At the start of Season 4, Geralt is still reeling from the brutal aftermath of Season 3. Physically scarred and emotionally drained, he’s forced to reckon with the cost of his choices while trying to keep his fractured family — Ciri and Yennefer — the focus of his monster-filled journey.

Once a lone wolf, he now leads an unlikely band of friends and allies. “One of the things that Geralt really grapples with … is the idea of this journey being his and his alone,” says Schmidt Hissrich. “What Geralt realizes is that bringing this hansa together is part of what he needs to save Ciri.”

Stepping right into Geralt’s boots — and into an established cast — was not an easy undertaking for Hemsworth. But after speaking with Schmidt Hissrich, he recalls, “I felt like I was going to have the support and the confidence that I needed to really pull it off.” Schmidt Hissrich says, “The very first time we met, he said, ‘I’d like to offer something [to the series] that I feel like is missing,’ and I was like, ‘Okay, bring it, tell me what’s missing.’ He said, ‘I’d really like to bring a sense of humor back to the show’ — and that stuck with me so much.”

A longtime Witcher fan, Hemsworth dove into training. “By the time I stepped on the set,” he says,“I felt really good and comfortable with a sword.” Stepping into costume completed the transformation: “Any day I put on the actual body armor … and then I put the contact lenses in, that’s when I really feel immersed in this character.”

Hemsworth got his start in the Australian soap Neighbours and played Gale Hawthorne in The Hunger Games films. He’s also starred in the Netflix romantic drama Lonely Planet opposite Laura Dern and has appeared in action blockbusters such as Independence Day: Resurgence.

In the wake of chaos and tragedy, Yennefer must channel her grief into a plan. Separated from Geralt and Ciri, she pivots from searching to strategizing: rallying rival mages, rebuilding shattered institutions, and taking the fight directly to the threat stalking her family. With Tissaia gone and the Continent at war, Yen has to step into leadership.

Her mission is crystal clear. “What Yen is doing is making the world safe for Ciri to return to,” says Schmidt Hissrich. “She has one focus, which is to get Vilgefortz off this Continent.”

Like Geralt, Yen has often believed she works best alone — but her bond with him helps sustain the power she needs, even though they’re separated. Creating that bond with a new actor as Geralt took some getting used to, but it didn’t take long for the change to feel natural. “It’s such a huge undertaking and I’m sure there must have been nerves,” Chalotra says of Hemsworth taking on the role, “but we didn’t see it. He has just been such a lovely energy on set and brought something really beautiful to Geralt.”

Chalotra’s pre-Witcher credits include the relationship drama series Wanderlust, alongside Toni Collette, and the Agatha Christie miniseries The ABC Murders. She has also performed as a voice actor on Twilight of the Gods and reprised her role as Yen in The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep.

Ciri is in her reinvention era at the start of Season 4. She’s alive but unaccounted for, living in the fringes of Nilfgaard among a troupe of vagabonds known as the Rats, and she’s hiding behind a new alias and identity: “She’s taken on the name of Falka,” says Allan. “What Falka represents is this darkness and this brutality and this very hard person, and there’s a coldness there.” With her powers blunted or missing, Ciri leans on a newfound swagger as she navigates the dark alleys of Nilfgaard.

“We get to see her develop her own sense of style,” says Schmidt Hissrich. “This is rock‘n’roll Ciri.” Allan echoes the theme of rebellion. “I wanted to feel like a woman this season and not like a child,” she explains. “So I sat there and had my very thick wig chopped … I just suddenly felt like a punk rocker.”

Outside of The Witcher, you can see Allan in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Gunpowder Milkshake.

Right by Geralt’s side is his most loyal ally: the accident-prone bard Jaskier. In Season 4, the bond between Jaskier and Geralt only deepens as they trek across the Continent. “Jaskier is the foundation of the [group] because Geralt already knows that he can trust Jaskier,” says Schmidt Hissrich.

While everything’s in flux on the Continent, and we’ll learn much more about Jaskier’s backstory this season, certain things with him will always stay the same. “Jaskier, is, once again, put in peril over and over again,” says Batey. Despite constant mortal danger, Jaskier’s motives remain pure. “He wants to just bring happiness to everyone he meets,” Batey says.

