Who’s who in Our Flag Means Death: cast and crew
Find out who plays your favourite characters in Our Flag Means Death and learn more about the crew, including who wrote and produced the show
Who plays Ed Teach (Blackbeard) in Our Flag Means Death
Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard, aka Ed, is played by Aotearoa NZ filmmaker, actor, and comedian Taika Waititi in what Our Flag Means Death fans consider his best-ever role. Waititi’s probably best known internationally as director of Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder, in which he also voices Korg, but Waititi has won awards for other films including Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows, and JoJo Rabbit. Other works include producing critically acclaimed FX series Reservation Dogs with Sterlin Harjo. Waititi also directed an episode of The Mandalorian and voiced IG-11 in that show.
Who plays Stede Bonnet (The Gentleman Pirate) in Our Flag Means Death
Stede Bonnet, aka the Gentleman Pirate, is played by Aotearoa NZ actor and comedian Rhys Darby, who has been associated with Taika Waititi for more than two decades. Prior to Our Flag Means Death, Darby was known for playing Murray Hewitt in Flight of the Conchords and has featured in a number of movies including Yes Man; The Boat That Rocked; Love Birds; What We Do in the Shadows; Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle; Relax, I'm from the Future; and Taika Waititi’s latest movie Next Goal Wins.
Image: NICOLA DOVE/MAX
Who plays Frenchie in Our Flag Means Death
British actor Joel Fry is cat-fearing Frenchie in Our Flag Means Death. Fry has appeared in Game of Thrones and Plebs, as well as a number of movies including The End We Start From, Yesterday, Cruella and Bank of Dave. He is also set to appear in upcoming romcom Lola and Freddie.
Who plays Jim in Our Flag Means Death
Nonbinary Puerto Rican actor, drag king, and activist Vico Ortiz plays knife-wielding pirate Jim. They received a Queerty nomination for Best TV Performance for the role in 2024. Ortiz is also known for their voice work, and they recently starred in the award-winning Youtube queer comedy series These Thems.
Who plays Izzy Hands in Our Flag Means Death
Con O’Neill is a British actor originally known for his performances in musicals (with a Laurence Olivier Award for playing Michael “Mickey” Johnstone in the musical Blood Brothers) and with a long television and film career, including Val in Uncle, Chief Bock in The Batman, Neil Ackroyd in Happy Valley, Viktor Bryukhanov in Chernobyl, and Cliff in Cucumber. He plays Blackbeard’s first mate Izzy Hands in Our Flag Means Death.
Who plays Lucius in Our Flag Means Death
Stede Bonnet’s scribe Lucius Spriggs is played by Nathan Foad, a British comedian and writer who created and wrote Newark, Newark and starred in Bloods.
Who plays Wee John in Our Flag Means Death
Northern Irish Actor and DJ Kristian Nairn is pyromaniac pirate Wee John Feeney in Our Flag Means Death. He is also known for his role as Hodor in Game of Thrones. In February 2024 Nairn began hosting weekly Wee John Wondays on Instagram, interviewing the cast and crew. Nairn also hosted Wee John Wednesdays in 2023.
Image: AARON EPSTEIN/HBO MAX
The Swede, Frenchie, Roach, and Oluwande in Our Flag Means Death.
Who plays Black Pete in Our Flag Means Death
American actor Matthew Maher has appeared on screen in Gone Baby Gone, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, and Captain Marvel, as well as having an extensive theatrical career. Maher plays Lucius’s love Black Pete in Our Flag Means Death.
Who plays Buttons in Our Flag Means Death
Scottish actor Ewen Bremner appears in Our Flag Means Death as Nathaniel Buttons, Stede Bonnet’s sea-loving first mate. Bremner is known for his role as Daniel “Spud” Murphy in Trainspotting and the sequel T2 Trainspotting.
Who plays The Swede in Our Flag Means Death
American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter Nat Faxon is The Swede (with the voice of an angel) in Our Flag Means Death. He is an Academy Award winner for co-writing the screenplay for The Descendants.
Who plays Oluwande in Our Flag Means Death
British actor, producer, and writer Samson Kayo plays Oluwande in Our Flag Means Death. He has also appeared in (and been nominated for awards for) Famalam and Bloods.
Who plays Roach in Our Flag Means Death
Dutch-Mauritanian actor and comedian Samba Schutte plays Roach, the ship’s cook and surgeon in Our Flag Means Death. Schutte starred in the 2023 indie comedy Advanced Chemistry. He’s also known among Our Flag fans as the ultimate purveyor of behind-the-scenes content.
Who plays Fang in Our Flag Means Death
Aotearoan actor of Samoan descent David Fane appears as Fang in Our Flag Means Death. Fang, aka Kevin, is an animal lover who was part of Blackbeard’s original crew. He has also appears in Taika Waititi’s films Eagle vs Shark and Next Goal Wins, and alongside Rhys Darby in Love Birds and Short Poppies.
Image: NICOLA DOVE/MAX
Who plays Archie in Our Flag Means Death
Aotearoan actor and director Madeleine Sami joined the Our Flag Means Death cast in Season 2 as Archie, part of the crew on the Revenge during Ed’s Kraken phase. Sami has appeared in many of Waititi’s projects including Eagle vs Shark and What We Do in the Shadows. Sami also starred in appeared Amazon’s crime comedy series Deadloch.
Who plays Zheng in Our Flag Means Death
Zheng Yi Sao is another new character in Season Two. The ‘Pirate Queen’ is played by Ruibo Qian who fans may know from Black Mirror and Manchester by the Sea.
Who plays Auntie in Our Flag Means Death
Zheng’s first mate is played by Aotearoan actor, writer, and theatrical director Anapela Polataivao.
Who plays Spanish Jackie in Our Flag Means Death
American stand-up comedian and actress Leslie Jones appeared on Saturday Night Live from 2014 to 2019 and has guest hosted The Daily Show on a number of occasions. She appears as bar owner and husband collector Spanish Jackie in Our Flag Means Death.
Who created Our Flag Means Death
David Jenkins created Our Flag Means Death. He came up with the idea for the show after his wife showed him the Wikipedia page on Stede Bonnet. Jenkins was intrigued by the unlikely alliance between the Gentleman Pirate and Blackbeard. As Our Flag’s showrunner, Jenkins has been joined by a diverse team of writers, including Zayre Ferrer, Eliza Jiménez Cassio, William Meny, John Mahone, Jes Tom, Natalie Torres, Alyssa Lane, Alex J. Sherman, Simone Nathan, Adam Stein, and Yvonne Zima.
Who produced Our Flag Means Death
Executive producers of Our Flag Means Death have included Garrett Basch, Dan Halsted, Anthony Douaihy, David Jenkins, and Taika Waititi. Will Weiske was co-executive producer of Season 1, and Alex J. Sherman was co-executive producer of Season 2.
Who directed Our Flag Means Death
The directors of Our Flag Means Death include Taika Waititi, Nacho Vigalondo, Fernando Frías, Bert and Bertie Ellwood, and Andrew DeYoung, as well as showrunner David Jenkins.
