Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty; AWNewYork/Shutterstock
The question for Benoit Blanc, the intrepid detectiveDaniel Craigplays in theNetflixmurder mysteryGlass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, is “Whodunit?”
The question for viewers is, “Wait, was that just…?”
Writer-directorRian Johnsonpacked the movie—about eccentric billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) who invites his frenemies to a private Greek island for a dinner party that turns deadly—with several cameos. That’s inadditionto the A-list main cast, which includes Craig, Norton,Kate Hudsonas a self-involved model-designer,Janelle Monáein a star turn as Bron’s bitter former business partner, andKathryn Hahnas the governor of Connecticut.
“It was just really important that they all fit together the right way,” casting director Mary Vernieu tells PEOPLE of assembling the group. “It’s a puzzle.”
Vernieu and her colleague Bret Howe (they both worked on the original 2019Knives Out, too) break down the big names.
Angela Lansbury, Stephen Sondheim, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Natasha Lyonne
Before jetting off to Greece, Blanc is seen at home playing the computer mystery gameAmong UswithLansbury, who died in October at 96;Sondheim, who passed in 2021 at 91;Abdul-Jabbar, 75, andLyonne, 43, appearing as themselves virtually on Blanc’s laptop screen.
“They all have a relationship to mystery in one way or another,” says Vernieu. Indeed, Lansbury headlinedMurder, She Wrote, composer Sondheim was a huge fan of the genre, basketball legend Jabbar has written novels about Sherlock Holmes, and Lyonne stars in Johnson’s upcoming Peacock detective seriesPoker Face, which is “like a throwback toColumbo,” adds Vernieu.
Hugh Grant
In a blink-and-you’ll miss it scene,the rom-com mainstay, 62, answers the door to Blanc’s apartment, revealing his character, Phillip, to be the detective’s romantic partner. Vernieu says a few actors' names were bandied about, but Grant was at the top of Johnson’s list.
Yo-Yo Ma
Johnson wrote the 19-time Grammy-winning cellist, 67, into the script for a scene in which he plays a party guest who helps model-designer Birdie (Hudson) open her puzzle-like invitation from Bron. “It was definitely a unique process, getting in touch with his people and finding him,” says Howe. Once he and Vernieu did, Howe says the musician “was all in.”
Ethan Hawke
“The role was written in, but it wasn’t written in as [Hawke],” says Vernieu. Filming occurred “at the height of the pandemic,” she continues, “So we were really grateful that Ethan was able to work it out.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Heard but not seen,the actor, 41—who has collaborated with Johnson on movies likeBrickandLooper— provides the sound of the hourly gong on Bron’s island. “That’s Rian’s thing,” says Howe. “Joe is in everything he does in some fashion.”
Serena Williams
At first glance, Williams seems to be a poster hanging on the wall of Bron’s gym. But slowly,the tennis ace, 41, begins to move. “You’re like, “What? She’s in there!” says Vernieu of the clever way Williams, playing herself, is introduced.
Turns out, in theGlass Onionworld, Williams is available for virtual work-outs via a Mirror-like fitness app at Bron’s home gym. In the scene, she offers Blanc a sweat session, but he’s too knee-deep in detective work with Monáe’s character to oblige.
Landing Williams was particularly sweet, says Vernieu, because Johnson “has always been a huge fan.” In the end, she says, the writer-director “got everyone he wanted.”
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mysteryis now streaming on Netflix.
source: people.com
