Great Expectations has started airing on BBC One and it features a star-studded cast. Pip is taken in by mysterious and eccentric Miss Havisham (played by Olivia Colman) who shows him a dark world of possibilities. Express.co.uk has all you need to know about who plays Pip in the series.
Who plays Pip in Great Expectations and how old is he?
The BBC says: “Under the great expectations placed upon him, Pip will have to work out the true cost of this new world and whether it will truly make him the man he wishes to be.”
The series features a number of flashbacks showing Pip at different stages of his life.
Viewers may recognise the older version of Pip as Fionn Whitehead, a 25-year-old English actor.
He is known for his lead role in Dunkirk and for the film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
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The star was born in July 1997 in London, to jazz musician parents.
One of his first roles was in 2016 in the miniseries Him, and he went on to star in the films Emily and The Duke.
Speaking of his new role in Great Expectations, he said: “Pip is pretty scared of Miss Havisham at first.
“She’s an intimidating figure to him. He wants to learn from her and recognises that she is his only way into a world that he otherwise wouldn’t have access to.
“So, he bears her so that he can get as much information out of her, but is also really wary of her.
“When you see Olivia done up as Miss Havisham she is such an intimidating character, completely opposite to Olivia in real life, who is unbelievably lovely, kind and hilarious.
“I’ve had such an amazing time working with her.”
In the flashback scenes, young Pip is played by Tom Sweet, who already has a long line of credits to his name at such a young age.
He has previously starred in The Drifters, Ashes in the Snow, Gunpowder and Eight for Silver.
Back in 2016, the youngster explained in an interview that he was 10 years old, meaning this year he is around 17.
Despite having no acting training or experience, Tom wowed critics in his debut film, psychological horror story The Childhood Of A Leader.
He was spotted by chance by casting agents while playing football with his friends on London Fields.
In the original Dickens novel, the story starts in the early 1800s when Pip is seven years old.
Four years into his apprenticeship, a mysterious benefactor enables him to move to London as a teenager to become a gentleman.
The story follows Pip as he turns 23 years old, with a flash-forward to 11 years later by the end of the story.
Great Expectations airs on BBC One on Sunday at 9pm
