In more recent years, waiting to see which A-listers have been cast in a new season of Black Mirror is as much a part of the experience as pondering which modern trends it will be satirising in its unique dystopian way.
The seventh run of the award-winning anthology series is now streaming – boasting what is undoubtedly the most impressive host of star names to appear in a single season to date.
So, it’s easy to forget that the show has also been a springboard for plenty of stars in in the early stages of their career.
Here are just 14 stars you might have forgotten appeared in episodes of Black Mirror before their big breakthrough moments – that you might well have totally forgotten about…
Daniel Kaluuya
Daniel Kaluuya took the lead in one of Black Mirror’s first ever episodes, Fifteen Million Merits, way back in 2011.
The episode was a send-up of The X Factor (which was still a dominant force on both the music and TV industries at that time) and was written by Charlie Brooker’s wife Konnie Huq, who had not long completed a series hosting companion show The Xtra Factor.
In the years since his role in Black Mirror, Daniel has become a global star, appearing in huge films like Get Out, Black Panther and Judas And The Black Messiah, which earned him an Oscar win in 2021.
Jodie Whittaker
Another cast member from Black Mirror’s very first season, Jodie Whittaker appeared in The Entire History Of You as Ffion, the girlfriend of Toby Kebbell’s character, who begins obsessively doubting their relationship.
Since Black Mirror, she appeared in Broadchurch and later made history as the first woman to take the lead in Doctor Who.
Earlier in 2025, she also appeared in another of Netflix’s big hits of the year, Toxic Town.
Domhnall Gleeson
When Black Mirror returned for its second season in 2013, Domhnall Gleeson took on two roles – first, as Ash Starmer, a man who dies early on in the episode, as well as an android who takes on his personality using artificial intelligence technology.
Although Domnhall was already known for his performance in the Harry Potter films when he was cast in Black Mirror, he’s now perhaps most famous for his role as General Armitage Hux in the rebooted Star Wars trilogy. He’s also appeared in Mother!, The Revenant and Run.
Tobias Menzies
Tobias Menzies is probably most recognisable now for playing Prince Philip in the third and fourth seasons of The Crown, but he too was a part of Black Mirror long before Netflix took over at the helm.
He appeared in the season two episode The Waldo Moment, playing a politician in the race to become an MP up against a cute cartoon character who swiftly gets adopted by a group with sinister intentions.
Michaela Coel
Before I May Destroy You made Michaela Coel a celebrated star on both sides of the Atlantic, she had the distinction of appearing in not one but two Black Mirror episodes.
During season three opener Nosedive, she appeared in a small cameo as an airline stewardess, before taking a more prominent role in the Star Trek-inspired season four instalment USS Callister (though she was notably not part of the sequel in season seven).
Letitia Wright
Black Museum was a rather different spin on Black Mirror in its fourth season, telling three distinct stories which were woven together as part of a supposed museum visit.
Letitia Wright took the lead as Nish in the episode, earning her an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie category.
A year later, she starred opposite Chadwick Boseman and Angela Bassett in Marvel’s adaptation of Black Panther, reprising the character of Shuri in the film’s 2022 sequel.
Will Poulter
Black Mirror’s most ambitious moment to date came in 2018, when Netflix debuted the one-off interactive episode Bandersnatch, which allowed viewers to decide what happened next with hundreds of different outcomes.
British actor Will Poulter appeared in a principal role of video game developer Colin Ritman, who meets a grisly end during the episode. Or, depending on which outcome you chose, maybe he didn’t…
Will has gone on to appear in the Ari Aster horror Midsommar, the Marvel offering Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 3 and the acclaimed TV series Dopesick and The Bear.
He also reprises his role from Bandersnatch in the season epiode Plaything.
Sarah Snook
Australian actor Sarah Snook joined the cast of Black Mirror for the season three episode Men Against Fire, in which she played a squad leader in a military that hunts humanoid monsters (or so they’re all led to believe, anyway).
Nowadays, of course, Sarah is more famous for her performance as Shiv in Succession, which has earned her two Golden Globes and an Emmy.
Malachi Kirby
Joining Sarah in Men Against Fire was Malachi Kirby as a young soldier, Stripe, who discovers a disturbing truth about his squad’s missions.
In 2021, Malachi won a Bafta for his performance in the Small Axe film Mangrove, in which he shared the screen with fellow Black Mirror alum Letitia Wright, and has since shared the screen with Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty in A Million Blows.
Kelly MacDonald
Hated In The Nation was Black Mirror’s first ever feature-length episode, telling the story of a group of malfunctioning drone bees who began targeting anyone who becomes the subject of a social media pile-on.
In the season three closer, Kelly MacDonald portrays DCI Karin Parke, who was in charge of investigating the bizarre case.
Kelly had already starred in Bad Girls, Boardwalk Empire and the Harry Potter series when Black Mirror came calling, and she later joined the cast of Line Of Duty as Joanne Davidson (yes, another DCI).
Owen Teague
Owen Teague played a teen love interest in the (in our opinion, criminally underrated) Black Mirror episode Arkangel.
He’s gone on to play Patrick Hockstetter in It parts one and two, as well as portraying Harold Lauder in The Stand, another Stephen King adaptation.
His other credits include an upcoming Planet Of The Apes adaptation and To Leslie, in which he shared the screen with Andrea Riseborough.
Andrea Riseborough
Arnaldur Halidorsson/Netflix
Oh, and speaking of Andrea Riseborough, her star has only continued to rise since the 2017 Black Mirror episode Crocodile.
As well as the sports biopic Battle Of The Sexes, the surreal horror Mandy and the musical Matilda, she famously appeared in To Leslie back in 2023, earning her first Oscar nomination (and sparking plenty of conversation in the process).
Angourie Rice
When she was still a teenager, Angourie Rice made an appearance in the Black Mirror episode Rachel, Jack And Ashley Too – best remembered because of that earworm musical performance from Miley Cyrus.
Since then, Angourie has appeared opposite Kate Winslet in Mare Of Easttown and took the lead as Cady Heron in the movie adaptation of the Mean Girls musical.
Anthony Mackie
Yeah alright, Anthony Mackie was already a force within Hollywood when he was cast in Striking Vipers thanks to his work in films like 8 Mile, The Hurt Locker and numerous Marvel projects.
Since then, though, his profile has only continued to grow thanks to his leading performance in the Marvel series The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, after which his character Sam Wilson became the new Captain America.
All seven seasons of Black Mirror are available to stream on Netflix now.
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