Murder mysteries are all the rage, all of a sudden. With Rian Johnson's "Knives Out" and sequel, and not one, but two Kenneth Branagh-helmed Agatha Christie adaptations making waves throughout the film world, there's no doubt that Hollywood seems to be greenlighting as many murder mysteries as they can - even the trailer for the new "Fletch" movie was cut to look like a whodunit. Also in the running is Searchlight Pictures' "See How They Run," a film set in 1950s London, where a murder takes place during the filming of a hit play-turned-movie, halting the production. On the case are Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan), hoping to catch the murderer before they strike again.
Like some of the best murder mysteries, "See How They Run" is something of a comedy as well, with a cast full of well-known movie stars and electric up-and-comers. Billed as "the greatest murder ever staged," it will aim to hit that sweet spot between thoughtful, compelling and unpredictable. The trailer boasts a few recognizable faces, and some others who are less familiar - with that in mind, here's a breakdown of the cast who'll soon be navigating the crime.
Veteran character actor turned quirky leading man Sam Rockwell has been around for a long time, and is considered by some to be among the most underrated actors of his generation. Having launched his career in the late 1980s, Rockwell rose to prominence around the turn of the century, turning heads with a force of nature performance as carefree "Kid" in the 1996 Tom DiCillo indie "Box of Moonlight," then showing a scene-stealing versatility in the couldn't-be-more-different 1999 classics "The Green Mile" and "Galaxy Quest."
With Hollywood finally catching on to his unique charm, he began landing key roles in films like "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," and leads in the Chuck Barris biopic "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," the beloved sci-fi franchise adaptation "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and Duncan Jones' trippy one-man show "Moon," which collectively put him on the map to stay. Since then, Rockwell has played Justin Hammer in MCU productions like "Iron Man 2," and appeared in films like "The Way, Way Back," opposite Steve Carell, "Vice" with Christian Bale," and Martin McDonagh's "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" opposite Frances McDormand - which won him an Oscar.
Although often seen as a faithful supporting man - his part in Taika Waititi's "Jojo Rabbit," for instance, is hysterical - Rockwell excels in leading roles. His work in movies like "Moon," "Matchstick Men," "The Best of Enemies," and the animated feature "The Bad Guys" prove that Rockwell can really hold his own. With a trademark smile and untamable charisma, there's seemingly no role that Rockwell can't tackle.
Saoirse Ronan has taken Hollywood by storm since her work in Greta Gerwig's 2017 coming-of-age dramedy "Lady Bird," but she's been around a bit longer than that.
Having received her start on the Irish drama "The Clinic" in 2003, she graduated to the movie business with the 2007 feature "I Could Never Be Your Woman," though her work in the film Joe Wright's "Atonement" is what first put her on the radar of film fans; she earned an Academy Award nomination. Boosted by that success, Ronan found work in Peter Jackson's adaptation of "The Lovely Bones," then played the titular character in the action flick "Hanna," and became part of the Wes Anderson acting troupe of regulars, appearing in "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "The French Dispatch."
Although the back-to-back successes of "Brooklyn" and "Lady Bird" in many ways launched Ronan's career (she was nominated for Oscars for both), Ronan has refused to limit herself to the screen. Playing the role of Abigail Williams in a 2016 revival of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" on Broadway, she would return to the stage in 2021 as Lady MacBeth in "The Tragedy of MacBeth." Ronan's late 2010s work also included "Mary Queen of Scots," where she played the titular role, and Greta Gerwig's adaptation of "Little Woman," where she shined as the lovable, eccentric Jo March - earning her most recent, fourth Oscar nomination at age 25.
For more than a decade, Queens-born Brody was known as a solid supporting face in films like Steven Soderbergh's "King of the Hill," Barry Levinson's "Liberty Heights" and Spike Lee's "Summer of Sam." Then, Roman Polanski cast him as Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jewish musician trying to survive Warsaw in "The Pianist," and everything changed. Brody won the Oscar, kissed Halle Berry in one of Oscar's most famous moments, and became one of Hollywood's most in-demand actors.
Since then, Brody has worked with the likes of Peter Jackson on his "King Kong" remake, M. Night Shyamalan on "The Village," Woody Allen in "Midnight in Paris, but also stumbled at times with "The Jacket," "Splice," "Predators," "Bullet Head" and other films best forgotten. His most frequent collaborator has been Wes Anderson, having played a role in four of the director's films: "The Darjeeling Limited," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," and "The French Dispatch."
