THE Dig which reimagines the events of the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo, is now available to watch on Netflix.
The film is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by John Preston.
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Who’s in the cast of The Dig on Netflix?
Carey Mulligan as Edith Pretty
Pride And Prejudice star Carey Mulligan, 35, leads an impressive cast.
Carey plays Edith, a young widow who decided to contact the local archaeologist to dig up the mounds in her garden.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com about the character, Carey said: “The more I learned about Edith the more excited I was to play her, because she was a really extraordinary person in real life.
“I felt that the most important thing was to focus on her core values and what she stood for and try and represent that.”
Carey has starred in many classic novel adaptations including Ada in the 2005 miniseries Bleak House, and Bathsheba Everdene in Far From The Madding Crowd.
She played Kitty Bennet and Isabella Thorpe in Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice and Northanger Abbey respectively.
In 2018 she played DI Kip Glaspie in hit TV miniseries Collateral.
Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown
Best known for his role as Lord Voldemolt in the Harry Potter franchise, as well as starring in Schindler’s List, Ralph plays local archaeologist Basil Brown who discovered the 7th-century Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo.
Asked what drew him to the role, the decorated actor told RadioTimes.com it was his “quiet stoicism” as well as his “dedication to archaeology, the fact that he’s self-taught”.
He added: “I loved the way Moria Beffini wrote his relationship with Edith Pretty, there’s something sort of gently passionate about him, an unassuming, quite humble man, but really determined… he was a quiet hero you know, I like that.”
Monica Dolan as May Brown
Monica plays May, Basil’s wife, who had to spend long periods alone while the dedicated archaeologist was hard at work.
The actress played Rosemary West in Appropriate Adult, which earned her a Bafta Award.
She also played Marion Thorpe in A Very English Scandal, which secured a another Bafta nomination.
Lily James as Peggy Piggott
Lily portrays Peggy, another archaeologist who worked on the Sutton Hoo burial site.
She was also the first person to unearth items of gold on the site.
Lily shot to fame as Lady Rose Aldridge in Downton Abbey and has gone on to feature in Disney’s live-action Cinderella remake and Countess Natasha Rostova in BBC One’s six-part adaptation of War And Peace.
Ben Chaplin as Stuart Piggott
Ben plays Lily’s husband and fellow archaeologist Stuart Piggott.
The pair soon find themselves becoming very distant from each other, as Lily finds herself developing feelings for Rory Lomax in the film.
Chaplin has appeared in several successful films and TV shows throughout his career, such as The Remains Of The Day, The Thin Red Line, and The Children Act.
Johnny Flynn as Rory Lomax
Speaking of Rory, Johnny plays the only character in the film which is not featured in the novel.
He is Edith’s nephew and he stayed with her during the time of the discovery and excavation, before signing up to join the RAF before the Second World War.
Flynn’s credits include playing David Bowie in the unauthorised biopic Stardust , Mr Knightley in Emma and William Dobbin in ITV’s 2018 period drama Vanity Fair.
Ken Stott as Charles Phillips
Charles Phillips is a Cambridge-educated archaeologist who contacted the British Museum after news of the Sutton Hoo discovery came to light.
He was very hostile towards Basil and took over the excavation and formed his own team in the process.
Ken played Balin in The Hobbit film trilogy and is perhaps best known for portraying DI John Rebus in the ITV adaptation of Ian Rankin’s crime novels.
Archie Barnes as Robert Pretty
Archie Barnes plays Edith’s young son, Robert.
He formed a bond with Basil Brown while he worked on the excavation over a shared interest in amateur astronomy.
Barnes’ only previous screen experience to date came in family comedy Patrick in 2018.
What is The Dig about?
The film re-enacts the discovery of the Sutton Hoo burial site, one of the most significant archeological discoveries, which can be found on the property of Edith Pretty.
Young widow Edith decided to contact the local archaeologist to dig up the mounds in her garden.
Assuming they were part of a huge old graveyard, it would turn out to be something completely different.
They would discover a massive Anglo-Saxon longship, and possibly the resting place of the ancient King Rædwald of East Anglia.
