Highly-anticipated gangster drama The Westies premiered yesterday (July 12), with audiences getting the first two episodes from the eight-part series. The period crime drama led by Oscar winner J.K. Simmons follows the eponymous Irish-American gang operating in 1980s New York City as they go head-to-head with their much larger Italian-American rivals.
From the team behind Netflix’s Narcos and Forest Whitaker’s Godfather of Harlem, The Westies will chart the operations of the notoriously violent gang as they fend off threats from both outside and in. The show has already been described as Peaky Blinders meets The Sopranos and has an impressive cast - here’s where you’ve seen the main players from The Westies before, including from Downton Abbey and Grantchester.
Veteran star and Oscar winner J.K. Simmons takes on the role of the head of The Westies as Eamon Sweeney.
Simmons’ biggest credits include Whiplash, Starz’s Counterpart, La La Land, and Juno, among many other roles.
Beloved American star Titus Welliver is troubled NYPD officer Glenn Keenan, who has divided loyalties between the Westies, whom he grew up and the law.
Welliver is best known for his role as brilliant detective Bosch as well as roles in Ago, Man on a Ledge, The Town, Deadwood, and Dark Winds.
Grantchester star Tom Brittney swaps quaint Cambridgeshire for the mean streets of New York City as he plays Eamon’s protege James ‘Jimmy’ Roarke.
The British actor has also appeared in Greyhound, UnREAL, and Black Box.
Stanley Morgan stars as Mickey Flanagan after appearing in Disney+’s A Thousand Blows, Argylle, The Serpent Queen and Sexy Beast the TV series.
Irish actress Sarah Bolger plays IRA operative and Jimmy’s girlfriend Bridget Walsh after roles in The Tudors, Mayans M.C., Stormbreaker, and The Spiderwick Chronicles.
Jessica Frances Dukes takes on the role of FBI agent Birdie Polk, who heads up the group’s Gambino Task Force and will stop at nothing to take down Irish and Italian organised crime in the Big Apple.
Dukes counts credits in Netflix’s Ozark, Marvel series Jessica Jones, Grey Matter and Earth Abides.
Hamish Allan-Headly stars as John Gotti, a rising star in the Italian-American crime family the Gambinos.
He has appeared in Mayor of Kingstown, superhero series Daredevil: Born Again, and true crime drama Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy.
Irish actor Allen Leech stars IRA cell leader Brendan Cahill and is best known for his role as Tom Branson in Downton Abbey.
Leech has also starred in Bohemian Rhapsody, The Imitation Game, The Vanishing Triangle, and Too Good to Be True.
Hilary McCormack plays Erin Malone, a street hustler who wins over Mickey.
McCormick has appeared in Earth Abides with Dukes, Happy Face, Wayward, and Undelivered.
Irish star Vincent Walsh stars as Eamon’s most trusted advisor Eddie Breen after featuring in Billy the Kid, Der Irland-Krimi, and Irish Blood with Alicia Silverstone.
Aidan Wojtak-Hissong is Danny Keenan, the teenage son of police officer Glenn and also does errands for the Westies despite his father’s disapproval.
Wojtak-Hissong has previously starred in I Am Not Okay With This, Falling Water, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and Saving Hope.
Jeremy Walmsley is young Westie member Pat with the actor appearing in Cross, Sheriff County, The Last Frontier, and Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent.
Dylan Taylor is Connor, a young Westie member who is friends with Jimmy.
Taylor has had roles in SisterS, Sheriff Country, The Borderline, and Dying Seconds.
The Westies airs weekly on MGM+ via Prime Video on Sundays