Batey can be seen in dramas such as Knightfall, Strike, and The White Queen. He made a memorable appearance as Jaskier in the prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin.

Season 4 introduces Regis as a soft-spoken healer with a mysterious past. “Regis is a fan favorite,” says Schmidt Hissrich. “It will be the first time we’ve met a higher vampire on our show. Higher vampires are very interesting because they are born vampires, they are not created as vampires.”

Regis becomes an unexpected confidant who challenges Geralt to look inward while they hunt for his found family. Fisburne explains, “Geralt is becoming much more introspective in this season and is really struggling with some deeper emotions. He’s somebody that is not accustomed to embracing his emotions and expressing his emotions. And through his relationship with Regis, he’s becoming more and more comfortable with that as a way of being.”

Fishburne is an icon of film and television, having appeared in Apocalypse Now, Boyz n the Hood, and the John Wick films, among many other modern classics. He’s perhaps best known as Morpheus in The Matrix films.

A sharp-edged, dead-accurate archer with a soft spot for the vulnerable, Milva joins Geralt’s road crew right where Season 3 left off. She’s the group’s scout, sniper, and truth-teller — quick with a bow and quicker to call out nonsense — and steers the crew through ambushes and river runs.

“Yesterday and today, Milva saves the day,” says Zhang. “Otherwise, who’s going to save them?” Just like in the series, Zhang is one hundred percent Team Geralt in real life. “It doesn't matter whether we’re on set, onscreen, or in the pub, we're really hansa and the chemistry is going to really show,” she says. “I just don’t want it to end.”

Zhang’s international debut came as Xialing in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but she has years of theater experience under her belt in her native China.

Once Nilfgaard’s most brutal weapon, Cahir begins Season 4 as both a prisoner and a man at a crossroads. Haunted by what he’s done — and by what he’s meant to Ciri — Cahir must win the trust of Geralt’s traveling alliance.

Watch the Australian actor in the based-on-a-true-story film The Dig and in the 2017 series Twin Peaks: The Return.

Yarpen comes back into Geralt’s orbit as the kind of ally you want. Batey says, “The show would not be The Witcher without him.” Fishburne adds with a laugh, “Yarpen has probably got the best accent of everyone in the whole show.”

Crawford’s previous credits include Anne with an E, Most Dangerous Game, and Titans.

A grizzled dwarf fighter with a soft spot for underdogs, Zoltan brings muscle and morale to Geralt’s traveling band.

The prolific actor and comedian has starred in decades of film and TV, including Seinfeld and Conan the Adventurer.

At the start of Season 4, Fringilla is doing what she can to survive. “This season, Fringilla starts on her own, and she’s just sussing out what her next move is,” says Khayisa. The canny strategist will have to take stock of where and whether to place her allegiance, all while guarding her independence.

Watch Khayisa in the 2015 Disney live-action remake of Cinderella, The Legend of Tarzan, Catherine Called Birdy, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, plus British TV series including Mr Selfridge, Doctor Who, Rellik, and Black Earth Rising.

Shapeshifter Philippa remains the Continent’s consummate political operator, steering Redania’s interests with Dijkstra while weighing which alliances best serve both crown and craft. Her cool control is intact, but Season 4 may force her to declare her allegiance once and for all. 

“Nobody feels safe around Philippa because nobody can work out which side she’s on,” says Clare. “The truth is, it’s because she's so laser-focused on her goal. And I think it might be quite interesting to find out if she is actually evil or not.”

Clare can be seen in The Sandman, The Irregulars, Grace, and Brave New World.

A botanist-scholar and healer whose kindness is often mistaken for weakness, The Witcher’s moral compass is bringing out a newfound edge and fire in Season 4. “We see a bit of a departure from her being her gentle healer self,” says Shaffer. “She’s really getting passionate and down and dirty.”

Shaffer broke through as Dumbledore’s Army member Romilda Vane in the Harry Potter films and as Ruby Button on British soap Hollyoaks.

