At the beginning of every episode of Hulu’s The Great , just after we’ve seen the title card, we’re reminded that the series is occasionally based on a true story — occasionally being the keyword. The series follows Catherine (Elle Fanning) as she moves to Russia and marries the current emperor, Peter III (Nicholas Hoult). This part is all true. A lot of things that happen next in the series are only sometimes true.The Great weaves this fact and fiction together giving us a peek into the Russian monarchy and no one is safe from a little embellishment of their real-life character. Many players in The Great were actually real people and had ties to Catherine and Peter during their reign in Russia, while others are completely fabricated or a clear mashup of a few different people helping to pull the strings. If you’re using the show as a crash-course in history you might want to double-check everything a few times, as things that appear true are not, and things that are so outlandishly ridiculous did in fact happen.Along with Fanning and Hoult, the cast includes a lot of names and faces you might have seen before, and it’s clear they’re all having a very good time living it up in Russia in the 1700s. If you’re looking for a who’s who of the cast, along with some back story on their (maybe fake) character, here’s what you need to know.