Death by Lightning Cast Guide: Who Plays Who in Netflix’s New Epic from the Game of Thrones Creators

Netflix dusted off one of the wildest chapters in U.S. history and built a limited series around it. 'Death by Lightning' zeroes in on President James A. Garfield, his short time in office, and the unhinged guy who decided he deserved a government job so badly he shot the president. The cast? Stacked. The roles? Deep-cut Gilded Age politics. Here’s who is playing who, and why it matters.

The cast and the players they’re bringing to life

• Michael Shannon as James A. Garfield – Lexington, Kentucky’s own brings some steel to the 20th president, one of the show’s two leads. Shannon first made major waves as John Givings in 'Revolutionary Road' (which landed him an Oscar nomination) and has bounced between prestige and pulp ever since ('Elvis & Nixon', 'Man of Steel', 'Premium Rush'). The series follows Garfield’s rise, his anti-corruption push, and the presidency that was cut short within a year. Bonus bit: before politics, Garfield was a major general in the Union Army.
• Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Guiteau – The other lead. The UK actor got early attention in a 1998 adaptation where he played Hareton Earnshaw, later starred opposite Keira Knightley in 'Pride & Prejudice', and has a trophy shelf that includes three BAFTAs, two Emmys, and a Golden Globe. Here he’s Guiteau: a self-promoter who convinced himself he helped elect Garfield, demanded a Paris consulship he did not earn, and, after being rebuffed, plotted the assassination. Recent credits include 'Deadpool & Wolverine' and 'Ripper Street'.
• Betty Gilpin as Lucretia Garfield – Garfield’s wife and a politically sharp partner who backed his campaign and served as First Lady. Gilpin broke out as Debbie "Liberty Belle" Eagan on Netflix’s 'GLOW' (three Emmy nominations) and has popped up in 'The Tomorrow War', 'A Dog’s Journey', and the 2020 'The Grudge'.
• Shae Whigham as Roscoe Conkling – A New York power broker and Garfield’s nemesis. Whigham’s built a career on flinty operators ('Boardwalk Empire' as Eli Thompson, 'True Detective' season 1, 'The Wolf of Wall Street', 'Joker'), and Conkling is very much in that wheelhouse.
• Nick Offerman as Chester Arthur – Before the White House, Arthur was the Collector of the Port of New York; he ends up on the ticket as Garfield’s running mate to calm New York’s political machine. Offerman’s been at it since 1994, even moonlighting as a game show host, and won a 2023 Primetime Emmy for his guest turn on 'The Last of Us' episode "Long, Long Time".
• Bradley Whitford as Senator James Blaine – Maine senator, former Speaker of the House, and Garfield’s Secretary of State (he resigned his Senate seat to take the job). Whitford is forever Josh Lyman from 'The West Wing' (Emmy winner in 2001), and you’ve also seen him in 'Get Out', 'The Cabin in the Woods', and 'The Handmaid’s Tale'.
• Laura Marcus as Mollie Garfield – The First Daughter. You might recognize Marcus from 'Andor'; she’s also in the cast of 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' and has credits on 'The Serpent Queen' and 'Miss Scarlett'.
• Paula Malcomson as Franny Scoville – Guiteau’s sister, portrayed here as loving and forgiving even as her brother slides into infamy. Malcomson’s a familiar face from 'The Hunger Games', 'Deadwood', and 'Ray Donovan'.

What the show is actually doing

'Death by Lightning' doesn’t just stage the shooting and roll credits. It sweeps through Garfield’s election, his reform-minded agenda (anti-corruption, pro-civil rights), and the political knife fights that defined the era. If your history class fast-forwarded from Lincoln to JFK, this fills in the missing burn marks.

The series comes to Netflix under the Bighead Littlehead Productions banner, and it’s streaming now.