Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie cast in new Netflix series based on Pulitzer prize-winning novel

Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie
(Image credit: Marvel Studios/BBC)

Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie have joined the cast of the upcoming Netflix series All the Light We Cannot See. 

The series is based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Doerr, which was first published in 2014 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015. The story follows Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl, and Werner Pfennig, a young German soldier, whose paths eventually cross during World War 2 in occupied France. Marie-Laure will be played by newcomer Aria Mia Loberti, while the role of Werner has yet to be cast. 

Ruffalo will play Marie-Laure's father Daniel, who is the head locksmith at Paris' Museum of Natural History. Laurie will play Marie-Laure's eccentric great-uncle Etienne, a World War 1 veteran who's part of the French resistance. 

Peaky Blinders showrunner Steven Knight penned the limited series, while Shawn Levy will direct all four episodes – he's previously helmed episodes of Stranger Things and movies like Free Guy. He's also directing Ruffalo in another Netflix project, the upcoming sci-fi movie The Adam Project, which also stars Ryan Reynolds, Jennifer Garner, and Zoe Saldana. 

Elsewhere on the small screen, Ruffalo recently starred in the HBO series I Know This Much is True, while Laurie appeared in the sci-fi comedy Avenue 5 and the BBC thriller Roadkill.

While we wait for All the Light We Cannot See to arrive on the platform, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best Netflix shows that you can stream right now.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.