It has almost been 15 years since C.S. Lewis’s magical book series, The Chronicles of Narnia, was brought to life with the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In the first film, fans watched the four Pevensie siblings — Lucie, Edmund, Peter and Susan — stumble upon a wardrobe in Professor Digory Kirke’s home that leads them away from London amid World War 2 and into the supernatural, almost medieval-like land of Narnia.
The first film was followed by two more movies, with the last premiering in theaters in 2010. There was supposed to be a fourth sequel, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair, which has yet to happen, unfortunately. But in honor of the third sequel The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader premiering on Disney Plus on Oct. 9, 2020, we’re looking back at the many actors and actresses whose journeys we followed between the real world and Narnia!
Georgie Henley (Lucie Pevensie)
Georgie Henley played Lucie Pevensie, the youngest of the Pevensie siblings. The actress was only 10 years old when the first film premiered, and fans saw Georgie grow up as she reprised her role for the next two films. Following the third sequel of The Chronicles of Narnia, Georgia held leading roles in three movies: Perfect Sisters (2014), The Sisterhood of Night (2014) and Access All Areas (2017). She also starred as Princes Meg Tudor/Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots in the Starz television mini-series The Spanish Princess, which premiered in 2019 and started airing the second half of its 16 episodes in Oct. 2020.
Georgie also filmed a pilot for a Game of Thrones prequel alongside Naomi Watts, which sadly got cancelled, our sister publication Deadline reported in Oct. 2019. Outside of acting, Georgie also graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the Clare College, University of Cambridge in 2016.
Skandar Keynes (Edmund Pevensie)
Like his co-star Georgie, Skandar Keynes starred in all three of The Chronicles of Narnia films between 2005-2010. He was just 14 years old when the first Narnia film premiered in theaters! After the last film, Skandar studied at the prestigious Cambridge University where he pursued studies in Arabic, Persian (Farsi), and Middle Eastern History, according to his 2014 interview with Business Insider. He went on to work in politics, and worked alongside the United Kingdom’s Member of Parliament Crispin Blunt, which the British outlet Daily Express reported in 2018.
William Moseley (Peter Pevensie)
William Moseley played the eldest of the fictional Pevensie siblings, and was 18 years old when the first film premiered in 2005. We saw his character ascend to the throne as the High King of Narnia on the big screen! William must’ve liked feeling like royalty, because he went on to star as Prince Liam in The Royals television series between 2015-2018.
After The Chronicles of Narnia, William also played a leading man in films like Friend Request (2016) and The Little Mermaid (2018). Most recently, he appeared as the “Italian Man” in the 2020 film Artemis Fowl.
Anna Popplewell (Susan Pevensie)
Anna Popplewell played Susan Pevensie, the bow and arrow-wielding, second eldest of the Pevensie siblings. She goes on to become the queen of Narnia, known otherwise as Queen Susan the Gentle. Anna was just about to turn 17 years old when the first installment of The Chronicles of Narnia film series premiered. Like her on-screen siblings Georgie and William, Anna went on to star in a television show centered around royals on Reign, on which she played Lady Lola Flemming Narcisse between 2013-2016. She also most notably played Chyler Silva in the television mini-series Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (based on the popular video game), which aired in 2012.
Like Georgie, Anna also pursued English studies outside of acting! She graduated with a BA in English Literature from Oxford University in 2010, according to Anna’s IMDb page.
Tilda Swinton (Jadis the White Witch)
Tilda Swinton was already a famous actress going into the first film of The Chronicles of Narnia (her role in the 2001 movie, The Deep End, earned her a Golden Globe Award after all). The icy-haired actress played Jadis the White Witch in all three of the The Chronicles of Narnia films, and was 45 years old when the first movie premiered.
After the third sequel hit theaters in 2010, Tilda continued to star in equally big-budget features: Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grande Budapest Hotel (2014), Hail, Ceasar! (2016), Doctor Strange (2016), Avengers: Endgame (2020) and so forth. She also voiced Oracle in the Wes Anderson-animated film, Isle of Dogs, in 2018.
Tilda also has a longtime partner, artist Sandro Kopp, whom she’s been with since 2004. She also shares two grown-up children, Honor Swinton Byrne and Xavier Swinton Byrne, with her ex, playwright John Byrne.
James McAvoy (Mr. Tummus)
James McAvoy played a fan-favorite of The Chronicles of Narnia film series: Mr. Tummus! Half man and half goat, Mr. Tummus was a Fauns creature and became Lucie’s first friend after she stumbled into the land of Narnia. James enjoyed an immensely successful career after the first film premiered when he was 26 years old. His most notable roles are Professor Charles Xavier in the X:Men film series, and Dennis (who goes by multiple names) in M. Night Shyamalan’s films Split (2016) and Glass (2019).
James married actress Anne-Marie Duff in 2006, but the couple split in 2016. He later began dating Lisa Liberati who was a PA to Shyamalan on the set of Split, and they moved in together in a London home in the summer of 2020.
Will Poulter (Eustace Scrubb)
Will Poulter didn’t make his entrance into The Chronicles of Narnia film series until its third sequel, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The English actor was 17 years old when that film premiered, in which he played the Pevensies’ whiny cousin Eustace Scrubb. Will has gone on to land memorable roles: the hilarious Kenny Rossmore in We’re The Millers (2013), Gally in the Maze Runner film series (2014-2018), Colin Ritman in Black Mirror’s interactive film Bandersnatch (2018), and Mark in Midsommar (2019).
Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian)
Ben Barnes played the leading role of Prince Caspian in the second film of The Chronicles of Narnia series, Prince Caspian. He was 26 years old when the film premiered, and reprised his role in the third sequel. Like many of his Narnia co-stars, Ben continued a successful acting career: he played the leading role of Dorian Gray in the 2009 film of the same name, and has held recurring roles in the popular television series Westworld as Logan (2016-2018), The Punisher as Billy Russo (2017-2019) and Gold Digger as Benjamin Greene (2019). He also plays General Kirigan in the new TV series Shadow and Bone that’s currently in post-production as of the fall of 2020.
