Valkyrie (film) - Cast

Cast

• Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg: The German army Colonel who was instrumental in the conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Bryan Singer saw von Stauffenberg as "very much a humanist", saying, "He understood his role as a colonel, but he also understood that the Nazis were doing terrible, terrible, terrible things." Having directed Superman Returns, Singer compared von Stauffenberg's dual identity as loyal colonel and conspirator to Superman and his civilian identity Clark Kent. Cruise had wanted to work with Singer since they met at the premiere for Mission: Impossible, and the actor was enticed by the script's background, the truth of which struck him as a surprise. The actor described von Stauffenberg's heroism, "I thought of it in terms of what Stauffenberg represents. He was someone who realized that he had to take the steps that ultimately cost him his life... He recognized what was at stake." Cruise felt von Stauffenberg did not think of himself as a hero. The actor prepared for the role for eight months by hiring a researcher, studying history books, and speaking with some of von Stauffenberg's family. Since von Stauffenberg lost his left eye, right hand and two fingers on his left hand in an Allied attack in Tunisia, Cruise affected the same disabilities to practice dressing, moving items and writing. Cruise initially found the eyepatch difficult to work with but acknowledged that von Stauffenberg had to live with this discomfort.
• Kenneth Branagh as Major General Henning von Tresckow: Branagh differed physically from the real Tresckow, who was balding, but Singer said, "f you look at Tresckow's energy, he had an honesty that Branagh has."
• Bill Nighy as General Friedrich Olbricht: Nighy was cast to give a sympathetic quality, so Olbricht would not be the "fall guy". Nighy wanted to convey Olbricht as divided between complaining about Hitler's regime and actually doing something about it. The actor described his portrayal, "One of the most disconcerting things imaginable is to put on a Nazi uniform. It's so associated with evil that it took me several days to get used to being in costume."
• Terence Stamp as Colonel General Ludwig Beck: Singer met Stamp to discuss playing a part in X-Men, having admired him for portraying General Zod in Superman II. Stamp endured the Blitz as a child and aided Singer in staging a scene where the von Stauffenbergs hide from the Allied bombings. The actor described his approach to portraying Beck: "There has to be a kind of non-judgmental discernment, so when I'm playing villains, they don't think they're particularly villains." The actor sought to find "the part of Terence that would be prepared to fall on his sword for certain ideals".
• Tom Wilkinson as Colonel General Friedrich Fromm: The head of Germany's Reserve Army. Wilkinson was cast to make the treacherous Fromm sympathetic.
• Carice van Houten as Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg: von Stauffenberg's wife. The filmmakers were impressed by her performance in Black Book, and argued she could give a strong performance with minimal dialogue. Screenwriter Nathan Alexander spoke to von Stauffenberg's relatives and noted that, although Nina and Claus never directly spoke about the plot, "in a sense it was all they talked about".
• Kevin McNally as Dr. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler: A German politician who intends to become chancellor of Germany after a successful coup.
• David Schofield as Field Marshal Erwin von Witzleben: A retired general and one of the plotters. Singer and Producer Christopher McQuarrie were impressed by Schofield's professionalism and dedication to show up on set for scenes without his character, and the filmmakers expanded his role as a result.
• Christian Berkel as Colonel Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim: A plotter with knowledge of explosives.
• Jamie Parker as Lieutenant Werner von Haeften: An adjutant to von Stauffenberg who helps the colonel carry out the plot.
• Eddie Izzard as General Erich Fellgiebel: A German signals officer and plotter, responsible for communications at Hitler's bunker Wolf's Lair.
• David Bamber as Adolf Hitler: The Führer of Germany. During Bamber's audition for the role, Singer was struck by Bamber's eyes and stated that Bamber had a quality that resonated with Hitler.
• Thomas Kretschmann as Major Otto Ernst Remer: Commanding officer of Großdeutschland guard battalion. Kretschmann was the original choice to play von Stauffenberg before Singer joined the production, when McQuarrie was intending to direct.
• Harvey Friedman as Dr. Joseph Goebbels: Minister of Propaganda and a member of Hitler's inner circle.
• Kenneth Cranham portrays Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel: The head of the OKW and a member of Hitler's inner circle.
• Matthias Freihof as Heinrich Himmler: The head of the SS and a member of Hitler's inner circle.
• Philipp von Schulthess as Major General Henning von Tresckow's aide: Von Schulthess is the grandson of Claus von Stauffenberg.

Other portrayals of Nazis included Gerhard Haase-Hindenberg as Hermann Göring, Anton Algrang as Albert Speer, Werner Daehn as Major Ernst John von Freyend, Waldemar Kobus as Wolf-Heinrich Graf von Helldorf, Tom Hollander as Colonel Heinz Brandt, Helmut Stauss as Dr. Roland Freisler, Matthew Burton as Lieutenant-General Adolf Heusinger, Bernard Hill as a General working with Stauffenberg in Tunisia, and Ian McNeice as the composite "Pompous General" who attempts to disrupt the coup headquarters. Though the general is not named in the film, McQuarrie and Alexander said the character was based on General Joachim von Kortzfleisch, who tried to disrupt the coup in the same fashion. Patrick Wilson was originally cast in Valkyrie, but he dropped out due to scheduling conflicts and other unspecified reasons. Stephen Fry was also offered a role in the film but was unable to participate.

Some of the non-German actors initially experimented with German accents, but Singer discarded the idea, instead instructing them to adopt neutral accents that " distract from the story". Singer added he was not making a docu-drama and wanted to make the story engaging.