The beloved Ark series of survival video games is now making waves as an animated show on Paramount+. 

With a cast led by Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh, Ark: The Animated Series tells a familiar fish-out-of-water story in a dinosaur-filled sci-fi package.

Centering on Madeleine Madden’s Helena Walker, the series follows a grieving paleontologist who is mysteriously transported to a prehistoric world and is forced to learn to survive.

Every Actor & Character in Ark: The Animated Series

Madeleine Madden – Helena Walker

Madeleine Madden
Leading Ark: The Animated Series is Madeleine Madden as Helena Walker. Helena is a paleontologist who – after the death of her wife Victoria – wakes up adrift at sea.

After coming ashore on a strange island, the Australian scientist is thrilled to find her new home is occupied primarily by dinosaurs. She uses this opportunity to study the prehistoric creatures, discovering the island may not be all it seems.

Madden is best known for appearing in Dora and the Lost City of Gold and Amazon Prime Video’s Wheel of Time. She also provides the voice of Helena Walker in the Ark video games.

Vin Diesel – Santiago

Vin Diesel
Fast and Furious star Vin Diesel brings to life Santiago in the streaming series, a 24th-century pilot and freedom fighter who also finds himself on the Ark.

While he considers himself a master of combat, having fought in the Element War (a conflict between the Terran Federation and the United Republic of Earth over the valuable resource known as Element), nothing could have prepared him for the diverse threats that call the island home.

Diesel is set to play Santiago in the upcoming Ark 2 and can also be seen/heard in projects like the Fast and Furious franchise and Guardians of the Galaxy as the lovable tree alien, Groot.

Michelle Yeoh – Meiyin Li

Michelle Yeoh
Meiyin Li (played by Michelle Yeoh) plays an important role in Ark: The Animated Series as Helena Walker’s pseudo-guide to her new island surroundings.

Known on the island as the ‘Beast Queen,’ Meiyin Li is a fearless warrior who arrives from third-century China, where she was a rebel fighter in the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Yeoh is an Academy Award-winning actress who fans will likely know from her work in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Crazy Rich Asians.

Gerard Butler – General Gaius Marcellus Nerva

Gerard Butler

Serving as one of the primary antagonistic forces on the Ark island is Gerard Butler’s General Gaius Marcellus Nerva. General Gaius is a Roman centurion who, after waking up on the island, is hellbent on recreating the world in his image.

He views the ‘any means to survive’ behaviors of many of the island’s inhabitants as savage. He thus hopes to build a new Roman empire to ‘civilize’ the other human survivors.

Butler’s previous credits include 300, Phantom at the Opera, and Law Abiding Citizen.

David Tennant – Sir Edmund Rockwell

David Tennant

The main villain in Ark: The Animated series is brought to life by longtime actor David Tennant. Tennant takes on the role of Sir Edmund Rockwell, a chemist from 19th-century England.

Being the scientist he is, Edmund spends his days performing nefarious experiments to learn as much as he can about the island.

Tennant’s other work includes appearing as the 14th Doctor in Doctor Who, Kilgrave in Netflix’s Jessica Jones, and D.I. Alec Hardy in Broadchurch.

Russell Crowe – Kor the Prophet

Russell Crowe

Russel Crowe plays Kor the Prophet in the animated streaming epic. Kor is a mysterious eccentric from a different time.

Claiming to be from before recording history, Crowe’s character also says that he might be a dino-whisperer.

Crowe has also appeared in Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind and as Zeus in Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder.

Jeffrey Wright – Henry Townsend

Jeffrey Wright
Jeffrey Wright’s Henry Townsend arrives on the island from Revolutionary America where he was a watchmaker and spy for the Patriots.

Wright is best known for his work in HBO’s Westworld series, recent awards darling American Fiction, and Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Wright also voices The Watcher in Marvel Studios’ What If…?.

Karl Urban – Bob

Karl Urban

Karl Urban brings to life Bob, another recent arrival on the island who helps teach Helena the ways of survival. Before popping up in the prehistoric environment, Bob was a U.S. Army Ranger who fought on Normandy in World War II.

