<Li> Michael Shannon as Richard Strickland, a United States Colonel in charge of the project to study the "asset". </Li> <Li> Richard Jenkins as Giles, Elisa's neighbor and close friend who is a struggling advertising illustrator . </Li> <Li> Octavia Spencer as Zelda Fuller, Elisa's co-worker and friend who serves as her interpreter . </Li> <Li> Michael Stuhlbarg as Robert Hoffstetler / Dimitri Mosenkov, a Soviet spy working as a scientist studying the creature under an alias . </Li>

Who plays zelda in the shape of water