In Rian Johnson's new murder series "Poker Face," we follow human lie detector Charlie Cale as she attempts to solve a series of crimes that she stumbles across. Charlie has the ability to tell when a person is lying, and she ends up using the gimmick to solve murder mysteries.
The series is episodic, set in a new area each episode, and there are nearly two dozen guest stars. Centrifugal Compressor
Charlie is played by the Emmy-nominated Lyonne, who is best known for her roles in the hit Netflix series "Orange is the New Black" and "Russian Doll."
Early in her career, Lyonne starred in the cult classics "Slums of Beverly Hills" and "But I'm a Cheerleader." That led to appearances in mainstream franchises like "American Pie" and "Scary Movie." But in the late '90s and early 2000s, Lyonne struggled with a drug and alcohol problem and remained largely out of the limelight.
Fans of Johnson's recent movie "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" will also recognize Lyonne since she made a cameo as herself early in the film.
Lyonne's "Orange is the New Black" co-star Dascha Polanco makes an appearance in the first episode of "Poker Face." She plays Natalie, a friend of Charlie who works as a maid in the casino where the first episode is set.
Polanco is best known for her role as Dayanara "Daya" Diaz, one of the main characters of "Orange is the New Black." Since then, Polanco has worked with Lyonne on two other projects – "DC League of Super-Pets," where she played the voice of Green Lantern and "Russian Doll," where she played Alan's (Charlie Barnett) girlfriend Beatrice.
Polanco is also known for playing Cuca in the movie musical "In The Heights."
Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody plays Sterling Frost Jr., the owner of the casino on which the first episode is focused.
Brody has a long list of recognizable roles.
In 2021, he starred in the murder mystery film "See How They Run" as the producer Leo Kopernick. He also appeared in Netflix's Marilyn Monroe movie "Blonde" and in the HBO biopic "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty."
Brody may be best known for his roles in Wes Anderson movies, having starred in "The Darjeeling Limited," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," and "French Dispatch" over the last 15 years.
He also starred in the Oscar-winning movies "King Kong" and "The Pianist." Brody won a best actor Oscar for the latter, despite the controversy surrounding the film — it was directed by Roman Polanski, who fled the US after being indicted for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
Casino security boss, Cliff Legrand, is played by Benjamin Bratt and is one of the few characters to appear in multiple episodes.
Bratt is best known for playing FBI agent Eric Matthews in the hit rom-com "Miss Congeniality." Over his career, he has also had other prominent roles, such as Alfredo Garcia in "Demolition Man" and Jahil Rivera in the Fox series "Star."
Bratt also has voiced characters in several animated films in the last decade. He starred as Manny in the "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" movies, played the villain El Macho in "Despicable Me 2," and was the voice behind the antagonist Ernesto de la Cruz in "Coco."
"Poker Face" creator Rian Johnson is best known for his critically and commercially successful mystery franchise "Knives Out."
Apart from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lyonne, a further three cast members from the "Knives Out" films make an appearance in "Poker Face."
Noah Segan, who played Trooper Wagner in "Knives Out" and the random islander Derol in "Glass Onion," makes an appearance in the "Poker Face" premiere episode as Sheriff Parker.
In episode five, K Callan plays a character in the care home named Betty. She previously appeared in "Knives Out" as the Thrombey family's Greatnana Wanetta.
Finally, Kerry Frances, who also appeared in "Knives Out" as Sally, makes a small appearance in the opening episode as Charlie's co-worker Michelle.
In episode two, Charlie comes across a lonely truck driver named Marge. She is played by Hong Chau, who was nominated for Oscar earlier this week.
Chau's most recent movie roles are her most popular to date. She played a sarcastic waitress in 2021's "The Menu." She was also nominated for best supporting actress for her role as Liz in "The Whale," a nurse and close friend of Brendan Fraser's Charlie.
Before her film success, Chau also had recognizable roles on TV, such as Lady Trieu in HBO's "Watchmen," and Jackie in "Big Little Lies."
Lil Rel Howery is a guest star in the third episode of "Poker Face," playing a radio host and entrepreneur named Taffy Boyle.
He is best known for his appearances in hit movies such as "Get Out," where he played Daniel Kaluuya's best friend Rod Williams, and "Free Guy," where he played Ryan Reynolds' best friend Buddy.
In 2018, Howery created and starred in his own sitcom loosely based on his life called "Rel."
You can also find him in a slew of other films and TV shows, including "Deep Water," "Judas and the Black Messiah," "Bird Box," "The Carmichael Show," and "Insecure."
In episode four, "Rest In Metal," Chloë Sevigny plays a one-hit-wonder rock star named Ruby Ruin.
Sevigny's breakout role came when she was 17, in the 1995 Larry Clark film "Kids." But she may be best known for her role in the film "Boys Don't Cry," for which she was nominated for an Oscar, and the 5-season TV series "Big Love," for which she won a Golden Globe.
She also played significant roles in "The Girl from Plainville," "We Are Who We Are," and the second and fifth seasons of "American Horror Story."
Some fans may have also noticed her small appearance last year in the Timothee Chalamet cannibal movie "Bones and All."
Four-time Emmy nominee Judith Light makes an appearance in the fifth episode of "Poker Face." She plays a woman in a care home named Irene Smothers.
