A Knives Out Mystery’ Celebrity Cameos Full List

This story contains spoilers.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery has such a stellar cast that it’s hard to imagine there’s room for more celebrities. And yet, Rian Johnson managed to fit in a few particularly famous faces as his latest crime fiction unfolds, from elite athletes to industry legends. Even the ominous “dong” sound on the private island comes from a surprising source.

While the film stars Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista, here are the celebrity cameos who joined them on screen. did you catch them all

Hugh Grant

Following your annual reboot of Love Actually, Hugh Grant returns to your screens this holiday season in Glass Onion. He plays Benoit Blanc’s partner Philip, who answers the door when Helen (Janelle Monáe) comes to the detective’s apartment to ask for his help.

Johnson confirmed earlier this year that Benoit is queer. “Yeah, he obviously is,” the director told Entertainment Weekly. And Craig was thrilled that Grant would be playing his on-screen friend, saying: “I can’t think of anyone in the world who brings me more joy when I’m with Benoit Blanc.”

Please please please let Philip come back in the next movie.

Angela Lansbury, Stephen Sondheim, Natasha Lyonne and Kareem Abdul Jabbar

The film opens with Benoit Blanc playing Among Us with an unlikely group via Zoom: veteran actress Angela Lansbury, esteemed composer Stephen Sondheim, Russian Doll star and creator Natasha Lyonne, and NBA star Kareem Abdul- jabbar. (If only all of our lockdown FaceTime friends were this iconic.)

It is perhaps one of the last screen appearances for Sondheim, who died last year, and Lansbury, who died in October. Johnson told Entertainment Weekly that he could zoom in on the Legends himself, capture the footage and insert it into the film. Apparently a fan of the first Knives Out, Sondheim asked to be put on the phone with Johnson. “He was in his house and had blurred the background. And I zoomed in with him, we ended up talking for about 15 minutes,” the director told EW.

Serena Williams

The tennis star appears in a virtual training mirror at Miles’ (Edward Norton) gym as Benoit and Helen have a private chat. Williams appears to be in pre-recorded footage at first, but then it turns out she’s actually present on a live call. She asks the duo if they want to work out and unfortunately they have other things to do first.

Ethan Hawke

The security guard-like man who greeted Miles’ guests in Greece before they boarded the boat to his island was actually Ethan Hawke. His unnamed character sprays guests with an unknown disinfectant in their mouths, apparently rendering them immune to Covid. Johnson told Entertainment Weekly that Hawke was in Budapest filming Moon Knight at the time, so one day he flew to Greece to film his cameo.

Yo-Yo Ma

The acclaimed musician is spotted playing the cello at an unexpected performance: Birdie’s (Kate Hudson) apartment party. He even helps her open Miles’ enigmatic invitation when any of the clues require knowledge of Bach’s repertoire.

Joseph Gordon Levitt

Though he’s unfortunately not on screen, he’s the voice behind the booming “dong” sound that plays every hour on Mile’s Island. “He said the word ‘dong,’ and we turned it into a musical note,” Johnson revealed at the Toronto Film Festival. Mashable points out that this is not Gordon-Levitt’s first audible Knives Out appearance. In the original film, he voices the crime series that Marta’s family listens to at home.

Jeremy Renner and Jared Leto

These two don’t appear in Glass Onion IRL either, but they are frequently named when Miles stocks his island get-together with Jeremy Renner Hot Sauce and Jared Leto Hard Kombucha. One of the little mysteries of the film is: how on earth do they taste?

Erica Gonzales is Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of television, movies, music, books and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There’s a 75 percent chance she’s listening to Lorde right now.