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'Des': Meet David Tennant, Daniel Mays, Jason Watkins and rest of the cast of true-crime drama on Sundance Now

The series is set to make its debut on Sundance Now and chronicles the arrest, murders, investigation and trial of one of Britain's most prolific serial killers, Dennis Nilsen

'Des' is a true-crime miniseries that originally aired in the UK on ITV in September 2020. It is set to make its debut on Sundance Now and chronicles the arrest, murders, investigation and trial of one of Britain's most prolific serial killers, Dennis Nilsen. According to the official synopsis, the series is captured from the perspective of a detective, a biographer, and Nilsen himself. Here is the talented cast bringing the mini-series to life.

David Tennant as serial killer Dennis Nilsen

Tennant is known for his role as the Doctor in 'Doctor Who' (2005-2020), Kilgrave in 'Jessica Jones' (2015-2019), Peter Vincent in 'Friday Night' (2011) and of course Scrooge McDuck in 'DuckTales' (2017-2020). He is also popularly known for his role as Crowley in 'Good Omens' (2019) and 'Good Omens: Lockdown' (2020) and DI Alec Hardy in the TV series 'Broadchurch' (2013-2017). Tennant won a Daytime Emmy in 2013 for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' where he played Huyang and in 2014 won a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor - Television for 'The Escape Artist' (2013) where he played the role of Will Burton. This year, he was nominated for a TV Times Award for Favourite Actor for 'Des'.  His other most recent works include 'Final Space' (2018-2019), 'Criminal: UK' (2019), 'Deadwater Fell' (2020), 'Staged' (2020) and 'There She Goes' (2018-2020). He has two releases titled 'Americons' and 'Around the World in 80 days' in pre-production.

Daniel Mays as Detective Peter Jay 

Mays is known for his roles as Allan in 'The Adventures of Tintin' (2011), Tivik in 'Rogue One' (2016), a young journalist in 'Mr Nobody' (2009) and Dave Schilling in 'The Bank Job' (2008). He is also popularly known for his roles as Danny in 'Line of Duty' (2016) and Marcus in Netflix's 'White Lines' (2020). His most recent works include 'Porters' (2019), 'Good Omens' (2019), 'Temple' (2019), '1917' (2019), 'Rhythm Section' (2020' and 'Code 404'. He has a release titled 'Shaun' that is in pre-production. In 2004, the actor won for Best Actor at the Reims International Television Days for 'Rehab' (2003) where he played the role of Adam. He was nominated for a National Television Award in 2013 for Most Popular Male Drama Performance for 'Mrs Biggs' (2012) where he played the role of Ronald Biggs, for a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for 'Shifty' (2008) where he played the role of Chris and a BAFTA TV Award in 2017 for Best Supporting Actor for 'Line of Duty'.

Jason Watkins as a biographer, Brian Masters 

Watkins is known for his roles as Harold Wilson in 'The Crown' (2019), Christopher Jefferies in 'The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies' (2014), Emlyn Hooson in 'A Very English Scandal' (2018), and DS Dodds in 'McDonald & Dodds' (2020). His other recent works include 'Fingers Crossed' (2019), 'Saving Grace' (2019), 'Hold The Sunset' (2018-2019), 'Hitmen' (2020) and 'W1A' (2014-2020). He also has a completed release titled 'Something Borrowed' (2020). The Actor won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Leading Actor for 'The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies' (2014), and an award at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards for 'The Crown' which he shared with his castmates.

Ron Cook as DSI Geoff Chambers

Cook is known for his roles as George Merchant IN 'Hot Fuzz' (2007), Alphonse Marceau in 'Chocolat' (2000), Parker in 'Thunderbirds' (2004) and Old Gobbo in 'The Merchant of Venice' (2004). His most recent works include 'Les Misérables' (2019), 'Death in Paradise' (2019), 'Chernobyl' (2019), 'The Witcher' (2019) and 'The Salisbury Poisonings' (2020).

Barry Ward as DI Steve McCusker

Ward is known for his roles as Kimmy in 'Jimmy's Hall' (2014), Leslie in 'The End of the F***ing World' (2017), Adam in 'Blood Cells' (2014) and Gordon Close in 'Maze' (2017). His most recent works include 'Extra Ordinary' (2019), 'Gomorrah' (2019), 'The Yearning' (2019), 'White Lines' (2020) and 'Dating Amber' (2020). In 2018, Ward was nominated for IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Film for 'Maze' (2017), and this year he was nominated for an IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role - Film for 'Best Actor in a Lead Role - Film' (2019).

The rest of the cast includes Faye McKeever as Linda Jay, Ben Bailey Smith as DC Brian Lodge, Bronagh Waugh as Charlotte Proctor, Jay Simpson as DS Chris Healey, Alex Bhat as DS Jones, Joel Morris as Tim Wells, Andy Jaye as a News Correspondent, Chanel Cresswell as Lesley Mead, Jonathan Coy as Professor David Bowen and many more.

The official synopsis from Sundance Now's press release reads, "'Des' is a true-crime drama focusing on one of the most infamous criminal cases in UK history - Dennis Nilsen. Known as the 'kindly killer', Nilsen (David Tennant) was a local civil servant who spent five years murdering boys and young men he met on the streets of London's Soho from 1978 to 1983. He would meet and befriend these men before offering them food or lodgings for the evening back at his North London flat. His victims were often homeless or living off grid, having slipped through the cracks of 1980s British society and were therefore welcoming of this stranger's apparent generosity. When he was finally caught on 9 February 1983, Nilsen had murdered a total of fifteen men over a period of five years, making him Britain's most prolific serial killer of the time. After his arrest, Nilsen was astonishing in his honesty: admitting outright to all fifteen murders in the police car outside his flat. But infuriatingly for the investigating detectives, he couldn't remember any of his victims' names. With no apparent motive, inconclusive forensic evidence, and most of Nilsen's victims living off-grid, the police started the biggest manhunt investigation in UK history. This time not for the murderer, but for the murdered. The story is told through the prism of three isolated men - a detective, a biographer, and Nilsen himself. While Detective Peter Jay (Daniel Mays) and the police investigation's attempt to get justice for as many victims as possible provides the narrative and emotional spine, the relationship between Nilsen and his biographer Brian Masters (Jason Watkins) allows us to delve into the mind of one of the most emotionally elusive serial killers the world has ever seen. Can we ever really understand the mind of a psychopathic killer? And, if we try, what price do we pay?"

Catch 'Des' on Thursday, October 15, 2020, on Sundance Now. Watch the trailer below.