Behind Her Eyes: Meet the cast of the must-watch Netflix thriller

Secrets, lies and dangerous affairs, Behind Her Eyes is the must-watch drama of the month if you like your TV shows dark and filled with twists.

Based on the best-selling novel by Sarah Pinborough, this six-part series will shock and chill you.

From the producers of The Crown and staring Simona Brown, Tom Bateman and Eve Hewson, this is another Netflix series that everyone is going to be talking about.

How We Made It: Netflix thriller Behind Her Eyes

Behind Her Eyes: First review

The series is available now on Netflix and here is a quick guide to the cast and characters of Behind Her Eyes…

Louise Barnsley - Played by Simona Brown

Louise Barnsley is a young, single mum whose otherwise uneventful life takes a turn when she becomes romantically involved with her handsome - and married - boss, psychiatrist David Ferguson.

After a chance encounter with David’s wife, Adele, Louise befriends her and is entangled in a love triangle of secrecy and lies. On top of the guilt, she is often plagued by night terrors manifesting from past trauma.

Where have you seen Simona Brown before?

Simona previously started in the Channel 4 and Netflix series Kiss Me First, Simon Pegg movie Man Up, ITV’s HIM, the BBC’s adaptation of John le Carré’s Little Drummer Girl, The Night Manager, The Casual Vacancy and the award-winning BBC drama Murdered By My Boyfriend.

Simona Brown on Behind Her Eyes

“Louise is quite relatable. She is a single mother who pours all of her life into her son, to the point where she has kind of forgotten herself and who she is. I think she lacks confidence and is self-deprecating, but is also very likeable.

“She puts on a brave face like all is fine when she is really a mess and has past trauma which she hasn’t quite got over that manifests in night terrors she experiences quite regularly.

“So, not only is she dealing with being a single mum and divorcee, she is also dealing with these night terrors and ploughing through what is a normal, mundane and cyclical life.

"Then she meets this mysterious man on a rare night out and it is the formula of a rom-com. You think it’s going to be romantic and amazing but he abruptly ends their kiss and disappears into the night with no explanation, leaving her confidence even lower.

"She later finds out that he is her new boss and she is meant to be his secretary, and the story then unfolds.”

Simona Brown on the show’s big twist

"I was completely floored when I read the scripts. I was like, ‘Mum…. this happened!’ I couldn’t believe it. I had to go back to the start and read it again, I was convinced there would be some plot holes but actually there weren’t.

"And when you read it again, you see lines that become really profound to what happens later. It twists and then it twists again and you are left mangled. It was amazing, and I was like, ‘I’d love to do this’, so I went ahead and did a self-tape. The rest is history."

David Ferguson – Tom Bateman

David Ferguson is the handsome and mysterious psychiatrist who embarks on an affair with his secretary, Louise Barnsley, while still married to the beautiful and seemingly-perfect Adele. He is burdened with guilt and self-loathing, harbouring secrets he and Adele both share. Regardless of his efforts, he can’t keep his two worlds separate or escape from the past.

Where have you seen Tom Bateman before?

Bateman is best known for his appearance in the all-star adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express starring Kenneth Branagh. He will return to play Bouc again in the sequel Death on the Nile.

He’s also starred in revenge thriller Cold Pursuit with Liam Neeson, Snatched with Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer and as Rawdon Crawley in ITV’s Vanity Fair.

Other TV appearances have included ITV’s Jekyll and Hyde, Beecham House, The Honourable Woman, Parade’s End and The Tunnel.

Tom Bateman on Behind Her Eyes

"David is a psychiatrist/therapist and a husband. Those roles take up his time until he begins to have an extramarital affair. We shot the flashback scenes in Scotland first which meant that I could approach him from the ground up.

"In the beginning, he is this young, eager guy who comes from a farm and who is trying to make his way. There is a wonderful scene where I say, ‘I didn’t know what I wanted to be, I knew I wanted to get out and be something else’ and in a meta way what happens to him does impact the choices he makes.

"He wants to help people. His wife Adele has so many problems and he is trying to understand people and help them through difficult times. In a way, he is a wonderful man.

"He does a hell of a lot for other people. The change happens towards the end when he starts to really go ‘No, I need to look out for Number One’ and for the first time in his life he thinks he needs to look after himself."

Tom Bateman on the show’s big twist

"It’s very important that the twist isn’t known. I would forgive an audience for giving away the twist because it means they were so enthusiastic that they wanted to tell their friends about it, and it would hopefully be a recommendation.

"But online, someone could spoil it very quickly for millions, and I hope that doesn’t happen. If you enjoy it enough to care about the twist, hopefully you would respect the piece and others’ enjoyment of it."

Adele Ferguson - Eve Hewson

Adele Ferguson is lonely and isolated in her marital home, shared with her husband David. Desperate to make her once-loving spouse happy, Adele subserviently accepts the little autonomy she’s left with.

It’s not until she secretly forms a friendship with David’s mistress, Louise - something she hasn’t had for a long time - that she feels empowered to take back control of her own life.

Where have you seen Eve Hewson before?

Eve recently starred in the acclaimed BBC One drama The Luminaries and the biopic Tesla opposite Ethan Hawke.

She appeared as Maid Marian alongside Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx in 2018’s Robin Hood and has credits including Bridge of Spies, This Must Be The Place and HBO’s The Knick.

Eve is the daughter of Ali Hewson and U2 singer Bono.

Tom Bateman on working with Eve Hewson

"It was heaven. We work in a very similar way - we play a lot and keep things very light and approach the scene as a pair. In a piece like this, that is hard to do because you are so against each other, but having a big hug in the morning, laughing around in the make-up trailer and discussing the scene as a pair is helpful.

"Then you can go apart from each other and attack each other, and then as soon as they call ‘cut’, you can come back to each other. It was very collaborative and we often had discussions saying, ‘How was that for you?’ She is brilliant and so creative and fun. We got on like a house on fire straight away and I loved working with her."

Rob – Robert Aramayo

Rob is Adele’s best friend from her past, seen in flashbacks from their time spent together in a psychiatric hospital. Drug-addicted and troubled, he is intensely drawn to Adele’s kindness and devotion to helping him work through his demons. Rob can’t bear the thought of not being part of his best friend’s life in the real world.

Where have you seen Robert Aramayo before?

You may have seen Aramayo in the Netflix series Mindhunter, the Nikolaj Coster-Waldau movie Suicide Tourist, Nocturnal Animals or as a young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones.

He is also currently filming Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV series in New Zealand.

Watch Behind Her Eyes from February 17 on Netflix