🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
If you are a fan of Boiling Point, Parasite, and Get Out you will not want to miss The Menu, out in cinemas worldwide now.
The hilarious dark comedy is directed by Succession's Mark Mylod and follows a group of high-brow customers (or desperate social climbers) who travel to a remote island to eat at Hawthorne, an exclusive restaurant run by celebrity chef Julian Slowik. However, when they arrive, the lavish night they had planned quickly turns into a real-life nightmare.
The movie features a star-studded ensemble cast, fronted by The Queen's Gambit star, Anya Taylor-Joy, and The Great's Nicholas Hoult as they make the audience reckon with the question, "will anything ever be enough?".
Newsweek has everything you need to know about the cast and characters of The Menu.
Meet The Menu Cast and Characters
Tyler—Nicholas Hoult
The Great's Nicholas Hoult takes on the role of Tyler in The Menu, a young foodie who admires the work of the chef, Julian Slowik.
Despite a strict cellphone ban, Tyler is more infatuated with capturing every moment on his phone and eager to be noticed by Slowik, which turns out to be the last thing anybody wants.
Speaking to Newsweek, Hoult gave an insight into Tyler's personality and journey in The Menu.
He shared: "Tyler he's a real foodie. He's probably a blogger that lives a lot of his time online and has probably saved up for a long time to have this experience of going to Hawthorne, the restaurant that chef Slowik runs, and it's obviously a defining life moment for him getting here and being part of this and he wants so desperately to be accepted.
"He's someone who is not comfortable in his own skin. He is desperate for approval and to please people and throughout the evening, it kind of all crumbles around him and the experiences that he hoped for."
Margot—Anya Taylor-Joy
Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Margot in The Menu, a strong young woman who instantly suspects something is not quite right at Hawthorne.
Clearly from a different social background to every other diner in the restaurant, Margot's exclusion from high society comes to work in her favor.
Taylor-Joy is best known for her role as Beth Harmon in The Queen's Gambit and Gina in Peaky Blinders.
Julian Slowik—Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes, who has starred in Schindler's List, The English Patient, Harry Potter, and The Grand Budapest Hotel, plays the role of celebrity chef Slowik.
There is something so unsettling about Slowik, it is no surprise if his on-screen presence will leave audiences with goosebumps.
Anne—Judith Light
Ugly Betty star and Broadway legend Judith Light portrays Anne in The Menu.
Speaking to Newsweek, Light shared she "wants the audience" to work out just exactly who her character is and what she represents.
Light said: "I want the audience to be able to fill in who they think she is. Notice how many times you change your mind about who someone is, as you're watching the story.
"You think they're one way and then you see, they are not that way at all and then you begin to say, 'I have that experience in life. I make these quick judgments about somebody and then the longer I get to know them, I say, wait a minute there that's not who they are at all'.
"So what I would say is that this is someone [Anne] who lives a life of quiet desperation and sorrow and has given up on herself, in so many ways, particularly in her relationship with her husband, and her daughter, who you never see, but you can feel that child through Anya's character [Margot], which I find incredibly enticing."
Richard Liebbrandt—Reed Birney
Reed Birney stars as Richard in The Menu, Anne's miserable husband whose secrets are revealed by Slowik as they try to enjoy their horrifying dining experience.
Birney is a Tony award-winning actor, who has appeared on and off-Broadway throughout his career.
In the world of film and television, he is well known for playing Sylvester Lisko in Home Before Dark, Tom Connolly in The Blacklist, and Dr. Adamson in Titans.
Elsa—Hong Chau
Hong Chau portrays Elsa in The Menu, Slowik's ruthless assistant who is determined to ensure things run smoothly at Hawthorne, stopping at nothing to ensure Slowik serves his final, deadly, course.
Chau is best known for playing Ngoc Lan Tran in the 2017 film Downsizing, Lady Trieu in Watchmen, and Audrey Temple in Homecoming.
She will next appear in The Whale, opposite Brendan Fraser and Sadie Sink.
Lillian Bloom—Janet McTeer
Janet McTeer stars as Lillian Bloom, a high-brow magazine editor invited to Hawthorne to review Slowik's menu.
McTeer is a Tony, Olivier, and Golden Globe-winning actress, who has starred in the plays A Doll's House, Uncle Vanya, and Mary Stuart.
Audiences may also recognize McTeer from her role as Helen Pierce in Ozark, Jacquetta of Luxembourg in The White Queen, and Mary Jo Walker in Tumbleweeds.
Ted—Paul Adelstein
Paul Adelstein takes on the role of Ted, Lillian's equally snobby editor, in The Menu.
Adelstein is best known for his role as Agent Paul Kellerman in Prison Break and Cooper Freedman in Private Practice.
His other well-known credits include Memoirs of a Geisha, Intolerable Cruelty, Imposters, and Chicago P.D.
Other cast members include
- John Leguizamo as the failed actor
- Aimee Carrero as Felicity
- Arturo Castro as Soren
- Mark St. Cyr as Dave
- Rob Yang as Bryce
- Rebecca Koon as Linda
- Peter Grosz as Sommelier
The Menu is out in theaters now.
About the writer
Molli Mitchell is a Senior SEO TV and Film Newsweek Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on ... Read more