When Benoit Blanc returns, you know the suspects will be as rich and mischievous as the puzzle itself.
In Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Rian Johnson turns his signature whodunnit framework toward something stranger and richer than ever: a murder in a small-town church.
Set in a haunted upstate New York church over Easter weekend, the third Benoit Blanc mystery brings an ensemble that leans into the weird, the guileful, and the humanly vulnerable. “It’s just the nature obviously of whodunits: Every character’s a suspect,” Craig told Town and Country.
“Every character carries weight. I wonder if that’s one of the reasons that they’re tempting to do, because your character might be the murderer, or might be the victim. All of the casts we’ve had, bar none, have come wanting to be involved with the overused word of ‘an ensemble,’ but it is a genuine ensemble and I know the difference. Having people come in and just be all they care about is injecting as much good energy into the job as they possibly can and bringing and all bringing their A game and all just raising [the bar] and just being very, very, very funny. It’s a joy for me. It’s just a complete joy.”
At its heart is another ensemble of characters who are larger than life but deeply human, and an actor roster that feels uncannily cast against type in all the best ways.
Below, we break down the who’s who of the Wake Up Dead Man cast.
Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc
The Southern sleuth at the centre of it all, Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc. Equal parts genteel philosopher and keen eye for chaos, he’s the anchor amid the chaos.
Josh O’Connor as Father Jud Duplenticy
Josh O’Connor brings a heartfelt vulnerability to the role of Father Jud, a young boxer-turned-priest whose holistic faith and checkered past make him both suspect and soul at the centre of the story.
Josh Brolin as Monsignor Jefferson Wicks
The towering presence of Monsignor Wicks (literally and figuratively) sets the whole mystery in motion. His sudden demise cracks the church’s façade and exposes every hidden fissure beneath.
Glenn Close as Martha Delacroix
As Martha Delacroix, Glenn plays a devout church worker whose piety masks deeper convictions.
Kerry Washington as Vera Draven
Kerry Washington brings sharp wit and intuitive intelligence to Vera Draven, the dogged attorney drawn into this labyrinthine case.
Daryl McCormack as Cy Draven
Vera’s adopted son, a social media–savvy influencer with political designs, Daryl McCormack as Cy adds a pulse of millennial mopiness (and opportunism) to the proceedings.
Cailee Spaeny as Simone Vivane
New to town and harboring her own secrets, Cailee’s ex-cellist has the kind of poised reserve that makes Blanc pay attention and keeps audiences guessing.
Mila Kunis as Geraldine Scott
Kunis brings wry cool to a police chief who’s seen it all (or, at least, thinks she has) until Blanc shows up and reframes every clue. She’s a beat cop with a keen sense of the absurd.
Jeremy Renner as Nat Sharp
A small-town doctor with a shaky compass and a secret penchant for trouble, Jemery Renner’s Sharp is one of the film’s funnier and eerier turns.
Andrew Scott as Lee Ross
The charismatic sci-fi author who’s always ready with a dramatic theory or a pithy aside. Andrew Scott’s Ross is as likely to spin a conspiracy as he is to embellish one.
Thomas Haden Church as Samson Holt
Thomas Haden Church plays he church groundskeeper with a stoic exterior and a surprising moral code.
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