Dichen Lachman

Dichen Lachman ( ; ) (born 22 February 1982 ) is a Nepali-born Australian actress and model. She is best known for her roles as Katya Kinski in the soap opera Neighbours (2005–2007), Sierra in Joss Whedon's science fiction drama series Dollhouse (2009–2010), and Ms. Casey in Severance (2022–present).

Lachman has starred in numerous television series, including Being Human (2012), Last Resort (2012–2013), Altered Carbon (2018–2020), and starred as Jiaying in the superhero drama series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014–2020).

Lachman has also appeared in numerous films, including Lust for Love (2014), Too Late (2015), Bad Therapy (2020), and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024). She also portrayed Soyona Santos in the Jurassic Park film Jurassic World Dominion (2022) and animated series Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024–2025).

Early life and education Dichen Lachman was born in Kathmandu, Nepal. She moved to Adelaide, Australia, in the early 1990s with her family. Her father is Australian and her mother is Tibetan.

She attended West Lakes Primary School, Gilles Street Primary School, Norwood Morialta High School, St Mary's College, Adelaide, Annesley College, and the University of Adelaide.

Career Lachman first filmed an ad in Australia for Wanadoo, which aired in the United Kingdom. In 2005, she joined the cast of the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Katya Kinski. She had auditioned for the role of Elle Robinson, but the producers decided to create the part of Katya for her.

Lachman played a small role in the feature film Aquamarine. After she finished shooting the role of Aaren in the film Bled, Lachman joined the cast of the film Aztec Rex in Hawaii. In an interview with The Soap Show, Lachman said she had appeared on the BBC television show Ready Steady Cook while visiting England in late 2006. In the interview, she explained that she was in Los Angeles to advance her acting career, but said she would love to work in the UK and Australia.

On 26 March 2008, it was announced that Lachman would portray Sierra in the television series Dollhouse, created by Joss Whedon.

In an interview with ScifiNow in 2009, Lachman responded to the rumour that she would star in an upcoming television show based on Star Wars by saying, "I am a huge George Lucas fan. I love those movies and it would be a dream come true—I'd love to do it, it would be incredible." She was named one of the 100 hottest women on screen for 2009, by the lesbian media site AfterEllen.com. "What a privilege to be there," she said.

She guest starred as an insurance agent/street racer on NCIS: Los Angeles. She also appeared as Amy Hanamoa, the widow of a murdered police officer, in an episode of Hawaii Five-0. Lachman made a guest appearance in an episode of the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, for its fourth series Torchwood: Miracle Day. Additionally, in 2011 it was announced in Variety that Lachman would be joining the cast of Being Human as a series regular.

In 2012, it was announced Lachman would be joining the Shawn Ryan–driven pilot Last Resort for ABC, and she subsequently appeared as a main character during the show's 13-episode run. She also guest starred in the second season of the Jane Espenson scripted web series, Husbands.

Between 2010 and 2013, while working on other productions, Lachman and her close friend Anton King produced Lust for Love. King wrote the script in 2010 and used Kickstarter to raise funds to make the movie. The initial goal was to raise US$70,000; however, when the deadline was reached on 11 November 2011 more than 1,500 people had pledged money, with a final figure of US$101,030. as director of photography.

In 2014, Lachman began shooting in Canada, where she joined the cast of The 100 in the role of Anya and had a recurring role on ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

On 11 June 2015, a new movie called Too Late, starring Lachman, was released during the Los Angeles Film Festival. On 22 October 2015, it was announced that Lachman landed a recurring role on the third season of Michael Bay's action-adventure TNT series The Last Ship. Lachman had been cast as Jesse, a helicopter pilot who lives off-the-grid. She starred as Reileen Kawahara in Netflix's original television series, Altered Carbon, an adaptation of the 2002 novel of the same name by Richard K. Morgan. The first season was released on 2 February 2018. Also starting in 2018, Lachman began a recurring role as Frankie on Animal Kingdom during its third season.

In 2020, she returned for small story arcs on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Altered Carbon, and she also appeared in the film Bad Therapy. In 2022, Lachman joined the main cast of Severance, which premiered on Apple TV+. She appeared as Ms. Casey, a wellness counselor. The series received acclaim from critics and audiences, with Lachman being nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama at the 2nd Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards. Soon after she appeared as antagonist Soyona Santos in the 2022 film Jurassic World Dominion. Lachman was then announced as the titular character in Steven Brand's noir thriller Joe Baby. In 2024, she was announced to star in the dark thriller, Unholy Night, alongside Ed Speleers and Ed Westwick. She also reprised her role from Jurassic World Dominion in Jurassic World: Chaos Theory. In November 2025, it was revealed that Dichen Lachman joined the cast of The Legend of Zelda live-action film as Impa.

Personal life Lachman moved to Los Angeles shortly after she finished with the Australian TV drama Neighbours in 2007.

Filmography Film

Television Year Title Role Notes 2005–2007 Neighbours Katya Kinski Main role; 103 episodes 2008 Aztec Rex Ayacoatl Television film 2009–2010 Dollhouse Sierra / Priya Tsetsang Main role; 27 episodes2010 NCIS: Los Angeles Allison Pritchett / Allysia Takada Episode: "Full Throttle" Hawaii Five-0 Amy Hanamoa Episode: "Manaʻo" 2011 Torchwood: Miracle Day Lyn Peterfield Episode: "Rendition" 2012 Being Human Suren Main role (season 2); 7 episodes Don't Try This at Home Jen Episode: "Sex/Death, Part II" The Glades Chef Lana Kim Episode: "Food Fight" The League Marbella Episode: "12.12.12" 2012–2013 Last Resort Tani Tumrenjack Main role; 13 episodes 2013 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Jessica Lowell Episode: "Fearless" King & Maxwell Benny 7 episodes 2014 The 100Anya Recurring (seasons 1–2); 7 episodes 2014–2015, 2020 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Jiaying Recurring (season 2); 9 episodesGuest (season 7); 2 episodes 2014–2015 Shameless Angela Guest (season 4); 1 episodesRecurring (season 5); 5 episodes 2016 The Last Ship Jesse Recurring (season 3); 8 episodes 2016–2017 Supergirl Roulette / Veronica Sinclair 2 episodes 2018–2020 Altered Carbon Reileen Kawahara Main role (season 1); 7 episodesGuest (season 2); 2 episodes 2018–2021 Animal Kingdom Frankie Recurring (seasons 3–5); 23 episodes 2022–present Severance Ms. Casey Main role 2022 Baymax! Sayaka / Middle School TeacherAdditional voices Voice, 5 episodes 2024–2025 Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Soyona Santos Voice, recurring role; 14 episodes 2026 Avatar: The Last Airbender Avatar Yangchen 2 episodes

Web

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref.2015E! Online Best. Ever. TV. AwardsBest Fight (shared with Eliza Taylor) The 100 2022 Screen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama SeriesSeverance 2025