Urban can also be seen in Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Marvel’s Thor movies.

Zahn McClarnon – Thunder Comes Charging “John”

Zahn McClarnon

Thunder Come Charging “John” is voiced by Zahn McClarnon. “John” is a native American Lakota warrior who leads a thriving settlement on the Ark island.

McClarnon previously appeared in Into the West, Doctor Sleep, and Bone Tomahawk.

Devery Jacobs – Alasie

Devery Jacobs
Devery Jacobs voices Alasie, the young Inuit teen who has become the adopted daughter of Thunder Comes Charging “John.” Hailing from 17th-century Alaska, Alasie has had trouble finding her way since arriving on the island.

Jacobs is a Native American actress with credits in series like Taika Waititi’s Reservation Dogs and Marvel Studios’ Echo.

Alan Tudyk – The Captain

Alan Tudyk

The Captain (voiced by Alan Tudyk) is a swashbuckling buccaneer who sails the seas surrounding the island. Being one of the few Ark survivors to prefer water to land, the Captain has made quite the profit circumnavigating the island for its various inhabitants.

A renowned voice acting talent, Tudyk’s other work includes Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Harley Quinn, and Disney’s Wish.

Deborah Mailman – Deborah Walker

Deborah Mailman

Deborah Mailman plays Deborah Walker in Ark. Deborah is Helena’s mother and an activist for Aboriginal Australians. While she dies before the series’ events, she plays a key role in flashbacks to Helena’s life before the island.

Mailman can also be seen in The Sapphires, Offspring, and 2067.

Elliot Page – Victoria Walker

Elliot Page

Elliot Page’s Victoria Walker – while not appearing in much of the series – is the catalyst that sends Helena on her journey to the strange island. Victoria is Helena’s wife who, while working as a humanitarian aide in a foreign country, goes missing and is presumed dead to start the show. This leads Helena down a dark path before she wakes up in view of the series’ central island.

Page is best known for their work in Juno, Umbrella Academy, and Christopher Nolan’s Inception.

Cissy Jones – The Gladiatrix

Cissy Jones
Cissy Jones voices The Gladiatrix, a fierce warrior who commands one of Nerva’s armies. Her real name is Octavia.

Jones’ voice-acting talents can be heard elsewhere in the Baldur’s Gate 3 video game, Disney’s The Owl House, and F Is For Family.

Malcolm McDowell – Senator Lucius Cassius Virilis

Malcolm McDowell

Senator Lucius Cassius Virilis (voiced by Malcolm McDowell) is a wealthy aristocrat from the time of Julius Ceasar.

McDowell has worked in Hollywood for over 60 years, appearing in titles like A Clockwork Orange, Star Trek: Generations, and Time After Time.

Juliet Mills – Chava

Juliet Mills

Juliet Mills takes on the role of Chava, a valued member of Thunder Comes Charging “John”‘s community. She is a member of the village council and a healer.

 Mills’ other work includes Avanti!, Passions, and QB VII.

Ragga Ragnars – Queen Sigrid

Ragga Ragnars
Ragga Ragnars plays Queen Sigird, a survivor on the island who came from the age of the Vikings where she was once a bloodthirsty crusader.

Ragnars previously played roles in Vikings, The Wheel of Time, and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.

Ron Yuan – Han Li

Ron Yuan

Han Li (played by Ron Yuan) is a third-century Chinese rebel leader and the brother of Michelle Yeoh’s Meiyin Li.

Yuan’s previous credits include Disney’s live-action Mulan, Blade of the 47 Ronins, and The Brothers Sun.

Monica Bellucci – Cassia Virila

Monica Bellucci
Monica Bellucci portrays Ark‘s Cassia Virila. Cassia is a resolute Roman noblewoman from the Augustan Empire.

Bellucci is probably best known for her work as Persephone in the Matrix films but can also be seen in Shoot ‘Em Up and Malena.