Meet 'Fourth Wing' Stars Esther McGregor and Emilio Sakraya, the Actors Playing Violet and Xaden

If you have been counting down the days until the Fourth Wing TV show, we've got great news: the project seems to have finally found its leading stars.

Though Amazon MGM, the studio producing the series, declined to comment, Deadline reports that the production has cast Esther McGregor and Emilio Sakraya as Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson, respectively, after much fan speculation.

Violet and Xaden are the protagonists in Rebecca Yarros's Empyrean series, whose first book, Fourth Wing, was released in 2023. Prime Video has ordered an adaptation of the book as a series, with Michael B. Jordan serving as executive producer.

Speaking to the BBC in February 2026, Jordan said casting was the top priority as the series began pre-production, highlighting that it needed to be “done the right way” so it "won't be distracting." He said picking the right actors was the only way to ensure viewers could "fall in love with the characters that they have imagined in their head without any baggage, with projecting their own feelings on certain casts.”

While fans threw many names into the ring, from Off Campus star Josh Heuston to Twilight alum Mackenzie Foy, it seems the decision has been made. So, it begs the question: Who are Esther McGregor and Emilio Sakraya? And where do we know them from? Below, we break down the actors' trajectories and where you'll see them next. (And stay tuned for more casting announcements.)

Esther McGregor has reportedly been cast in the role of Violet Sorrengail. Hailing from London, you might recognize her surname, and that's because she is the daughter of Scottish actor Ewan McGregor and French production designer and art director Eve Mavrakis.

McGregor is 24 at the time of her reported casting and has a slew of interesting acting projects both already out and in the pipeline, including a couple of Amazon MGM Productions. You might recognize her from her role as Mirren Sinclair Sheffield in season one of We Were Liars. She's also appeared alongside Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson in A24's Babygirl as well as Pedro Almodóvar's The Room Next Door with Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. McGregor played a young version of Swinton's character, Martha, in the latter.

Her most recent project is Jake Allyn's biographical crime drama Clean Hands, in which she stars alongside Zach Braff. She will next be seen as Rachel Amber in Prime Video's live-action adaptation of Life Is Strange.

Aside from acting, McGregor also does music, modeling, and works as a tattoo artist, offering both machine and hand-poked ink designs.

In the Fourth Wing book, Violet Sorrengail is a 20-year-old reluctant dragon rider student at Basgiath War College, where her mother is the commanding general. She is described as “small and frail” at the beginning (she has a chronic illness inspired by Yarros's Ehlers-Danlos syndrome), but that, of course, will have to change in a cutthroat school.

Emilio Sakraya will reportedly take on the role of Xaden Riorson. Hailing from Berlin, 30-year-old Emilio Sakraya is both an actor and a singer. He began acting at a young age, appearing in multiple productions across Germany before making his international debut.

His past projects include Tribes of Europa, Warrior Nun, Sixty Minutes, and Those About to Die. He will next be seen in war thriller Fortitude alongside Michael Sheen and Nicolas Cage, among many others, as well as in the upcoming third season of Netflix's One Piece live-action series. He will play Koza, the leader of the rebel army in the Kingdom of Alabasta and childhood friend of Charithra Chandran's Nefertari Vivi.

Outside of acting, Sakraya's name might ring a bell as he was romantically linked to Spanish singer Rosalía briefly in 2025. The two were spotted kissing in Barcelona and Munich, among other public outings together. That said, they never publicly spoke about their relationship.

The German actor was a popular dream cast for Xaden. Fans began speculating about his involvement in the show in early 2025 when Sakraya posted an Instagram training video captioned with a dragon emoji. Fans also noticed he followed Yarros.

Speaking about her non-negotiables for casting Xaden back in 2025, Yarros said, “My biggest thing has always been, Xaden isn't white, and I need him to not be white on television.” Sakraya is of Moroccan and Serbian descent.

Xaden Riorson, Violet's enemy and love interest, is a third-year star student at Basgiath War College. His family has history with Violet's family that will condition their relationship from the get-go. In the book, he's described as “the most powerful and ruthless wingleader.”

This post will be updated as casting news for Prime Video's Fourth Wing TV show breaks.