The Best Cameos in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
1) Stephen Sondheim
Sondheim, in his final, posthumous role, appears on Zoom. "Sondheim has a massive connection to the murder-mystery genre," director Rian Johnson shares. "He was a puzzle and mystery nut. He co-wrote, with Anthony Perkins, The Last of Sheila, which our film takes a huge page from in terms of the setup. And a lot of people don't know [it's] the only straight play he ever wrote that wasn't a musical was a whodunit."
Johnson continued, "I feel so thankful that I got a chance to tell him what his work meant to me in my life. He couldn't have been lovelier, and he was so game for doing this little cameo. It brings me so much joy that he's in the movie."
2) Angela Lansbury
"Getting to tell Angela Lansbury what her work meant to me, telling her about watching the filmed version of Sweeney Todd that was on cable when I was a kid and how that really kind of started me loving musical theater... It felt like a very special privilege to get to do that," Johnson shared.
Lansbury, too, is famous for her role as detective Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote—Fletcher is a clear precursor to Benoit Blanc.
3) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Abdul-Jabbar joins Sondheim and Lansbury in the Among Us scene. Like Sondheim and Lansbury, he has a link to murder mysteries: the NBA legend has co-written Mycroft Holmes novels, mystery novels that feature Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's older brother.
4) Natasha Lyonne
Lyonne is the final member of the Among Us game. Her connection to Johnson, and murder mysteries, is very straightforward: She is starring in Rian Johnson's Poker Face, a new mystery show coming to Peacock in January 2023.
Of Poker Face, Johnson shares, "It’s not really about the mystery — the way sitcoms aren’t really about the jokes. And it’s a form of storytelling that has been relegated to network procedurals. This is in the tradition of nonserialized, case-of-the-week shows. You can jump in anywhere and know how the show works. It’s something I kind of miss."
5) Ethan Hawke
Hawke briefly appears in the film—not as himself, but as a character simply credited as "Efficient Man." He greets the group of friends on the dock in Greece before they travel to Miles Bron's (Edward Norton) private island, and squirts a mysterious substance in their mouths.
The cameo, Johnson shared, wasn't planned in advance—Hawke was nearby shooting Moon Knight, and flew to Greece for a day to be part of the film.
6) Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma appears as himself near the start of the film, as a guest at a party thrown by Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson). As Birdie and the rest of the gang try and solve Miles's puzzle box over conference call, Ma is there to chime in with advice as it relates to Bach's fugue compositions.
7) Serena Williams
Williams is making the most out of her retirement. The tennis superstar appears virtually in a scene midway through the movie, when Blanc and Helen (Janelle Monae) are in Miles's gym to confer on a plan. Williams is in a Mirror-like fitness device, and asks them if they want to work out. When they don't she says, "Whatever, man, it's your money."
They had wrote me into the script originally. They were thinking of me. And I was like, no way, cool," Williams shares. "And they were like, well, would you want to do this? And I was like, why not? Sure. It'll be fun. So I was really excited to shoot it. I couldn't say anything about it for so long that I think I actually forgot about it, but it was really fun. I'm glad it worked out. It's obviously a great movie. Janelle Monáe does an incredible job. It's a great cast as well."
8) Hugh Grant
In perhaps the most exciting cameo of the entirety of Glass Onion, Hugh Grant appears as Phillip, Benoit Blanc's partner. "There's nobody in the world I can imagine in bringing me more joy for Benoit Blanc to be with," Johnson said.
Can Phillip please return for Knives Out 3?
9) Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Though he does not physically appear in Glass Onion, Gordon-Levitt makes a cameo in the film. In fact, he's appeared in every single Rian Johnson movie.
"I will work with him any time he’s available,” Rian shared with Cinema Blend in November 2019 of Gordon-Levitt's voice cameo in the first Knives Out. "I can’t wait to get on a set with him again. You know, he does have a cameo in this. He’s a voice in the beginning. Keep your ears open. You’ll hear a JGL cameo."
In Glass Onion, he voices Miles Bron's clock.
10) Jake Tapper
Tapper appears as himself on a CNN program, interviewing Governor Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn).
From Stephen Sondheim to Serena Williams, here is a definitive guide to all the cameos in the second Knives Out film.