Aside from his feature film work and occasional side effort as one of the "Masters of Style," Brody has ventured into television as well, with guest stints on series like "Peaky Blinders" and "Succession." In the lead role of Captain Charles Boone, Brody starred in "Chapelwaite," a series based on Stephen King's short story "Jerusalem's Lot," and then played Pat Riley in "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty." In 2014, Brody took on the role of Harry Houdini in History's "Houdini" miniseries, which earned him an Emmy nomination.
Playing the role of Petula Spencer in "See How They Run," Ruth Wilson has been acting for quite some time, and has not been limited to the big screen either. After first appearing on the British game show "Time Commanders" in 2003, Wilson made her television debut a few years later in the adaptation of the 1847 novel "Jane Eyre," playing the titular role. From there, Wilson worked her way through various shows and theater performances - including the role of Stella in a stage production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" - before landing roles in the feature films "Anna Karenina," "The Lone Ranger," and "Saving Mr. Banks."
After a few other features, including the gothic Netflix supernatural horror "I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives In The House" and the British drama "Dark River," Wilson made a name for herself on television, with leading/co-starring roles in "Luther," "The Affair," and the HBO Max series "His Dark Materials."
In 2018, she executive produced and starred in a fascinating project. The three part British historical serial "Mrs. Wilson" cast Ruth Wilson as Alison Wilson - her actual real-life grandmother - whose life fell apart after discovering her deceased husband was an MI6 agent and avid polygamist. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV award for best leading actress.
Playing real-life British film producer John Woolf in "See How They Run" is Reece Shearsmith, a prolific writer, actor, and comedian who began his career in the mid-1990s.
Having co-created and co-starred in the British comedy series "The League of Gentleman" in the late 1990s alongside co-creators/stars Mark Gatiss and Steve Pemberton, Shearsmith made a name for himself as a surreal comedian. With this his newfound recognition, he began to make appearances on various comedy programs and sitcoms, including the beloved Simon Pegg/Edgar Wright series "Spaced." He would reunite with the duo on multiple well-known projects, including "Shaun of the Dead" and "The World's End."
From there, Shearsmith balanced his work in front of the camera with that of radio theater and stage, where he played Leo Bloom in a West End production of "The Producers." With a host of writing and acting credits in both television and film - including "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" - Shearsmith might be most well-known in recent years for his work on the series "Psychoville" and a reunion with Pemberton for the black comedy anthology series "Inside No. 9."
Playing a young Richard Attenborough - yes, the "Jurassic Park" guy - in "See How They Run" is Harris Dickinson, perhaps best known for his starring role in the movie "Beach Rats." A relatively fresh face, Dickinson has shown up in some big movies in the past decade, including the "Maleficent" sequel where he played Prince Phillip, "The King's Man" as Conrad Oxford, and the 2022 film adaptation of the novel "Where the Crawdads Sing," playing Chase Andrews.
On television, Dickinson found guest work on a few different British series before landing the role of J. Paul Getty III - the grandson of the oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, Sr. - in the critically acclaimed FX series "Trust: The Getty Story." he also voiced a character in the 2019 Netflix series "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance."
Charlie Cooper plays Dennis the usher in "See How They Run" and seems to be eyeing others with suspicion; in real life, there's a lot more to Cooper that just his work as an actor.
Also a writer, he co-created and starred in the series "This Country" alongside his sister Daisy May Cooper. That series, which followed folks in modern rural Britain, ran from 2017-2020 and kickstarted Cooper's career - as well as that of "See How They Run" director Tom George, who directed 19 episodes of the series. From there, Cooper wrote for the sci-fi series "Avenue 5" and the pop music game show "Never Mind the Buzzcocks," and he became an executive producer on the series "Welcome to Flatch," an American adaptation of "This Country."
As an actor, Cooper's starring role in "This Country" followed on the heels of his performance as Kevin Reape on the Martin Freeman-led series "A Confession," a six-episode miniseries that ran in 2019. Outside of that, Cooper has found occasional work in short films, features, and television alike, including a recurring role on the Jamie Demetriou series "Stath Lets Flats."
A versatile actress, Pippa Bennett-Warner has worked in film, television, radio, video games, and the theater, proving one thing above all else: she really loves to act.
Though she's perhaps best known for her role as Shannon Dumani on the British series "Gangs of London," and certainly gained some notoriety from her work on the BBC thrillers "Roadkill" and "Chloe," there's a lot more to Bennett-Warner than that. Having begun her acting career on the stage, Bennett-Warner went from playing the young Nala in the stage production of "The Lion King" to Cordelia in "King Lear" - which earned her a nomination for an Ian Charleson Award, given to the best classical stage performances in Britain by under-30 actors.
