One of the most enjoyable aspects of seeing Rian Johnson‘s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story for the first time is looking for clues that can hint to what’s going on. You’ll probably miss the clues, but you won’t miss the many cameos in the film. One of the most notable occurs when Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), bereft and in a bathtub, unable to leave his home during the pandemic, has a package delivered.
The door is answered, to the surprise and delight of the audience, not by Blanc but by Hugh Grant, appearing in an apron, mid-baking, on Blanc’s behalf. Speaking to Empire via their Spoiler Special podcast on the movie, Johnson went into more detail about how Grant ended up in the movie, and how he thought their relationship would work.
They’re a couple. His name is Phillip. I just basically thought who would it give me the most joy for Benoit Blanc to be with, and I thought Hugh Grant. He was such a joy to be with, he came to set for one day, did that one disconnected scene and trusted us to put it in the movie. I also love that he’s home baking, trying to make sourdough bread. I don’t know if I see him as the Watson to Blanc’s Sherlock, but it’s good to have separate things, plus that apartment is so nice, I can’t imagine Blanc can afford it so I think he has a real job.
Grant has already previously discussed his appearance in the film, during an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub. “It’s true, I’m married to James Bond,” said Grant. “It’s the tiniest little moment. I don’t really know why they wanted to do it but anyway, I thought Knives Out 1 was brilliant, and so yeah, I thought why not? I turn up for a few hours…”
Grant’s distinctive voice can be heard earlier in the film, from the other room as Blanc plays Among Us with Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Natasha Lyonne and Kareem Abdul Jabbar, before being shown fully midway through the film as the circumstances of Blanc’s arrival on the luxury island owned by Miles Bron (Edward Norton) is fully explained to the audiences.
Here’s hoping for Knives Out 3, we get to see Blanc and Phillip at a holiday home in the Hamptons, perhaps even hosting their own murder mystery.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is streaming on Netflix now. For more on the film, check out our interview with Craig and Johnson.
