Ian Holm
— F.R. Leavis
Leo McKern
— Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch
Sara Kestelman
— Queenie Leavis
Alan Cumming
— Tulloch
Rufus Sewell
— Mike Costain
John Lloyd Fillingham
— Young F.R. Leavis
Helga Brindle
— Young Queenie Leavis
Miranda Forbes
— Miss Greve
Alice Douglas
— Girton Girl
Sean O'Callaghan
— Police Constable
Charles Dale
— Ambulance Driver