You're gonna need a rewatch.
Half the fun of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out films are the A-list casts he assembles. His first installment was a who’s who of actors having a ball working together in an ensemble. But the new sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, has the bonus of added cameo appearances by celebrities not involved in the main mystery. So, let’s run down everybody Johnson rounded up for the film.
Warning: Spoilers for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery follow. The original Knives Out focused on the Drysdale family, those who married into it, and those who hung around hoping to cash in on inheritance. Like the first film, Glass Onion is a story set among the wealthy American elite and their hangers-on, but it’s a little less blood-related. It focuses on a group of friends, one of whom made it big in the tech world. The rest, towed along in his wake to becoming a billionaire, sold their souls to live on his largess. Their high-profile connections mean the names drop faster than bodies, including references to hanging out with Jared Leto, going to Anderson Cooper’s birthday bash, and eating Jeremy Renner’s hot sauce.
But it’s not just celebrities off camera who get brief spotlights. There are a ton of actual celebrity cameos on screen too. Here’s a complete rundown.
Jake Tapper As Himself
The first cameo comes in the movie’s cold open, as governor Claire Debella, in the middle of her senate run, prepares to do a CNN interview from home during the lockdown. Multiple TVs show her on camera being interviewed by Jake Tapper, one of CNN’s most recognizable hosts, playing himself.
Dallas Roberts As Mr. Debella
Speaking of the Debella household, fans might not recognize the man playing Clare’s supportive spouse and child wrangler at first, but that’s Dallas Roberts. He’s one of those actors all over broadcast and cable TV. Fans will best recognize him from The Walking Dead or various Law & Order shows.
Jackie Hoffman As Mrs. Cody
Only Murders in the Building fans will delight in seeing Jackie Hoffman, better known as the cranky Arconian resident Uma Heller, playing the role of Mrs. Cody, mother of Dave Bautista’s Duke. A 30-year veteran of the stand-up circuit, she’s also well known for her role in Ryan Murphy’s Feud: Bette and Joan and the 2020 comedy Shiva Baby.
Yo-Yo Ma As Birdie’s Pod Buddy
There are about 500 people in Birdie’s “pod” from the looks of the never-ending lockdown party in her NYC penthouse. But the oddest guest there is famous cellist YoYo Ma, who turns up right on time to add much-needed musical theory facts.
Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Natasha Lyonne, & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar As Themselves
Hilariously, four of the most prominent cameos are saved for Benoit Blanc, who has taken to residing in the bath for the entirety of lockdown, while part of a never-ending Zoom party call that includes actor Natasha Lyonne, sports legend and author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the final onscreen appearances of two broadway legends: Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury.
Ethan Hawke As Miles’ Butler
Miles is so rich, he can hire Ethan Hawke to be his butler and then have him disappear without telling anyone his name.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt As The Clock Bong
One of the most ballyhooed cameos was that of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which might confuse viewers, since he’s never seen on screen. That’s because his cameo is aural — he’s the voice saying “bong!” every hour on the hour as Miles’ bizarre-sounding Phillip Glass-designed island timepiece.
Noah Segan As Darryl
Who is Darryl? Why is Darryl? The movie never bothers to explain his calm, stoner presence or why he lives in Miles’ house. The actor is Noah Segan, one of Johnson’s best buds who cameos in just about every film he’s made, including Star Wars Episode 8.
Serena Williams As Herself
Perhaps it would have been more logical to hire someone like Cody Rigsby, famous for being one of Peloton’s celebrity trainers, for the scene in the gym when Helen and Benoit are harassed about using the gym to solve murders instead of working out. But sports legend and GOAT Serena Williams hanging out in the mirror, bored and reading a book, was priceless.
Hugh Grant As Benoit’s Boyfriend, Phillip
And finally, the cameo everyone was desperate to see: Beniot’s boyfriend. Unsurprisingly, he landed himself a catch in Phillip, played by Paddington 2’s own Hugh Grant. Of all the cameos in Glass Onion, this is the one viewers hope to see more of in future cases.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will stream on Netflix starting Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
