Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her, the story advances the theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford who penned Shakespeare's plays.
Young Earl of Oxford
Jamie Campbell Bower
Edward de Vere
Rhys Ifans
William Cecil
David Thewlis
Princess Elizabeth Tudor
Joely Richardson
Queen Elizabeth I
Vanessa Redgrave
Ben Jonson
Sebastian Armesto
William Shakespeare
Rafe Spall
Robert Cecil
Edward Hogg
Earl of Southampton
Xavier Samuel
Earl of Essex
Sam Reid
Francesco
Paolo De Vita
Christopher Marlowe
Trystan Gravelle
Thomas Dekker
Robert Emms
Thomas Nashe
Tony Way
Captain Richard Pole
Julian Bleach
Prologue
Derek Jacobi
Spencer
Alex Hassell
John Heminge
James Garnon
Condell
Mark Rylance
Pope
Jasper Britton
Interrogator
Ned Dennehy
Philip Henslowe
John Keogh
Richard Burbage
Lloyd Hutchinson
Bessie Vavasour
Vicky Krieps
Anne De Vere
Helen Baxendale
Bridget De Vere
Paula Schramm
Young Anne De Vere
Amy Kwolek
Boy Earl of Oxford
Luke Thomas Taylor
Boy Robert Cecil
Isaiah Michalski
Boy Earl of Southampton
Timo Huber
Archbishop
Richard Durden
Footman
Shaun Lawton
John De Vere
Detlef Bothe
King James I
James Clyde
Cecil's Spy Servant
Christian Sengewald
Monsieur Beaulieu
Jean-Loup Fourure
Buxom Lady
Viktoria Gabrysch
Essex General
Axel Sichrovsky
Lady-in-Waiting
Katrin Pollitt
Lady-in-Waiting
Patricia Grove
Selling Maid
Laura Lo Zito
Groundling
Gode Benedix
Usher
Nic Romm
Bear Baiter
Henry Lloyd-Hughes
Oxford's Servant
Patrick Diemling
Oxford's Doctor
Patrick Heyn
Stage Manager (New York)
Nino Sandow
Dwarf / Puck
Craig Salisbury
Quince
Rainer Guldener
Bottom
Trystan Pütter
Titania
André Kaczmarczyk
Child Oberon
Jonas Hämmerle
Pole's Commander
Mike Maas
Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Christian Leonard
Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Christian Banzhaf
Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Victoria Calero
Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Martin Engler
Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Alfred Hartung
Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Oliver Kube
Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Christian Ludwig
Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Oliver Rickenbacher
Stage Player: Shakespeare Company
Claudius von Stolzmann
Dancer
Tjadke Biallowons
Dancer
Dafne-Maria Fielder
Dancer
Alexander Flache
Dancer
Antonia Gerke
Dancer
Sophie Hichert
Dancer
Vera Kreyer
Dancer
Stefanie Lanius
Dancer
Urban Luig
Dancer
Jasmin Mehling
Dancer
Elisabeth Milarch
Dancer
Robert Munzinger
Dancer
Benjamin Plath
Dancer
Erik Studte
Dancer
Johann Hakob Wurster
First Lady to King James I (uncredited)
Steffi Sattler