With the latest Knives Out mystery hitting the small screen last week comes with it a wave of mixed reviews for its star-studded cast and showcase of murder mystery detective skills on display from master crime solver Benoit Blanc.
Of these well-known faces, many appear as the main troupe of characters, including Edward Norton and Dave Bautista, but there are a surprising amount of famous cameos throughout the 139 minutes of run time. Here are each cameo from Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and their varying significance:
Hugh Grant
Starting with the smallest yet potentially most groundbreaking is the appearance of Love, Actually's Hugh Grant as Blanc partner Philip. His voice can be heard first behind the bathroom door when Blanc is sulking in the bathtub, a familiar smooth English voice that might have been recognizable for many on first watch, but he appears properly later when the character of Helen (played by Janelle Monáe) knocks at his door with the broken invitation box to hire Blanc. During the first Knives Out film Blanc’s sexuality was never explored, but before the release of Glass Onion Rian Johnson, the films' creator, states that he was indeed queer, Grants appearance as Blancs partner confirming this.
The ‘Among Us’ Crew
At the start of the film, Blanc is shown video calling some of his close friends, and attempting to play the viral game Among Us. The inclusion of the game was obviously a topical reference for audiences, somewhat of a fan service, and Blanc being terrible at a game cornered entirely on deduction and deception was great for a round of laughs. His friends however were not merely a random assortment of famous cameos, each face belonging to a star with a deep connection to murder mysteries. There was, of course, the late Angela Lansbury (who died recently in October), famous for her lead role of Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote, but also Stephen Sondheim, well known for being mad about who-done-it mysteries and puzzles, playing a large part in co-writing The Last Of Sheila, a film Glass Onion is heavily inspired by.
In the video call there was also Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a man also entrenched in the murder mystery genre alongside his NBA stardom, known for co-writing various Mycroft Holmes mystery novels, based on the well known Sherlock Holmes stories. Natasha Lyonne is also present, her appearance being more of a mystery (pun intended) as she is most well known for her role in Orange is the New Black having not played a part in a murder mystery. Her appearance is still relevant however as she is going to appear in Johnson's next project: Poker Face, a Peacock mystery TV show coming out in January. Each one of these famous faces have been handpicked as personal close friends of Blanc due to their real world shared interest of murder, mysteries, and puzzle solving.
Ethan Hawke
Hawke appears briefly as a figure credited as ‘Efficient Man’, greeting the main trope of characters at the behest of Miles at the dock, and very efficiently giving each person a shot of Covid repelling mystery substance before they boarded for the island. His role is short, and saturated with mystery, and one that does not seem to warrant such a well known figure to play the part. Johnson relieved that his cameo was not planned, rather Hawke wanted in and just happened to be nearby filming for Moon Knight, flying over to Greece for the day and showing his face.
Yo-Yo Ma
The famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma makes an appearance as himself at the start of the film during Birdie’s party, tapping into his classical music knowledge to correctly identify a piece of music that helps the team open the puzzle box. Yo-Yo Ma has leant his music to many movies and shows, but has appeared as himself in The Simpsons, The West Wing and even the children’s TV show Arthur.
Serena Williams
The world-famous tennis superstar shows her face halfway through the film, showing that she is truly spending her retirement doing the things she enjoys, including appearing in Nintendo Switch adverts. She appears as what first appears to be a poster in the background of a scene at Miles’ home gym. This alone would be a good cameo, but as Blanc and Helen talk, discussing their plan to find out the truth of her sister's murder, Williams moves, and addresses the two directly. The scene perfectly sums up the extreme wealth Miles possesses, able to have Williams on retainer, ready to help him train/work out whenever he feels like it.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
This cameo may come as a surprise to many, as Levitt appears in voice only, and as a fairly unrecognizable voice at that. He has actually appeared in some way or another in every single Johnson movie, again as just an ethereal voice in the original Knives Out, voicing the detective from a TV show the main character's sister watches in the background. His role in the sequel is even smaller, lending his voice to the island's hourly ‘DONG’ that signifies the time.
Jake Tapper
Lastly comes Tapper who plays himself on a worse than Twitch CNN program who interviews Kathryn Han’s character Governor Claire Debella at the start of the film. Tapper himself is an American journalist who is the lead anchor for CNN, as well as the weekday news program The Lead with Jake Tapper.