Razor-tongued and unflappable, Sabrina emerges from the Aretuza fallout with her pragmatism intact and her political instincts sharpened. A steady and unsentimental ally as the mages regroup, Sabrina is dangerous to anyone who fails to see her battle-readiness beneath the poise.

The British actor has starred in Stopmotion, Young Wallander, Coyote, and Back to Black.

An archaeologist-mage and monolith obsessive, Istredd remains the Continent’s cool-headed rationalist. Once Yennefer’s first love, he now pours his brilliance and passion into decoding ancient structures and keeping knowledge useful in a world at war. Season 4 finds him less bound to his ivory towers, applying his intellect to portals and shifting loyalties.

Pierreson’s résumé includes The Irregulars, Line of Duty, Our Girl, and more British TV.

Elven leader Francesca will do anything to protect her kind — even if that means making tough choices as war reshapes the map. Scarred by the loss of her newborn, she enters Season 4 tougher than ever, deciding when to stand with — or against — the human powers encroaching on elven lands.

Simson won Britain’s Next Top Model in 2009 and went on to appear in the series Brave New World.

The Rats’ enforcer is loyal and lethal, never the first to back down. With Ciri, as Falka, newly embedded among the gang of young outlaws, their bond becomes both a lifeline and a tug-of-war over who she’s becoming. “They hold on to each other, but there is always that push and pull,” says Allan.

Elwin has appeared on the TV series Bloods and Death in Paradise and the 2024 film Firecracker.

Though Vilgefortz is one of the Continent’s most powerful mages, he’s not aligned with the others — not even the Brotherhood. And while he’s not Nilfgaardian, he’s aligned with them in Season 4 … for now. His looming shadow forces monarchs and mages to choose sides, even as Yennefer rallies power to check his ambitions. Schmidt Hissrich says, “[Yennefer] has one focus, which is to get Vilgefortz off this Continent.”

Like fellow Aussie Liam Hemsworth, Jadu got his start on the soap opera Neighbours. He’s gone on to star in films such as I, Frankenstein, Ice Road: Vengeance, and The Lovers, as well as the series Marco Polo.

Ciri’s biological father, Nilfgaard’s iron-willed emperor, tightens his grip on a Continent at war, still singularly focused on reclaiming his daughter.

“Emhyr is very headstrong, very troubled, but is determined to find her, and he hasn’t wavered from that once,” says Edwards. So determined, in fact, that he keeps Teryn (Frances Pooley) as a “false Ciri” — a twisted plan devised by Vilgefortz.

Edwards got his start on the BBC soap EastEnders and notably starred as Jasper Hunt in the drama series UnReal.

Nilfgaard’s knife in the dark, Stefan Skellen is Emhyr’s ruthless fixer: spymaster, interrogator, problem-solver. As the empire expands, he tightens his nets with informants and hired blades.

Purefoy has starred in the HBO series Rome, The Following, Pennyworth, and A Dance to the Music of Time.

Leo Bonhart is the Continent’s most feared mercenary — methodical, ruthless, and loyal only to the coin. “Leo is a bounty hunter and he hunts Witchers — mostly for fun as well,” says Copley. “He's hired to chase after the Rats and Ciri, and Leo is hired to bring Falka to Skellen.”

The South African actor has starred in Chappie, District 9, the 2010 adaptation of The A-Team, Elysium, and Hardcore Henry.

With Redania reeling after his brother’s death, the once-carefree prince must step into power and prove whether he’ll rule as puppet or player — and how much of his soul he’s willing to sacrifice to keep the crown.

Skinner has starred in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. His stage credits include American Psycho and The Cherry Orchard, while his screen work spans Fleabag, Poldark, W1A, and The Windsors.

Redania’s spymaster, Sigismund Dijkstra, finds his grip on the kingdom badly weakened after King Vizimir’s death. Still, information remains his greatest weapon.

McTavish has likely been a familiar face — and voice —  long before The Witcher. He has starred in Outlander, The Hobbit trilogy, Lucifer, Rambo, Creed, Aquaman, and House of the Dragon. He’s the voice of Dracula in Castlevania, and has voiced characters in Call of Duty, Uncharted, and other major video game franchises.