The Tattooist of Auschwitz: The Cast & Characters
A key part of what makes a show is the fantastic cast that appear in it and The Tattooist of Auschwitz is no different. Jonah Hauer-King and Anna Próchniak star as the leads playing Lali and Gita.
Read on to discover the cast and characters of The Tattooist of Auschwitz.
Lali Sokolov in his younger years (played by Jonah Hauer-King)
Lali Sokolov is a Slovakian Jew, who is deported to Auschwitz where, shortly after arrival, he is made one of the Tätowierer (tattooists), charged to ink identification numbers onto fellow prisoners’ arms.
Lali in his younger years draws on his natural ingenuity and sharp wits, his resourcefulness and his carefully calculated courage, to survive the most horrendous concentration camp of modern times. His survival instinct is married with kindness, though it disappoints him that he is not as altruistic as others. He helps as many as he can but is haunted by the certain knowledge, he can’t help everyone. As the series develops so does his realisation of the injustice of his own survival over others – where no individual deserves it more than any other.
Jonah Hauer-King, who plays Lali in his younger years, is an English actor who is known for his roles across both TV and film including The Little Mermaid and World on Fire.
Gita (played by Anna Próchniak)
Gita is a young Jewish woman who is a prisoner in Auschwitz. Gita is very different from Lali. She doesn’t cling to or battle with any sense of self-worth, won’t talk about who she was before, and won’t even reveal her full name, because she recognises its irrelevance. She’ll never be that person again. But she knows that she can give love, and that’s what sustains her and the people she meets in Auschwitz – her willingness not just to give, but to go on believing in love. She is a pragmatist to Lali’s optimist – but crucially, through loving him, buys into his hope and supports his wild schemes, often coming up with some of her own. This is the foundation of a relationship that will stand the test of time.
Anna Próchniak is a Polish actress. Her first major international film role was in The Innocents and additional acting credits include Warsaw 44 and Baptiste.
Stefan Baretzki (played by Jonas Nay)
Stefan Baretzki is a Nazi SS guard, a weak young man who has suffered a difficult childhood at the hands of a violent father and is now in the dangerous position of wielding disproportionate power. He both torments and idolises Lali; seeking his guidance whilst exacting acts of cruelty; enabling Lali’s love affair with Gita one moment and threatening their lives the next. Lali treads a fine line with this mixed-up murderer. Baretzki was tried in Frankfurt in 1963 and sentenced to life plus eight years. He killed himself in prison in 1988.
Jonas Nay is a German actor, best known for starring in Deutschland 83 and its sequel shows Deutschland 86 and Deutschland 89.
Lali Sokolov in the modern-day (played by Harvey Keitel)
Around 60 years later, we meet modern-day Lali who is now in his 80s. When Heather meets Lali and he tells her his story, he is struggling under the weight of his grief for his wife, Gita, who has recently passed away. Whilst telling his story, it soon becomes clear that he still carries a huge burden of shame: for having survived where others didn’t, and for all the things he did to survive.
What Heather discovers as she gets to know him is the darker fear he also carries – that he crossed an unthinkable line in accepting the duty of a tattooist, and that he’s no better than the SS officers who brutalized him and his fellow prisoners. But in spite of the darkness of his story, we get to know a man of extraordinary positivity. A man who is haunted but not broken by the horrors he’s experienced; who is buoyed by his triumph over them. A man who in his very essence instils hope and the belief that anything is possible. It’s this that draws him to Heather because she shares the same essence.
Harvey Keitel, who plays modern-day Lali, is an Academy Award nominated actor who is known for his collaborations with award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Notable film appearances include starring in Taxi Driver, Bugsy, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Bad Lieutenant.
Heather Morris (played by Melanie Lynskey)
Heather Morris is a novice writer who is entrusted with writing Lali’s story. She is a forthright woman, whose pragmatism about the darkness of the world does daily battle with her wonder at it. When we, and Lali, meet her she is in her early 50s and is working at a hospital; her children have now grown and flown the nest. She is dependable, big-hearted, and loyal but has a childlike sense of fun. She enjoys the finer things in life, as does Lali, and neither of them will apologise for it.
Melanie Lynskey is an Emmy-nominated actress, whose recent roles include playing Shauna in hit TV series Yellowjackets and Kathleen in The Last of Us.
Cilka (played by Yali Topol Margalith)
Cilka is a young Slovakian girl, who is only 16 when she arrives at the camp. She is beautiful and not yet aware of what it will afford her, nor what it will cost her. When she meets Gita in the administration block, she is hardened to her fate. Her fierce will to survive is the equal of Lali’s, but fortune will not favour her in the same way it does him.
Yali Topol Margalith’s appearance as Cilka is her first screen role.
Other recurring characters include:
Aaron (played by Ilan Galkoff)
Aaron is also Slovakian. Lali meets him before being transported to Auschwitz. He is only 18, and Lali plays the protective big brother to him. They are blockmates in Birkenau.
Ilan Galkoff is an actor who has appeared in several theatre productions and the BBC/Prime Video TV series Good Omens.
Tomas (played by Marcel Sabat)
Tomas loses hope when he learns his pregnant wife has been murdered – and with nothing left to lose, tries to escape, knowing it will be a suicidal mission.
Marcel Sabat is an actor known for his roles in Tenet, The Windermere Children, and Persistence.
Hanna and Ivana (played by Tallulah Haddon and Mili Eshet)
Hanna and Ivana are Gita’s closest friends in the camp. Both are Slovakian and arrived in the camp at the same time as her. The three stick together, living in the same block throughout. They are Gita’s confidantes and remain loyal to her even though at times they disagree with the risks she takes for Lali, and the danger Lali puts Gita in. They both work in the Clothing Warehouse and help Gita smuggle items out for the black market.
Tallulah Haddon is an actress known for her roles in The Last Duel and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
Mili Eshet is an actress known for her appearances on TV show Sovietzka and feature film Barren.