Ballad of a Small Player cast & characters: Meet the stars behind the film and the roles they play

Ballad of a Small Player is a British psychological thriller released in 2025, directed by Edward Berger and written by Rowan Joffé. The movie is an adaptation of the 2014 novel The Ballad of a Small Player by Lawrence Osborne.

The film ensemble includes Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Tilda Swinton, Deanie Ip, and Alex Jennings. On August 29, 2025, the film made its debut at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival.

After that, it was allotted for a limited theatrical release in the United States from October 15 and in the United Kingdom from October 17. The film was also released for streaming on Netflix on October 29, 2025.

Ballad of a Small Player, directed by Berger, who is also co-producing the film with Mike Goodridge and Matthew James Wilkinson, is about the story of Lord Freddy Doyle, a disgraced British lawyer who takes refuge in Macau's gambling underworld.

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Who stars in Ballad of a Small Player?

1) Colin Farrell as Lord Freddy Doyle / Brendan Thomas Reilly

Colin Farrell (Image Via Getty)

Colin Farrell is the leading actor in Ballad of a Small Player, playing the role of Lord Freddy Doyle, a man who tries to flee from his past and lives a double life. Collin Farrell has been a part of both mainstream and independent movies, and his work in the latter has been varied from the late '90s till now.

He appeared in the BBC drama Ballykissangel and gained immediate notice with Tigerland (2000). His big break was Minority Report (2002) by Steven Spielberg after which he got the main roles in Daredevil (2003), Alexander (2004), and Miami Vice (2006).

His role in In Bruges (2008) brought him critical success, and he was awarded a Golden Globe. Since then, he has worked in The Lobster (2015), The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), Widows (2018), and The Batman (2022), to name a few. He won a second Golden Globe for the portrayal of Penguin in HBO’s The Penguin (2024).

In 2022, Farrell’s role as the lead in The Banshees of Inisherin brought him worldwide fame and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

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2) Fala Chen as Dao Ming

Fala Chen (Image Via Getty)

Fala Chen is playing the role of Dao Ming, a worker at a casino who becomes a significant person in the progress of Doyle. Chen is a Chinese-American actress and singer who, after winning the Miss Chinese International Pageant in 2005, started her career in the Hong Kong television industry.

She starred in Heart of Greed (2007), Steps (2007), and No Regrets (2010). She had been awarded four TVB Anniversary Awards and gained recognition.

Chen quit the entertainment industry in Hong Kong and went to Juilliard in 2014. After that, she changed her career to film and TV and got a role in The Undoing by HBO (2020).

Besides that, she achieved worldwide fame for the role of Ying Li in Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). She also starred in HBO series Irma Vep (2022) and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024).

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3) Tilda Swinton as Betty Grayson / Cynthia Blithe

Tilda Swinton (Image Via Getty)

In‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ the film Ballad of a Small Player, Tilda Swinton plays Cynthia Blithe. Tilda Swinton plays a private investigator in the film in a quest to locate Lord Doyle.

She is a British actress who has won the Academy Award and is known for her collaborations with directors like Derek Jarman and Wes Anderson. Jarman's Caravaggio (1986) was her first film, and then she won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for Edward II (1991).

The first major festival success of Swinton came with the film Orlando (1992), after which she went on to deliver critically acclaimed performances in The Deep End (2001), Michael Clayton (2007), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), and Snowpiercer (2014).

Besides that, Swinton also became a household name due to her characters in The Chronicles of Narnia series (2005–2010) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in which she played the Ancient One.

In 2025, Swinton was the recipient of the Honorary Golden Bear and the British Film Institute Fellowship for her outstanding work in cinema.

The supporting cast of Ballad of a Small Player features,

• Deanie Ip,
• Alex Jennings.

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Ballad of a Small Player is currently available to watch on Netflix.

Edited by Sakshi Singh