- Steve McQueen as Captain Virgil Hilts ('The Cooler King'): a particularly persistent American escapee with an irreverent attitude.
- James Garner as Flight Lieutenant Bob Hendley ('The Scrounger'): American in the RAF Eagle Squadron; responsible for finding materials on the black market for the escape attempt; forms a close friendship with Blythe.
- Richard Attenborough as Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett ('Big X'): the ringleader of the escape committee.
- James Donald as Group Captain Ramsey ('The SBO'): senior British officer in the camp; serves as an intermediary between the Germans and the POWs.
- Charles Bronson as Flight Lieutenant Danny Welinski ('Tunnel King'): Polish officer; despite having dug 17 escape tunnels in other camps, is severely claustrophobic.
- Donald Pleasence as Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe ('The Forger'): mild-mannered forger; forms a close friendship with Hendley.
- James Coburn as Flying Officer Sedgwick ('The Manufacturer'): Australian officer who constructs tools for the escape.[note 1]
- Hannes Messemer as Oberst von Luger ('The Kommandant'): Commandant of the camp and a senior Luftwaffe officer.
- David McCallum as Lieutenant-Commander Eric Ashley-Pitt ('Dispersal'): a Fleet Air Arm officer; devises a way to get rid of the tunnel dirt.
- Gordon Jackson as Flight Lieutenant Andy MacDonald ('Intelligence'): Bartlett's second-in-command.
- John Leyton as Flight Lieutenant Willie Dickes ('Tunnel King'): Welinski's best friend and co-lead on tunnel design and construction.
- Angus Lennie as Flying Officer Archie Ives ('The Mole'): anxious Scottish airman who wants to escape with Hilts.
- Nigel Stock as Flight Lieutenant Dennis Cavendish ('The Surveyor'): surveys the tunnel routes.
- Robert Graf as Werner ('The Ferret'): young, naive guard whom Hendley befriends to exploit for black market contraband.
- Jud Taylor as Second Lieutenant Goff: the third American.
- Hans Reiser as Kuhn: Gestapo officer and ardent Nazi.
- Harry Riebauer as Stabsfeldwebel Strachwitz: the senior NCO amongst the German guards.
- William Russell as Sorren ('Security'): British officer.
- Robert Freitag as Hauptmann Posen: Luger's adjutant.
- Ulrich Beiger as Preissen: Gestapo.
- George Mikell as SD Hauptsturmführer Dietrich: SS officer.
- Lawrence Montaigne as Haynes ('Diversions'): Canadian officer.
- Robert Desmond as Griffith ('Tailor'): British officer; provides civilian clothes and military uniforms to disguise the escapees.
- Til Kiwe as Frick
- Heinz Weiss as Kramer
- Tom Adams as Dai Nimmo ('Diversions'): Welsh officer.
- Karl-Otto Alberty as SD Untersturmführer Steinach: SS.
This content is from Wikipedia. GradeSaver is providing this content as a courtesy until we can offer a professionally written study guide by one of our staff editors. We do not consider this content professional or citable. Please use your discretion when relying on it.
