Who’s Who in ‘The Menu’? A Full Character And Cast Guide
By Chris Catt
The cast of The Menu is stacked with fabulous actors in every role. Listed here are the main cast members along with brief descriptions of their characters. Spoilers are included for most of the characters to explain what their role is within the story.
The Menu Cast
Ralph Fiennes as Chef Julian Slowik
Chef Slowik is the main antagonist in The Menu. He is a celebrity chef whose private restaurant Hawthorne is situated on a private island where he and his staff grow their own food. Slowik is a true artist when it comes to food, but his elite status has allowed/forced him to live in a kind of bubble where he has lost touch with the everyday world. He is disillusioned by his path in life, and he feels underappreciated by the people whom he creates his art for.
Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot
Margot is an escort who accompanies Tyler to Hawthorne as his plus-one. Out of all of Hawthorne’s diners this evening, she is the least impressed. Margot’s tastes are common and relatable, and she is perceptive enough to see through the pretentiousness of Slowik’s food presentations. Spoiler: Margot’s real name is Erin, and she was previously hired as an escort for another of Hawthorne’s diners, Richard. Margot was not on the guest list, causing Slowik no end of discomfort as he tries to adjust his carefully planned meal.
Nicholas Hoult as Tyler
Tyler is a know-it-all foodie who is obnoxious about how he approaches fine dining. For Tyler, there is absolutely a right and a wrong way to enjoy food. Tyler doesn’t believe the rules apply to him (blatantly ignoring Hawthorne’s dining room etiquette), and he is desperate to gain the attention and approval of his idol Chef Slowik. Spoiler: Tyler knew beforehand that everyone would die at the end of the night, and he brought Margot anyway because he knew Hawthorne wouldn’t accept reservations for just one person. Also, Tyler is being punished by Slowik for draining the enjoyment out of the culinary arts with his gatekeeping and lack of practical knowledge.
Paul Adelstein as Ted, Janet McTeer as Lillian Bloom
Lillian is a food critic who wields considerable power. Like Slowik, Lillian’s feeling of self-importance isn’t without merit; Her words have helped boost the careers of chefs. However, her personal tastes and whims have also destroyed people’s careers. Lillian is accompanied by her sycophantic editor Ted. Spoiler: Slowik’s intention of having Lillian as his guest is to point out that her perceived power is arbitrary, and that she’s lost sight of what her career has done to well-meaning, talented chefs.
John Leguizamo as George Díaz, Aimee Carrero as Felicity
George is an actor whose best days are behind him. Once he was famous, but now George is more concerned with using his established name as a way to gain favor and make easy money rather than focusing on his craft and creating art through his acting abilities. George is accompanied by his disillusioned assistant and girlfriend Felicity. Spoiler: George is being punished by Slowik because the Chef once watched a movie of George’s, and the lack of artistic merit in the film crushed Slowik’s own artistic drive for days. Slowik sees George as a sellout, which Slowik is at least partially afraid of turning into himself.
Reed Birney as Richard Liebbrandt, Judith Light as Anne
Richard is a businessman and a frequent diner at Hawthorne. He is accompanied by his wife Anne (Judith Light). Spoiler: Richard has two things going against him. First, he cheated on his wife by previously hiring Margot as an escort. However, Slowik’s main problem with Richard is that he’s eaten many meals at Hawthorne, but he can’t recall specific dishes. To Richard, Slowik’s food has no true meaning.
Mark St. Cyr as Dave, Arturo Castro as Soren, and Rob Yang as Bryce
This trio of businessmen treat dinner at Hawthorne as a sign of status. They are all business partners who deal in some shady areas, and they are in love with the power their money and roles afford them. Spoiler: Slowik knows that Dave, Bryce, and Soren are all stealing money, and their ties to the man who finances Slowik’s private restaurant mark them for punishment. Slowik aims to show them that they didn’t earn their status, and their power can be taken away.
Hong Chau as Elsa
Elsa is the headwaiter at Hawthorne. She makes sure everything runs smoothly, and she is Hawthorne’s second in command. Elsa is very protective of her status, just as she is proud of herself and the staff she oversees.
