<Li> Keala Settle as Lettie Lutz, a bearded lady . She is a composite character partly based on Josephine Clofullia and Annie Jones . </Li> <Li> Yahya Abdul - Mateen II as W.D. Wheeler, an acrobat and Anne's brother . </Li> <Li> Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Deng Yan, a Chinese blade - specialist . </Li> <Li> Paul Sparks as James Gordon Bennett, the founder, editor and publisher of the New York Herald . </Li>

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