Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

Director Rian Johnson’s decade-long project Knives Out debuted in theaters in 2019. With a star-studded cast of action heroes, comedians, and musical legends, the film made over $300 million at the box office. The release of the complicated mystery film had fans begging for more of Daniel Craig, who plays Detective Benoit Blanc, and the Thrombey family. At the end of Knives Out, Ransom Drysdale (Chris Evans) is arrested for the murder of his grandfather, portrayed by Christopher Plummer. While calls for sequels are often answered in the current age of franchises, they remain a tricky feat.

When Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery was announced, the cast was the twist of the announcement. From the original cast, only Craig is reprising his role. That said, the new cast is just as star-studded, with comedienne Kathryn Hahn, Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr., and soulful hip-hop artist Janelle Monáe, among many, many others featured. With an incredibly talented cast, the only way to up the ante for the sequel is to bring in a few familiar faces. Of course, the familiar faces are on a much broader scale by bringing in athletes, renowned musicians, and a couple of Broadway veterans. Indeed, cameos in Glass Onion are just as surprising as the rest of the film. Here are all of them, explained.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Looper
TriStar Pictures

Of the many cameos in the film, three actors do not physically appear. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of the non-physical cameos in Glass Onion. Even though Gordon-Levitt didn’t show up to the set, his voice makes several appearances. As the alarm clock for Miles Bron (Edward Norton), the eccentric billionaire, Gordon-Levitt wakes up him with a loud, “DONG!” each day. The yelling alarm clock is a great comedic moment amidst the high-tension murder mystery.

Natasha Lyonne

Natasha Lyonne in Russian Doll
Netflix

Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne is one of two purposeless, but no less fun, cameos. Essentially, an actress or performer will portray themselves or a fictional character that serves no purpose to the plot whatsoever. They are merely there to be there and provide a momentary awe factor to a film. For example, pop-star Britney Spears portrays herself in Austin Powers: Goldmember and turns out to be a fembot, but her cameo does nothing to move the plot along.

Ethan Hawke

ethan hawke moon knight
Marvel Studios / Disney

Most actors appear in two or three films a year plus a few side projects for friends, but Ethan Hawke put everyone to shame in 2022. Not only did he make his Marvel appearance as the villain in the Disney+ series, Moon Knight, but he closes the year with the children’s animated series, Batwheels, as the voice of Batman. Somewhere in his busy schedule, Hawke appeared as Efficient Man in Glass Onion. As Miles’ assistant, he’s everything audiences want in an assistant: a monochrome suit, a chrome gun, and an epic ponytail.

Related: Is Glass Onion Better Than Knives Out, and Is it the Next Big Franchise?

Hugh Grant

hugh-grant-music-and-lyrics (1)
Castle Rock Entertainment

Before the premiere of Glass Onion, Johnson confirmed that Benoit is "obviously gay," as reported by Entertainment Weekly. More than just simply confirming the detective’s sexuality during the press tour, he also introduced audiences to his partner, Phillip (Hugh Grant). When Benoit is solving murders, his partner is making pottery. One brilliant element of casting Grant opposite Craig is that Grant keeps his charming British accent against Craig’s exaggerated Southern gentleman accent.

Jeremy Renner… Kind Of

Renner, Hamm, Helms, Johnson, Burress
New Line Cinema

The second non-physical cameo goes to action star Jeremy Renner. Although it should be noted that Renner himself doesn’t appear in the film, his face and name, along with Jared Leto’s, do. For Renner, his face and name are on a bottle of hot sauce, which is a reference to his appearance on First We Feast. The Jeremy Renner Hot Sauce is pivotal to the plot, in that Helen (Janelle Monáe) uses it to fake her death.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul Jabbar as himself on The Big Bang Theory
Warner Bros

Much like Lyonne’s cameo, basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s cameo is inconsequential to the plot of Glass Onion. He plays the popular game Among Us with Lyonne and Benoit over the video-conference tool, Zoom. Abdul-Jabbar is no stranger to cameos, though. He has appeared as himself in a variety of television shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Big Bang Theory.

Related: Rian Johnson Says He's in the Early Stages of Working on Knives Out 3

Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma as himself on Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood
PBS

Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma appears in Glass Onion as himself along with his cello. Another inconsequential cameo, Yo-Yo Ma is the musician at Birdie Jay’s (Kate Hudson) party in the beginning of the film. The Grammy award-winning artist, like Abdul-Jabbar, is no stranger to cameos, like when he appeared on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. He also composed and played in productions like Memoirs of a Geisha and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Serena Williams

Brandy Norwood as Elisa Shayne and Serena Williams as Kelly Stevens on Drop Dead Diva
Sony Pictures

Iconic tennis player has had an eventful 2022 in cinema. First, the biopic about her and her sister, Venus, premiered. Next, Serena Williams appeared as herself in Glass Onion as a personal trainer for Miles and Helen. Though she plays herself, she is a key witness to the conspiracy cooked up by the duo.

Stephen Sondheim

Man on horse looks to his left; he is in dark, spooky woods.
Walt Disney Pictures 

Not only are audiences treated to Broadway star Leslie Odom Jr. as scientist Lionel Toussaint, but they are also treated to another Broadway legend: Stephen Sondheim. The cameo of the music superstar is more than a reference to the composer’s history with murder mysteries. Sondheim’s cameo is a full-circle moment from Knives Out when Benoit sings “Losing My Mind” from the musical Follies, one of Sondheim’s musicals.

Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury in Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Buena Vista Distribution

The former Broadway actress turned Disney icon is also famous for her show, Murder, She Wrote, which inspired Johnson to write Knives Out. Angela Lansbury’s full-circle cameo doesn’t stop there: it connects back to Benoit’s rendition of “Losing My Mind” from Follies. The aforementioned musical, written by Sondheim, is sister to Sweeny Todd, a musical in which Lansbury starred in as Mrs. Lovett. Her cameo is the largest full-circle cameo in Glass Onion.