Light is best known for her Emmy-nominated role as Shelly Pfefferman in the series "Transparent." Light starred with Hong Chau in "The Menu" last year as one of the customers of the elite Hawthorn restaurant.
Light has also had other significant roles in shows like "American Crime Story," "The Politician," "Who's the Boss?" and "Ugly Betty."
She also played Jonathan Larson's agent in the Netflix movie adaptation of the musical "tick, tick... BOOM!"
"The Big Bang Theory" star Simon Helberg also makes an appearance in episode five. It's, so far, unclear what his role may be, but his character's name is Luca.
Helberg is mostly known for his role as Howard Wolowitz in the hit comedy "The Big Bang Theory," however he has had other roles in film and TV, such as in the musical "Annette."
British actress and activist Jameela Jamil guest stars in the sixth episode of "Poker Face," playing a character named Ava.
Jamil is best known for her role in "The Good Place" as Tahani Al-Jamil. However, she has had important roles in other TV shows and movies such as "Marry Me," "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law," and "Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin."
She also starred as a judge on the reality TV competition show "Legendary."
Former "SNL" star Tim Meadows is best known for his long tenure on the hit comedy sketch show. He joined the show in 1991 and is one of the longest-serving cast members, having stayed in the show for nine years. Meadows' other key role was as the principal, Mr. Duvall, in the hit teen comedy "Mean Girls."
But Meadows has had a number of recognizable roles in films like "Grown Ups" and "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" and on TV shows like "The Goldbergs."
"Riverdale" star Charles Melton makes a guest appearance in episode seven of "Poker Face" as racecar driver Davis McDowell.
Melton is best known for playing Reggie Mantle in the bizarre teen mystery series "Riverdale."
He has also made significant appearances in "Secret Headquarters" and "Bad Boys for Life."
Oscar-nominated actor Nick Nolte plays a character named Arthur.
Nolte is best known for his Oscar-nominated films "The Prince of Tides," "Affliction" and "Warrior."
Outside of this, the renowned actor has had notable roles in films like "Angel Has Fallen," "Gangster Squad," "Tropic Thunder," and "Hulk."
Star Wars fans may have noticed his voice as Kuiil in "The Mandalorian."
Former Disney star Rowan Blanchard also appears in "Poker Face" episode eight. In the episode, titled "The Orpheus Syndrome," she plays a character called Lily, who is briefly shown in trailers for the show.
Blanchard is best known for her lead role in the "Boy Meets World" spin-off "Girl Meets World."
Fans may also recognize her early role as the lead in "Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World."
More recently, Blanchard has had notable roles in the sci-fi show "Snowpiercer" and the Hulu rom-com "Crush."
Luis Guzmán is most recognizable to younger audiences for playing Gomez Addams in the hit Netflix series "Wednesday."
Before that series, Guzmán had many notable roles in films such as "War," "The Taking of Pelham 123," and "Boogie Nights."
Coincidentally, Guzmán starred in a project with Nolte before in the film "Arthur." The actor has also played himself on the sitcom "Community."
Levitt has appeared in a number of Rian Johnson's movies, such as "Looper," "Knives Out," and "Glass Onion," so it's no surprise that he's also in "Poker Face." He plays Trey Mendez in episode nine, "Escape from Shit Mountain."
Levitt is best known for his starring roles in "Inception" and the rom-com "500 Days of Summer."
However, the actor has a long list of well-known roles in films, including "50/50," "The Dark Knight Rises," "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For," and "The Trial of the Chicago 7."
Fans may also recognize Levitt's voice as the lead character Jim Hawkins in "Treasure Planet" and Jiminy Cricket in Disney's live-action remake of "Pinocchio."
David Casteñeda appears in "Poker Face" episode nine as a character named Jimmy.
Casteñeda is best known for playing Diego Hargreeves in the hit Netflix show "The Umbrella Academy," however he's also had notable roles in films like "Sicario 2: Soldado" and "The Guilty."
Oscar-nominated actress Stephanie Hsu plays Morty in "Poker Face" episode nine.
She is best known for her role as Joy in the sci-fi hit movie "Everything Everywhere All At Once," which has been nominated for 11 Oscars this year; Hsu was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in the film.
Before this breakout role, Hsu made minor appearances in films like "Set It Up" and "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." She also starred in the comedy series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" as Mei Lin, the woman that Joel Maisel (Michael Zegen) marries after dumping the titular character.
Emmy-nominated actor Ron Perlman appears to be playing the sinister Sterling Frost Sr. in "Poker Face," who the audience hears in a phone call at the end of the first episode.
However, according to IMDB, Perlman makes a full appearance in the season one finale.
Perlman is best known for playing Hellboy in the first two "Hellboy" movies. He's also had prominent roles in "Nightmare Alley," "Blade II," "Pacific Rim" and "Conan the Barbarian."
Fans may also recognize him as the astronaut Benedict Drask in "Don't Look Up."
Lyonne's "But I'm A Cheerleader" co-star Clea DuVall appears in the season finale of "Poker Face." She plays a relative of Charlie named Emily Cale.
DuVall wrote and directed the holiday rom-com "Happiest Season," which starred Kristen Stewart, Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy, and Alison Brie.
DuVall also has an extensive acting resume, including appearing in "She's All That" as the mean art student Misty, and starring in "Girl, Interrupted" as the pathological liar Georgina.
Whole Blisk DuVall had recurring roles in series such as "Veep," "Heroes" and "The First Lady."