before pivoting to roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Netflix series Marco Polo. He also starred in Annihilation, The Martian, Nine Days, Deadly Class (rip), and Top Boy.

What's next? He will reportedly return to play Wong in the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars.

Liam Cunningham as Thomas Wade

• Age: 62 (June 2, 1961)
• Height: 6'1
• Spouse: Colette Cunningham
• Instagram: @liamcunningham1

Who is Thomas Wade? Wade is a big-picture kind of guy and leads an elite intelligence organization that assists with planetary defense. His character isn't introduced until later in the trilogy, but Cunningham is great casting for Wade and his earlier introduction in the show makes sense.

Where have you seen Liam Cunningham before? Like John Bradley, Cunningham is another Game of Thrones alum. You'll remember him as Davos Seaworth in the show. But the Irish actor has been acting for a long time and racked up numerous accolades over the years. Many consider him one of the greatest actors from Ireland. His other credits include Hunger, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Merlin, Domina, Clash of the Titans, The Crooked Man, Let Us Prey, and The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

More 3 Body Problem cast and characters

• Marlo Kelly as Tatiana, a devout follower of the San-Ti, or the Lord as she refers to them
• Sea Shimooka as Sophon, a liaison between Earth and the San-Ti, an avatar in the VR game
• Zine Tseng as Young Ye Wenjie, the younger version of Wenjie we meet early on who makes fateful decision in the 1960s that echoes across time
• Jonathan Pryce as Mike Evans, the passionate environmentalist who later becomes a billionaire; Ben Schnetzer as Young Mike Evans
• Saamer Usmani as Raj Sharma, a naval officer and boyfriend of Jin Cheng
• Eve Ridley as Follower, the 9-year-old character that is part of the VR game
• Yang Hewen as Bai Mulin, man who Ye Wenjie has a brief fling with at the labor brigade
• Vedette Lim as Vera Ye, scientist who assembled the Oxford Five and commits suicide in the first episode, daughter of Ye Wenjie
• Yu Guming as Yang Weining, Ye Wenjie's comrade at Red Coast Base