War Sailor cast: who's who in the Norwegian drama series

War Sailor cast: Alexandra Gjerpen (Hanna), Pål Sverre Hagen (Sigbjørn), Kristoffer Joner (Alfred) sitting on a wall
The main cast of War Sailor. (Image credit: Netflix)

War Sailor is a new limited series on Netflix, following the success of the original movie which told the story of Alfred during the break out of World War Two.

The series sees the original War Sailor cast reprising their roles, with new and never-seen-before footage across three episodes, so fans can get a deeper look at the story.

Norwegian screenwriter and director Gunnar Vikene said of the adaptation: "War Sailor was originally written both as a feature film and as a mini-series and I couldn't really let go of the initial idea of telling the story in both formats. When we were editing the feature film, we realized that a lot of the footage didn't fit in the well-over two-hour-long feature film. 

"Fortunately, Netflix accepted the challenge, and throughout the autumn we worked on making a three-hour mini-series — with several new scenes to be able to show the WHOLE story not just to the Norwegian public, but also the rest of the world."

With some familiar faces returning for the limited series, here's everything you need to know about the War Sailor cast...

Kristoffer Joner as Alfred Garnes

Kristoffer Joner as Alfred, swimming in the sea

(Image credit: Netflix)

Alfred is the protagonist and titular war sailor, who finds himself fighting for his life after World War Two breaks out while he's onboard a ship. Unarmed and unprepared, he and his fellow crew are forced to fight for their lives. He is married to Cecilia and they have three young children.

Actor Kristoffer Joner played the role of Nils Debruuk in the blockbuster movie Mission: Impossible Fallout and also starred in the comedy series Evy & Alltid. His first major acting role was in 1999 when he starred in the Norweigan drama series Offshore.

Alexandra Gjerpen as Hanna Wiig

Alexandra Gjerpen as Hanna Wiig, looking over someone's shoulder aboard the boat

(Image credit: Netflix)

Hanna is a female member of the boat's crew, and she's fiercely determined to fight and prove that she's equal to any man in terms of bravery. She finds herself working alongside Alfred and the other crew members.

The character is played by Alexandra Gjerpen, known for her role as Marie in the movie As I Fall. She has also starred as Tina in the TV series Norsemen and as Maria in Project Z.

Pål Sverre Hagen as Sigbjørn 'Wally' Kvalen

Pål Sverre Hagen as Sigbjørn, looking serious

(Image credit: Netflix)

Sigbjørn (known as Wally to his friends) is Alfred's childhood friend, and one of the civilians working on board the ship. Together, he and Alfred must fight to keep themselves alive and get back home.

Pål Sverre Hagen is best known overseas for playing Thor Heyerdahl in the Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated movie Kon-Tiki. He has also starred in several Norweigan movies and TV shows.

Ine Marie Wilmann as Cecilia Garnes

Ine Marie Wilmann as Cecilia standing in front of a bombed building

(Image credit: Netflix)

Cecilia is Alfred's wife, who struggles through the war alone in Bergen, where she has to raise three children on her own, not knowing whether she will ever see Alfred again.

She's played by Ine Marie Wilmann, who fans may recognize from the recent Netflix monster movie Troll, where she played the leading role of Nora Tidemann. She is also known for playing Charlotte in the movie Homesick

Who else is in War Sailor?

  • Armand Hannestad as William
  • Henrikke Lund Olsen as Magdeli
  • Arthur Hakalahti as Braathen
  • Nils Ove Sørvik as Jens Dahl

War Sailor is available now on Netflix.

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Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Now she works for our sister site TechRadar in the same role. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress