'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery': Every Major Character to Watch Out For

Rian Johnson has returned to the world of Knives Out with a new mystery film that will put even his detective, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), through his paces.

The drama, which lands on Netflix on Friday December 23, sees Blanc be invited to a murder mystery party on the private island of billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With a case landing in his lap unexpectedly, there are a number of suspects for Blanc to consider. Here is everything you need to know about the characters and the actors who play them.

'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery': Every Major Character to Watch Out For

The film centers on the events of the aforementioned murder mystery party where Miles invites his closest friends. While Blanc is not included in this specific group he was also sent an invite, and things take a grisly turn during the festivities.

At a press conference for the movie at the BFI (British Film Institute) London Film Festival, which Newsweek attended, the cast spoke about their characters and what to expect.

Miles Bron - Edward Norton

Edward Norton takes on the role of tech billionaire Miles, the host of the party and also the man that almost everyone in the group remains loyal to because of his power and influence.

At the film's press conference, Norton joked that the appeal of playing Miles was the way in which the story was "roasting the tech Illuminati" onscreen.

"It's not that revisiting the classic murder mystery form isn't fun also," Norton said. "But I do think that what was delicious about what Rian's done with this is that when you can see the times you're living in, and you can see the foibles, not just of the puffed up characters that we see in the world around us but even ourselves, you know that it doubles the laugh.

"It doubles the pleasure, and I think that's why it was so wonderful that Rian found some new targets. Rian and I had a lot of fun because there's such abundant feedstock for this character.

"Everything I put in and more was available to put into the blender that produced the smoothie of Miles, and I think that it's almost like you're curating [him], you can cherry-pick one quality from this person or that [person] we've all seen."

Claire Debella - Kathryn Hahn

Kathryn Hahn portrays Claire Debella, a Democratic politician and Connecticut governor who is at the top of her game, predominantly thanks to the financial support Miles has given to her.

Reflecting on the process of making the film, Hahn shared: "We really did create such a circus, like it did feel like we were this traveling circus together, which added, I think, to the texture of the movie.

"You can feel it, the fizz, that closeness that we were able to create under those circumstances really added to the feeling that we all were able to have that closeness, so it was definitely a dream."

Birdie Jay - Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson's Birdie Jay is a model and fashion designer who has a penchant for saying whatever she wants, despite the consequences it may bring. Her lack of political correctness has made her the target of much ire in the age of social media, and it's often up to her assistant Peg to deal with the fallout.

Hudson said of her character: "It's challenging because Birdie is so tone deaf, so some of the things she says if I thought too hard about them are quite scary, but Rian wrote such a great character for me.

"She's so deeply funny and oblivious to herself, and layered and kind of sad, co-dependent, and there was so much to be had with her. So it was just a dream, and [Rian] is just an absolute joy so you feel really safe saying the types of things that Birdie says."

Peg - Jessica Henwick

As previously mentioned, Peg is Birdie's personal assistant and she is portrayed by Jessica Henwick in the film.

Henwick joked about how her character "is largely ignored by the rest of the group" but still remains important in Birdie's life, so much so that the fashionista couldn't survive without her.

"Kate and I really wanted to make it feel like it was this almost toxic love affair that's been going on for 10 years," Henwick said. "In that, Peg has probably turned up to work several times and said 'I quit, I'm done' and then she probably comes back to work the next day and they don't mention it at all.

"It's just a vicious cycle, but I think that was really my touchstone for creating the character, was that relationship."

Andi Brand - Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe's Andi Brand is the only member of the group invited to the party that the rest of the characters are not happy to see because they'll be forced to face the sins of their past, and it means several secrets are about to be uncovered.

Reflecting on how there are several clues tied to her character, Monáe shared that she enjoyed creating those with Johnson and "getting into the nuances of like, 'ooh, what if we leave some Easter eggs behind?'"

She added: "We hope that people will watch this film twice so when they see the second time they'll [gasp] and they can look back and be like, 'it's already there. The clues are there.'

"And that was the exciting part, collaborating with him. He's a true collaborator and that's what you want, you want to go in—and obviously I love the script I was blown away by the twist— but when it came to character development I had so much fun just working with Rian on just those little details."

Lionel Toussaint - Leslie Odom Jr.

Leslie Odom Jr. portrays Lionel Toussaint, a scientist who is looking for new ways in which to create renewable energy sources to help save the planet, with research that is funded by Miles.

The Hamilton star said of building his character: "I started by searching for a real-world touchstone that I might base Lionel off of. I was looking specifically for who were the Black rock-star scientists and I found [one] in the States. He was a scientist for NASA and he accidentally invented the Super Soaker.

"In a test for NASA he invented this thing where there was pressurized water, and I had no idea a Black man invented the Super Soaker. I envisioned him actually as Lionel's grandfather, so that's what is the tension at the top of this movie for Lionel.

"We all have connections to this billionaire who pulls our strings and we're all there for different reasons. We allow this guy that gets us out of line of our integrity, and for Lionel he comes from this lineage of rock star scientists and he hasn't quite invented his Super Soaker yet."

Duke Cody - Dave Bautista

Duke Cody, played by Dave Bautista, is a Men's Rights activist who has a large following on social media, including on Twitch. Like Birdie, Duke is a character who isn't afraid to share his opinion despite how controversial it may be.

"I didn't overthink it," Bautista said of his character. "It was just so much fun and relatable, I love characters who are unlike myself and that's why I love acting, and Duke is just such a d******** immediately."

Whiskey - Madelyn Cline

Duke attends the party alongside his girlfriend Whiskey, played by Madelyn Cline, who also has a history with Miles.

Cline said of her character: "I think she was aware of the fact that the rest of the group is quite annoyed and perturbed by her presence, or just see her as a Gen Z, millennial, TikToker, 'oh, gosh, she's posting them on Instagram again' and so I think we just decided it would be really fun to just play around with this.

"She likes to push buttons, so how can we just play with that? And I really leaned into that kind of playfulness."

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is out on Netflix on Friday, December 23.