Since 2010, Bennett-Warner has been part of over a dozen different radio dramas, many of them adaptations of classic novels such as F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." This has led to additional voice work, specifically for the George R.R. Martin-inspired high-fantasy video game "Elden Ring," where she played Malenia, and the adventure fantasy game "Xenoblade Chronicles 3." Bennett-Warner has had a relatively prolific career, appearing in more than two dozen different television shows, ranging from main cast to guest roles.
Another actress who jumped from the stage to the screen, Pearl Chanda went from a 2012 theater production of "The Seagull" to a key guest appearance on the British medical soap opera "Holby City." From there, she alternated between the stage and the screen, but she is best known for her role as Zoe in the Epix Original Series adaptation of "War of the Worlds," alongside Gabriel Byrne and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Chanda has been a bright spot in the "Walking Dead"-inspired reimagining of the original H.G. Wells story, and fans are curious about where she and her fellow survivors will head next.
Beyond that, Chanda has appeared in episodes of the HBO series "I May Destroy You," the 2020 feature "Marionette," and a handful of other British series over the years. With her role as Sheila Sim in "See How They Run," Pearl Chanda seems intent on making her way into more feature productions.
Sian Clifford plays Edana Romney in "See How They Run," and she's been flexing her thespian muscles for years.
Another actress who began on the stage, Clifford was part of numerous West End productions and eventually played Belle at the Royal National Theater's rendition of "Beauty and the Beast." But beginning in 2012, Clifford had her eye on the camera, or at least wanted to be in the camera's eye, first appearing in an episode of the John Noble-hosted "Dark Matters: Twisted But Truth" docuseries. From there, she made a few TV and short film appearances - and produced a short film and a TV movie of her own in the meantime - before landing the role of Claire on the hit series "Fleabag."
After "Fleabag" gave her a career boost, Clifford began appearing in various television productions, including as Martha Crawley in the "Vanity Fair" miniseries, Diana Ingram in "Quiz," and as Tina Noakes in the Sky Original "Two Weeks To Live." Clifford would also venture into voice acting - most notably in an episode of "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" - before joining her "See How They Run" co-star Ruth Wilson on the hit HBO series "His Dark Materials," playing Agent Salmakia. Ironically, she also appeared in an episode of Reece Shearsmith's anthology series "Inside No. 9."
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd plays Gio in "See How They Run," and he got his start in the 2015 BBC historical miniseries "Wolf Hall."
Fortune-Lloyd has balanced his work on television with that on the stage, performing in productions such as "The Merchant of Venice," "Othello," and "The Importance of Being Earnest" while simultaneously appearing on shows such as the Amazon Original "The Collection," "Endeavor," and in a recurring capacity on the period series "Medici." Perhaps one of the most surreal experiences of Fortune-Lloyd's career, however, was a brief appearance as a Sith Fleet Officer in "Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker."
After that, Fortune-Lloyd took on roles in Cinemax's "Strike Back" and played D.L. Townes in Netflix's hit "The Queen's Gambit." He'd work with Netflix again soon after in the feature film "The Last Letters From Your Lover" before taking on the role of Jean Charlot in the film "Canyon Del Muerto," about the first female archeologist. He has also appeared in short films, music videos, and in an episode of "Midsomer Murders"; from here, he's set to play Duc de Buckingham in companion "Three Musketeers" adaptations, to be released in 2023.
Best known for a bravura turn as Martin Luther King, Jr. in "Selma," David Oyelowo has been in a quite a few projects from the time his career began in the late 1990s to playing Mervyn Cocker-Norris in "See How They Run."
Oyelowo first made his mark as an actor on television, playing Danny Hunter in the MI-5 series "Spooks." From there, he continued to appear in feature films and television projects, including HBO's "Five Days" miniseries. He has appeared in films like "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Red Tails," "Lincoln," and "Interstellar" in varying capacities.
Since his career took off with "Selma," Oyelowo has continued to make appearances in big-name projects, such as the animated series "Star Wars Rebels" (where he voiced Agent Kallus), "The Lion Guard" (where he voiced Scar), the "Les Misérables" miniseries (where he played Javert), and "A Wrinkle In Time." He's set to star in the upcoming "1883" spin-off centered around the historical legend Bass Reeves, which will unite him with Taylor Sheridan and Paramount. Beyond that, Oyelowo has dabbled in the podcasting world, performing as Daniel Evans in the hit Audible Original series "The Prophecy." Whether his character is eventually revealed to be the "See How They Run" murderer or not, when it comes to the performance, Oyelowo seems likely to kill it.
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